An International student's experience of COVID-19 at UWM
Dublin Core
Title
An International student's experience of COVID-19 at UWM
Subject
Collection of the COVID-19 experiences of an international student at the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee.
Description
This crisis collection aims to document my experience as an international student during the COVID-19 lockdown. The experience was a mixture of feelings: anxiety, boredom. The experience was not also pleasant because family and close friends are many miles away. This was my first time experiencing a global pandemic, let alone experiencing it while living far away from home.
Many experiences stood out during the past year. It was my first time taking classes online. Zoom, Microsoft teams, and Collaborate Ultra were novel technology I had to get the hang of quickly to attend my classes. Surprisingly, it did not take long before I knew how to use these online meeting platforms.
There were many misconceptions about the virus at its earlier stages; many people considered the COVID-19 virus to be another common flu. This misconception soon vanished when the number of cases and deaths skyrocketed. Different types of home remedies became popular, and in this collection, I document the kind of home remedy I used as advised by my family back home.
The experiences during this period were not all sad. There were a couple of bright sides to my experiences as an international student. It is pretty impressive to see how administrative employees of UWM were responsive when replying to emails during the lockdown. The frequent emails from graduate school and the International student services unit were always timely and encouraging, which gave me strength during this period.
Staying in isolation for so long comes with boredom. Another experience documented in this collection was the indoor activities I engaged in to keep spirit, soul, and body together. Some of the activities include freehand sketching, playing online games, and binge-watching television series.
For the oral history project in this collection, I interviewed a fellow international about his unique COVID-19 experience. Not surprisingly, some of his experiences were quite different from mine.
Many experiences stood out during the past year. It was my first time taking classes online. Zoom, Microsoft teams, and Collaborate Ultra were novel technology I had to get the hang of quickly to attend my classes. Surprisingly, it did not take long before I knew how to use these online meeting platforms.
There were many misconceptions about the virus at its earlier stages; many people considered the COVID-19 virus to be another common flu. This misconception soon vanished when the number of cases and deaths skyrocketed. Different types of home remedies became popular, and in this collection, I document the kind of home remedy I used as advised by my family back home.
The experiences during this period were not all sad. There were a couple of bright sides to my experiences as an international student. It is pretty impressive to see how administrative employees of UWM were responsive when replying to emails during the lockdown. The frequent emails from graduate school and the International student services unit were always timely and encouraging, which gave me strength during this period.
Staying in isolation for so long comes with boredom. Another experience documented in this collection was the indoor activities I engaged in to keep spirit, soul, and body together. Some of the activities include freehand sketching, playing online games, and binge-watching television series.
For the oral history project in this collection, I interviewed a fellow international about his unique COVID-19 experience. Not surprisingly, some of his experiences were quite different from mine.
Creator
Ifedayo Kehinde
Date
Spring 2021
Contributor
Ifedayo Kehinde
Collection Items
ISSS Email
This picture is a mail from the International Student and Scholar Services stating I could take three (3) online during the Fall 2020 semester. Before the lockdown, international students were only allowed to take a minimum of two (2) face-to-face…
COVID 19 Home Remedy
Lemon, honey, ginger, hot water, and vitamin C are some of the things my folks back home advised me to be taking every morning and evening to ‘combat’ COVID-19. To prepare this remedy, I boil water until it gets to the boiling point then I pour some…
UWM Vaccine Eligibility Email
I was super excited when the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee sent an email that all students can now receive the COVID-19 vaccine. When I shared this news with my family back in Africa, I was surprised by the shocking reaction I got. They had these…
Apple Watch Handwashing timer.
During the pandemic, Apple, manufacturers of iOS and macOS devices, introduced a feature to help us track how long we should wash our hands. The World Health Organization (WHO) rolled out some guidelines to help us stay safe during the pandemic.…
A vote to end COVID-19
While the pandemic was raging, there were other defining occurrences during the COVID-19 lockdown. The lockdown did not stop politicians from campaigning for the 2020 elections. One of the few days I was to go for a quick appointment on campus, I met…
Cloud Gaming during the lockdown.
Playing video games with friends during the pandemic was a good way to spend my time during the pandemic. Google Stadia is a new cloud gaming platform where one can play various triple-A games without gaming. All you need to play the games is a game…
WhatsApp group message
This image is one of the multiple messages received during the COVID lockdown. Some of my friends created the WhatsApp group with the sole aim of sharing the COVID-19 updates. This messaging app was used as a channel to broadcast the latest news…
Oral History Interview with Albert A Kabura
The initiative by oral historians to document our COVID 19 experiences in the past year is ingenious and sacrosanct. The COVID MKE archive, when fully collected, will give us the opportunity, in the future, to look back at how we survived these very…
A Message to an essential worker
This picture was a WhatsApp message I sent to my friend, who is a nurse. I became worried for her when the pandemic became full-blown in the United States. The importance of nurses, doctors, and other essential workers was felt significantly during…
Masks and Selfies
This item is a social media post I tweeted at the Union Station in Chicago. Having masks with you always became like having an ID card or passport; one could not access public spaces without their masks. Also, it became interesting to see how we…