It is no secret that 2020 has been a wild year. The introduction of COVID-19 has caused a lot of people to have to change plans. I, for one, was supposed to be studying abroad in Spain come Fall 2020. However, plans change. It has been two weeks since I have moved into my new apartment in Los Angeles with three of my best friends (who were also planning on studying abroad in the Fall). Somehow, I have managed to have an adventure of a lifetime in this short period.
It was about two hours after I landed in LA, then got back to the apartment and showered (because the airport mixed with a pandemic is not a good recipe for cleanliness). We discovered we had no wi-fi. Now, if we were having school in person, this wouldn’t be an issue because we could use the library and the wi-fi on campus until we got it installed in our apartment. However, this is Zoom University and, therefore, a whole different monster.Â
We were told the wi-fi wouldn’t come until Wednesday, and we thought, “okay, we can just make due until then.” Personally, my data plan does not cover a hotspot. I Â had to use my phone to zoom into classes, which is not an enjoyable experience (yes, it is doable, but not enjoyable). It was not that hard to deal with, but I couldn’t see everyone. It was very annoying when the professor shared the screen because the words were tiny. Things were also more complicated when the wi-fi company made a mistake in delivering the unit, and we did not get wi-fi installed until the following Wednesday. Again, it was doable, but it was annoying to have to somehow write and submit an assignment with no wi-fi. Thankfully, my roommates are lovely and let me borrow their hotspot to submit my paper. Also, not to mention the countless emails I annoyed my teachers with apologizing for my lack of wi-fi, but I digress.Â
Funnily enough, on the same day our wi-fi got installed, my roommate’s pet fish died. She took excellent care of Patrick for two months and was really excited about having him in the apartment with us; unfortunately, plans change. It was a bizarre situation too, because I am trying to comfort my friend as she cries over her fish. Simultaneously, I am also trying so hard not to laugh because she is playing Natasha Bedingfield’s “Pocketful of Sunshine” in his honor, as she claimed it was ‘his favorite song.’Â
Countless other events happened in this short time, including yours truly getting a wonderful sunburn after a day at the beach that has still not faded away (it’s been a week), a Bumble mishap that caused tears (I don’t even need to say men aren’t worth **** as I’m sure you already know), and trying to listen to my teacher lecture while my roommates are screaming in the background because the toilet flooded, and we forgot to buy a plunger (we quickly fixed our mistake). I admit, I may have exaggerated a little bit about calling this experience the adventure of a lifetime, but it has been pretty fun.
I think one good thing about COVID-19 is that it showed how people could adapt to changes, conquer new challenges, and move forward with their lives. Yes, this semester is a little different than initially planned, but I am excited to see what happens next. We plan to stay in this apartment for the next three months, and then hopefully, we will be able to go abroad in the Spring. However, this time, I will not get my heart too set on anything as we all know plans can change at any moment.