Tjay, A Good-time Charlie Who Was Satisfied With His Experience
The story of my first interviewee, a sophomore at UC Davis majored in Physics who successfully managed to deal with all the difficulties.
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Studying In
A Different Time Zone
During the COVID
International undergrads' personal experiences during the special time.
All My Stories
University of Zoom
Yes, you read it right. It's not a typo. "The University of Zoom" was established in 2020, after the COVID-19 outbreak. Within months, the university has successfully realized an unexpected boost in its enrollment; and its students had almost covered every corner of the world.
That was all caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. All students and teachers, therefore, were forced to face rapid conversion from on-ground, in-person courses to remote instruction and learning. They had to get to know Zoom, a proprietary video teleconferencing software program, in a short period of time, and get used to online classes and isolated study environments soon.
That was a hard time for all. And when it comes to international students, it was even harder.
International Students
at the University of Zoom
“Imagine taking classes at 3 am? Imagine being not able to sleep for 3 days straight during the finals week because of the time differences…” These words seem to be unbelievable, even though they were published by the University of Washington International Student Stories. But these are the reality, and hundreds of thousands of international students suffered from them in the past year. They had to get up at midnight and sleep during the day to attend synchronous classes held in another time zone. They had to deal with solitude, lack of connection, and a reversed daily schedule in addition to challenges of culture shock, joining communities, and adapting to new environments.
Why would I know so much about them? Because fortunately, or also unfortunately, I am just an international student at the University of Zoom.
My Story
Hello there, my name is Annie, an international student from Shanghai, China, currently a sophomore at the University of Washington.
2021 is my second year at college, but it’s also my first year being on campus, in Seattle, in the USA. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I spent my whole freshman year online at the University of Zoom, remotely studying at home, which is almost 6000 miles away from the campus.
It was a very special experience, as everything went in a way I have never expected - and unprepared for. I’ve never expected that our “W” photo would be a completely digital one. I’ve never expected that I would get up at 7 am to watch the 2020 new huskies convocation alone online via YouTube, and see cute Dub the Husky for the first time in live streaming. I was jealous to see other new huskies posting their new husky package online (especially the adorable husky toy!) because I didn’t get one as the package would not travel across the sea. There was a series of disappointing things similar to that, but I was also so excited about my college life at that time that I did not realize how serious the situation would be and how many difficulties would follow up.
The pictures to the left show the alarm clock I used in the past year, when I was taking classes of PST time on zoom while being in GMT+8. I selected it to be the artifact for my subculture of “International Students at the University of Zoom” in my autoethnography. Maybe it is not a typical "artifact", as it cannot be considered a handicraft, and is almost irrelevant to art - yet it does have significant meaning for international students taking classes at a different time zone, including me myself.
Since the time difference was great (about 15 hours), I needed to set alarms very early in the morning, or very late in the night, to remind myself of synchronous classes. For example, I had a class at 10:30 am PST in the 2020 winter quarter, then I would have to take a class at 1:30 am Beijing Time. Thus, I would need to sleep in the afternoon and get up at around 1:00 am to attend class, or just stay awake until the lecture ends at around 4 am (the latter one is extremely tiring, I tried, and gave up). The alarm clock was extremely essential because without it, I would probably miss classes, miss the due date for assignments, or even worse, miss quizzes and exams.
As you can see, TIME played an important role in my daily life during that period of time. At the same time, TIME also brought some depressing feelings that impacted me to some extent.
Since I had to live a reversed daily schedule to attend synchronous lectures and discussions, I needed to sleep during the day and get up at midnight. That seems to be pretty cool right? When everyone else was working, you sleep; and when everyone else was asleep, you work. But in fact, no, that’s not cool at all. And if you talk about it with me face-to-face, I’d definitely yell at you: “It was awful!”
How awful was it? Well, imagine at 5 pm, you have to go to bed because you’ll need to get up and attend class at 12 am. Just before you literally fall asleep, the delicious scent of your favorite dish drifts into your bedroom. You know that’s your mom preparing dinner for the family, and you love that dish, but you cannot get up and enjoy it — you have to sleep now; or you won’t be able to wake up on time.
That was complete torture to me — both mentally and physically. To people who love eating, is there anything worse than putting dishes in front of them but not letting them eat? NO! So for a short period of time, I fell asleep in a sad mood every day (not night, apparently, it was always in the afternoon). And due to my somehow disordered eating, there seemed to be something wrong with my stomach, as I lost appetite for a while and felt hungry all the time but couldn't successfully eat anything. As a result, I almost lost 3 kilograms of weight (I was happy about this though, because I had been trying to lose weight for months).
