International students at the University recount their experience of confinement in Spain
"I never imagined it would last this long".
"I never imagined it would last so long," agree the university students from different countries as they recall the beginning of almost two months of confinement in Spain, far from their families and with uncertainty trampling on their plans and projects. Sally, Abraham, Madeleine, Denisse, Diego, Helia Daniela, Sara... tell here their experience with the new methods of teaching, with the non-attendance exams, with the confinement far from home and without the embrace of their families. In this report we share their stories, their fears, worries and challenges they have faced in recent weeks.
This year the University welcomed 3,741 international students. Many of them were unable to return home when the coronavirus crisis began, and the reasons are often common. "I didn't see the magnitude of the status in time and When I finally decided to return to Ecuador, it was already too late.I didn't see the scale of it in time," recalls Sally TabaresI didn't see the scale of it in time," recalls Ecuadorian 3rd year Bilingual Journalism student. Nevertheless, many international students faced the confinement as an opportunity to move forward with the programs of study by taking advantage of new ways of teaching, develop habits of work, strengthen their perseverance and be more generous with others, move forward with personal projects and learn new things.
Sara Popa (3rd year Bilingual ADE) | Image courtesy of Sara Popa
At the University, one of the challenges of the quarantine has been to cope with the change to the programs of study distance learning and fill in has reached 100% of the planned teaching . Sara Popa (3rd Bilingual ADE) had already experienced a similar status during her exchange stay in Hong Kong last semester. Protests and riots then forced her to fail the classes. Sara had to return home and finish semester by distance learning and the status was repeated when she arrived in Pamplona for her second year semester and the University closed its campus because of the pandemic. But Sara was already prepared for the new professor methodology.
Abraham Valera (4th year Audiovisual Communication) | Image courtesy of Abraham Valera
For the Venezuelan Abraham Valera (4th year Audiovisual Communication), the distance programs of study has been a positive development: that of "today".take advantage of all the resources and opportunities offered by technology in the educational system. today". Abraham put a lot of effort into making sure that the confinement did not affect the project that he develops together with his two flatmates and university mates. "The three of us - Virgilio González from Venezuela, Daniel Franco from Colombia and myself - have created Graviola, an independent publishing house focused on publishing Latin American authors who emigrated to Europe," he explains.
A new way of life
Sara CardonaAbraham's Colombian colleague, did not cope so well with the confinement in her flat, and suffered the effects of confinement through anxiety and difficulties with the new forms of study.. "Keeping order when you stay almost two months in the same space is very difficult," she admits. Sara misses her family very much. Although her flatmates have become for her a very supportive and friendly source .
Madeline Lasota (2nd Philosophy, Politics and Economics) | Courtesy image
Also Madeline Lasota (2nd Philosophy, Politics and Economics), an American student, shares the joy of being surrounded by good friends and classmates at high school where she stayed for her quarantine. "We take care of each other, we make common plans for studying and having a good time," she says. She says that Forty years has helped her to keep to a better schedule and develop habits that have helped her grow as a person.. "Taking a few moments of silence to reflect on oneself or on the goals we have achieved and are trying to reach financial aid helps us not to lose sight of what is important, in spite of the conditions of life at the moment.
Diego Ibazeta (3rd Economics) | Image courtesy of Diego Ibazeta (3rd ) | Image courtesy of Diego Ibazeta
The Peruvian student Diego Ibazeta (3rd Economics) also found a way to organise himself during quarantine that has helped him finish semester with good grades. The core topic, Diego explains, is to alter the work and rest, without forgetting about physical exercise.. "I've taken advantage of the confinement to learn to cook something elaborate and I'm even doing yoga, which, by the way, is much harder than it looks," he laughs.
Love for the present, hope for the future
But many students recognise that what helped them the most to get through the difficult times was the love and support they received from their families, albeit from a distance, and from friends who were close by when they needed it most.
Denisse Salvador (4th year Marketing) | Image courtesy of Denisse Salvador
Denisse Salvador (4th Marketing) decided not to take the flight to Ecuador when the crisis started only three days before the trip. She stayed in Pamplona with the conviction that in this way she would not put her loved ones at risk of infection, although she was very worried about having to face the loneliness in an empty flat. Fortunately, her roommates with whom she lived also decided to stay. "Family has been a very important pillar of support in my life, and even more so at this time".Denisse confesses. "And the fact that we are in constant communication, also sending photos and videos, shortens the distance that sometimes becomes unbearable.
With the support of her loved ones, Denisse adapted to the changes at teaching and managed to make good progress with programs of study. "At the beginning, I had a hard time getting used to the idea that my flat would become not only a place to rest, but also a place to study and concentrate, a space for exercise and basically my everything," she recalls.
Hela Daniela Palacios, an Erasmus student | Image courtesy of Hela Daniela Palacios
Y Hela Daniela Palacios, a Colombian Erasmus student who came from the University of La Sabana to Tecnun to take some subjects in Industrial Organisation Engineering, shares her experience with the teachers, who, since the beginning of the crisis, have been very attentive, especially to international students, and have offered them their support. "Among other things, Erasmus is a wonderful opportunity to be part of a different university. I decided to stay in Spain because I felt that this experience was not over, that there was still time to make the most of it."The student confesses.
Among the family, teachers and friends of exchange, Hela feels cared for and supported. She recognises that their company is a gift in the current status , "because now we are the closest thing we have".
Return trip to Bolivia
María Constanza Nieto
(Marketing) | Image courtesy of
At the airport,
on the way back to Bolivia | Image courtesy of
María Constanza Nietoa Marketing student, was one of the twelve students who recently managed to return to Bolivia, after having spent several weeks in confinement in Pamplona. They arrived on a flight that was travelling at almost half capacity with 144 passengers out of 270. She now lives with her classmates, students of Economics, Architecture, Law and Nutrition, in a hotel in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, where she has to spend another fourteen days in quarantine. From there he tells how he experienced his confinement in Spain and his return to his country.
"Adapting to online classes is difficult. You miss the classes, your classmates... but the truth is that it's not easy. the effort of the teachers has been maximum. It can't be easy to teach class to a hundred or so students via computer and they have done their best."Constanza, who is also confident that she will have a good result after her exams, says. "With the suspension of classes, status was complicated, but many of us decided to stay in Pamplona because we could count on the care provided by the Clinic and that gave our families peace of mind," she adds. From her confinement, she is left with the now unbreakable friendship of three friends, from Brazil, Venezuela and Bolivia itself, with whom she has shared study time, as well as recipes and leisure time at home.
"When we knew in April that we would no longer be returning to campus, the opportunity arose to return to our country, thanks to all the support and generosity of the University, to which we are immensely grateful," he continues. "We travelled in a bus all by ourselves to Madrid airport. Once there, we had to go through countless protocols, take all the precautionary measures, ... they bathed us in disinfectant on several occasions," he recalls, laughing.
"Throughout this whole process of confinement, the return journey and now the quarantine, I have not been afraid, but I have been worried. But I am a believer and I believe that everything is in the Lord's hands and He knows how to make the best decision for all of us and to overcome this status".