I suddenly realized that this kind of remote learning has had a great impact on us. Personally, in addition to the gastrointestinal reaction and weight loss mentioned previously, I also suffered from headaches due to sleep deprivation and great eyesight drop due to long-time screen staring, not to mention cervical problems and backache caused by a sedentary lifestyle — and these are just the physical impact. As for the mental impact, I cannot tell for sure. But I did feel very depressed when studying online, especially during the time when I was trying to completely reverse my daily schedule.
As an international student from a non-international high school, my own positionality made me a “victim” of remote learning during the pandemic. Since I had never used Zoom or Canvas before, my first quarter at “the University of Zoom” was chaotic. I often got lost on canvas, failed to find the syllabus, didn’t know where to submit my assignments, and messed up the group work when being in a breakout room — and there were not many fellows I could turn to for help, as most of them were too far away from me. Sometimes I even wan't sure how to describe the problem I faced in English.
That was a lonely time. When I was awake, the whole city was asleep. When I planned to go out to refresh myself, it was always at midnight, and there was no light in the sky. When I wanted to chat with my friends in the same country, they’d fall asleep after several rounds of conversations. What’s more, I was also too shy to feel comfortable facing the camera and talking to people face-to-face via Zoom. And when I was trying to chat with peers at the university, I failed to understand abbreviations in their messages and thus found it hard to get involved. Because of all these things, I felt isolated and being left over by the world, and I found no one to talk to.
Before I went further into study the impact of remote learning during COVID-19 pandemic, I first conducted a library research on existing studies and former researches on the technical impact of distance learning, wishing to get a rough understanding of the potential negative effects of remote learning from aspects which I had not thought about.
The blog below is the library research essay I conducted.
Known Impacts of
Remote Learning
As I mentioned before, it is quite interesting that when I was considering the topic of my ethnography, the first thing that came into my mind was the subculture of students who studied on zoom in 2020. Maybe that is a sequel of my experience of studying online for completely a year - the experience’s influence on my life was so great that I was so excited to be free from “the University of Zoom”, to be free from sitting in front of my laptop all day, and to be free from living a chaotic and reverse daily schedule.
But then lots of problems followed. At first, I was wishing to study “whether the subculture has a life-long impact on these international students’ life, either physically or mentally”. Yet apparently, as pointed out during the conference with my instructor, the topic was too broad for me to literally draw a conclusion by the end of this quarter. My Instructor Ms. Ghasedi explained that “it usually takes decades to carry out the research and find out the ‘life-long impact’”, and I agreed with her. So I refined my research question to a narrower focus: how did the experience of studying online impact students’ physical and mental health?
Wishing to seek more ideas on my research topic, I brought my research draft to a librarian at the Odegaard Writing and Research Center. We all thought that it would be pretty easy to find related articles in the library; but when we typed keywords such as “online study”, “international students” and “coronavirus” into the search bar, most of the search results were way off or irrelevant to my topic. The only two seemingly related articles were Is the online learning good in the midst of Covid-19 Pandemic? The case of EFL learners by Markus Deli Girik Allo and Psychological Impacts of Students on Online Learning During the Pandemic COVID-19 by Andi Wahyu Irawan et al.. Though the studies were conducted at the right time - “in the midst of a COVID-19 pandemic” (Girik Allo, 1) and “from March 16, 2020” (Irawan 2), they were not in the right place - both of them were conducted in Indonesia, and what I was looking for were previous studies in the US.
I realized that my topic might be too recent to find support from previous research articles. Probably most information that is exactly on my topic would have to be collected from face-to-face interviews in the future, from direct conversations with the participants. Thus, I made a little change in my research keywords and decided only to find the objective difficulties of remote learning because I supposed that these difficulties are common and can usually be shared among different students.
The first article I came across using the keyword “online study” was a qualitative study conducted by Trisha Parks from Capella University on the topic of “Technological Impacts during Transition from Face-to-Face Teaching to Synchronous during the Pandemic”. It reminded me of some probable difficulties that I once ignored. The study was conducted under the background of the pandemic when educational programs were forced to transit their teaching mode from onsite to remote synchronous education during the pandemic. Though the study mainly focuses on the technological challenges school faculties, teachers, and instructors faced, it also provides some findings related to students. For example, one of the conclusions derived from the study results is that both students and faculty found it uneasy to find a place quiet enough to attend class or participate in group works. What’s more, the study also mentioned that some students and teachers did not have access to the internet because “rural areas commonly lack the high-speed internet necessary to run robust programs (Meachem, 2020).” (Parks 81) These findings reminded me of some new perspectives of challenges that may also impact international students when studying online. I did not consider these impacts before because the impact was minimal in my own life. But then I realized that not all students had a private study room as I did; also, not all students had an always-stable internet connection as I did. These “minimal impacts” might be great in some students’ life, and some of the students might have been suffering from these technology issues throughout 2020. For example, if the student had siblings who also studied at the “University of Zoom”, they might have to compete for quiet study places, computers, and probably even microphones and cameras. There might be some quarrels if one needed a quiet place to take canvas quizzes and another had to participate in a group discussion at the same time, same place. These possible circumstances may also lead to some physical or mental impact, which is what I care about.
After getting information from the keyword of “online study”, I then tried searching articles with the keyword “international students”. In the research article by Tala Michelle Karkar-Esperat from Texas Tech University, it is concluded that international graduate students studying online faced challenges including language proficiency, isolation, inexperienced instructor motivation, and the features of online classes. The purpose of this case study was to “identify the learning experiences and examine the challenges facing three international graduate students enrolled in online, asynchronous classes in an American public university.” (Karkar-Esperat 1722) Lacking in English language proficiency was indicated as a common challenge in taking online classes (Byram & Feng, 2006) because online classes focused heavily on reading and writing which makes not being proficient in the language a barrier in communication. Participants also expressed “a feeling of isolation caused by a lack of communication and interaction with their peers and the instructor.” It was also difficult for participants to stay motivated in some cases due to being isolated and the lack of interaction with others.
Though the case study was conducted in 2018 (which means the situation could be a lot different from the current environment) and mainly focused on international graduate students, these findings are still generalizable and can be used as references in my project. I used to think that these challenges are specific during the pandemic remote learning, but after reading this article, I learned that these challenges have been existing for a long time and not only among undergraduate students but also among graduate students. Thus, I may also expand my project focuses to international graduate students and broaden my choices of interviewees.
Before reading the research article by Susan W. Parker, Mary A. Hansen and Carianne Bernadowski from Robert Morris University, I did not expect that these difficulties may also directly lead to negative impacts. This research examined “perspectives of undergraduate and graduate students regarding their experiences with rapid conversion from on-ground, in-person courses to remote instruction during the spring 2020 semester.” The researchers studied on attitudes and behaviors of students in general and by several demographic variables including “level (undergraduate versus graduate), type of institution (public versus private), student status (commuter versus non-commuter), and size of institution (less than 5000, 5000-less to 20,000, more than 20,000)” (Parker 6). With numerous research findings, this article provides more examples of difficulties including students received low-quality remote instruction and being distracted by other things happening around them. To make up for their lack of focus and engagement, they seemed to “collaborate with others on assignments including tests and quizzes, and justify their responses with their feelings of being overwhelmed and wanting to get through the semester. Cheating was often viewed as a means to an end.” What’s more, the lack of engagement, motivation, and accountability was mentioned by all interview participants when talking about studying at home, which is very similar to the findings mentioned before.
The most surprising finding in this article was the fifth theme of the interview themes: Cheating to Finish. Though I could imagine how common it might be during that specific time, I did not think about its potential side-effect. It’s even difficult to decide what kind of negative impact “cheating” would lead to - it does not seem to be physical, yet it can hardly be regarded as mental either. Besides, it is also hard to literally get evidence or support from the participants. I’m also wondering if I could include the issue of cheating in my future interviews. I doubt if I could get any useful information from that because generally, people tend to hide their negative behaviors when not responding anonymously.
None of the articles I came across directly provided information related to the mental and physical impact of remote learning, but some of them did give me some hints and new ways to think. The article by Trisha Parks inspired me to consider impacts seemingly irrelevant to students’ mental and physical health, such as the technological impact studied in the article. If we take a step further, we may find that these impacts will also eventually lead to physical and mental impacts. Just as mentioned in the reading, “[f]aculty participants indicated that competing for space, computers, and bandwidth left both students and faculty feeling stressed and frustrated.” (Parks 80) If students had been overwhelmed with such stress for a long period of time, would their mental health be somehow affected, especially when people had to keep social distances and had few social connections? I have also seen a friend being extremely anxious because there was a power cut in his neighborhood when he needed to take a mid-term exam online. And unfortunately, he wasn’t lucky enough to have a chance to take a make-up exam, which meant that he eventually got a zero for the mid. My friend was depressed for a time because he had always been so strict with himself that he aimed at getting a 4.0 GPA for all courses he had taken. Would this case be common? Would such effects be great and long-lasting? I haven’t found other articles discussing these topics, but I think it’ll be a good idea to include them in the questions for future interviews.
Works Cited
Girik Allo, M. D. (2020). “Is the online learning good in the midst of Covid-19 Pandemic? The case of EFL learners.” Jurnal Sinestesia, 10(1), 1–10. Retrieved from https://www.sinestesia.pustaka.my.id/journal/article/view/24
Andi Wahyu Irawan, Dwisona Dwisona, Mardi Lestari. “Psychological Impacts of Students on Online Learning During the Pandemic COVID-19.” Conseli. https://doi.org/10.24042/kons.v7i1.6389
Parks, Trisha. “Technological Impacts during Transition from Face-to-Face Teaching to Synchronous during the Pandemic”. Capella University, ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 2021. 28546558.
Parker SW, Hansen MA, Bernadowski C. “COVID-19 Campus Closures in the United States: American Student Perceptions of Forced Transition to Remote Learning.” Social Sciences. 2021; 10(2):62. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci10020062
Karkar-Esperat, T. M. (2018). “International Graduate Students’ Challenges and Learning Experiences in Online Classes.” Journal of International Students, 8(4), 1722–1735. https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v8i4.227
I believe I’m not the only one who faced such difficulties, and I’m curious about others’ experiences. International Students at “the University of Zoom” may be the most difficult generation of university students. As for freshmen, they had a chaotic start of university life — just like me. As for seniors, they might not be able to have a graduation ceremony as expected — they probably even could not be literally present at the ceremony; instead, they might have to sit in front of the computer thousands of miles away from their school and watch the graduation ceremony remotely. They suffered from the world’s uncertainty and turbulence caused by the pandemic, and the impact may be both physical and mental, and long-lasting.
Their Stories
Aiming at finding out remote learning’s impact on international students’ physical and mental health during the pandemic, I had several audio interviews and text interviews with international students from different parts of the world and currently studying at different universities in the US. Most of the interviewees interviewed by now are sophomores, with an estimated year of graduation of 2024. There was also a junior being interviewed, but I am not going to include that interview here. All the interviewees have studied remotely in a time zone different from their school’s and reversed their daily schedule according to the class schedules.
My field research was surprising in general. I found that though all of my interviewees have been faced with similar difficulties and struggled to overcome problems caused by the time difference, some of them also found some good ways to deal with them. What is more, they also have some impressive moments that made their days. Tjay also shared a picture of his Christmas gift from his social group during the pandemic. Though it was just a tiny notebook, the international parcel with warm greetings established a sort of connection between him and his school thousands of miles away. When we all feel being isolated and do not have connections with real people, this kind of connection is the most valuable.
Kobe Bryant asked: “Have you seen Los Angeles at 4 a.m.?" I have not seen Los Angles at 4 a.m., but I have seen my hometown, Shanghai, at 4 a.m. because that was when I had to be awake and attend classes.
That was a lonely time, because I felt isolated and being left over by the world, as most people are asleep when I was awake. Even when I was trying to go out and grab some food during my class break (which is always around 3 am local time), there were few stores left open, including some 7-24 hours convenience stores such as FamilyMart and C-store with sleepy clerks crouching behind the cashier.
But that was also a romantic time. At 5 a.m., early birds started singing. I could hear how more and more birds joined the chorus, singing happily, feeling like they owned the whole world at that time. I could see how the sky gradually turned dark-orange from black, then became pale green, and finally turn to light blue. I could also feel how the whole city awakes, and see a different Shanghai when it just awakes — no longer a metropolis or a global financial hub; instead, it felt like what it was hundreds of years ago — a small fishing village, quiet, warm, and simple.
It was also a colorful time, as asynchronous classes gave me the opportunity to travel and study at the same time. I traveled to the west part of China, deep into the mountains; and also visited the Forbidden City, staggered the peak season, and enjoyed a pure old palace.
These nice moments are stored in my memory, and every time when the alarm clock with the same music I used during the pandemic rings, the moments will be retrieved.
About
When Looking Back...
Hi, I'm Annie!
So good to have you here.
Annie Ma is a sophomore at the University of Washington pursuing a BA in Economics and Sociology. She grew up in southern China and was supposed to come to the United States to attend college in her freshman year of college. However, due to the pandemic, she wasn’t able to travel to the US until her second year of college. Having been a student at “the University of Zoom” for a year, she’s curious about the impact of remote learning during the pandemic and wishes to share stories of herself and students of this subculture.
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