A Day in the Life

With the UAE and the UK being at different stages of the coronavirus pandemic, and with each nation imposing and lifting restrictions differently, two of our chief editors have been reflecting and writing about a typical school day during lockdown at their respective NLCS:

London - Reva Croft

WiFi. Decent headphones. A fully stocked fridge. The three elements everyone needs to survive lockdown. I know at least I will be perfectly prepared if another lockdown is imposed in the UK. A typical day would begin at 7:30 am. Like Alhena, I like to maintain the majority of my morning routine so that I can be prepared to spend the day staring at the computer learning. With online school from 9 till 4 to prepare for exams that are less than a year away(!), all lessons are important. While both me and my sister are old enough to study online without much help from our parents, some families have not been so lucky. Entertaining stories of parents homeschooling their younger children have reached me - the highlights: a parent on a work conference call while chaos ensues next door because the ‘wrong’ episode of Peppa Pig is playing, making ancient history moderately tolerable more interactive by using toilet rolls (remnants from the panic buying) to reenact the building of the Great Pyramid of Giza, and a child taking art class to another level and temporarily dying his dog’s hair! Some parents have decided to, let’s say, modify the curriculum for the better; teens learning life skills - calculating interest, cooking, paying taxes and taking the bins out have featured heavily! By contrast, my lessons have been far more...structured. I’m sure the other editors would agree when I say all our teachers have gone to great lengths to make their lessons online school friendly.

When school ends for the day, a new kind of extra-curricular routine begins. Dance class? Now on Zoom. Volunteering with children? Now on Zoom. Tennis training? You guessed it...now on Zoom. The way these activities have adapted to the social distancing era is impressive. Ballet class avoids the pirouette practice and huge jumps we are familiar with in the studio (many a stubbed toe on living room furniture quickly told us it was not worth it!), but instead focuses in core strength and conditioning, as well as flexibility. Volunteering with a local children’s group has also moved online - their age means many of their homeschooling routines do not involve video calling with their class, so we take the opportunity in the group to allow them to socialise with their friends, as well as capitalising on the time online to explore digital safety. Even tennis training has turned to the virtual realm. In this case, we have been able to take advantage of virtual training to connect with people we have always wanted to work with, but with whom distance has always been an issue. In one of the three sessions each week, one person invites a trainer, coach or player to join the session and lead the session. The innovation and determination shown by young people in order to continue the activities they love has been truly inspirational.

All this Zoom-ing has, inevitably, led to some ‘Zoom fatigue’ in all parties. As a result, we all need to take the time to ground ourselves again, whether that be watching TV with your family, reading that book you’ve wanted to read for ages, or getting creative with your favourite records playing on full blast. Personally, I have turned to music. Be it discovering new favourites (at the moment, it’s anything EDM) or revisiting old classics (can’t go wrong with anything your parents listened to growing up), music seems to have a way of bringing me back to reality without a bump.

I cannot deny that lockdown has brought with it some positives. I have been able to enjoy family dinners that seemed to have fallen away with our pre-COVID hectic lifestyles. In addition to this, the regularity that lockdown has brought has also enabled me to improve what was an otherwise toe-curlingly unhealthy sleep pattern. The lack of late weekends out in the city and early morning training sessions have meant I’ve not only had more but also better quality sleep.

By the time the family dinner (usually brimming full of homeschooling/working antics from the day) and the Zoom extra-curriculars are over, the school work remains to be done and takes up the rest of the day. Weather permitting, a late evening (socially distanced) stroll with nearby friends rounds off the day.

“Coronavirus has impacted everyone, and probably others more than you…” and while I do not wish to detract from the grief and loss that many have faced, it has done me good to remember these words from my form teacher when the situation has dragged me down. 2020 has been a hell of a year, but there is only hope from here.

Dubai - Alhena Alibhai

A day in my life varies with the different things that I have planned. My school days will change with the things that I need to do and get done, and my weekends are usually a time for me to relax and take time off. It is imperative that we don't compare ourselves to other people during this time as this is an opportunity for self-reflection and self-improvement, and therefore I think it's important to highlight our down days underproductive days. Hence, I will be walking through a regular day of mine, with the occasional ups and downs.

On the weekdays, I will wake up at 7:30 in the morning, and I will get ready for school. I find that taking the time to get ready as though I was getting ready for normal school really gets me into the mindset of learning. I shower, get dressed, have some breakfast and then register myself in for the school day. With most of my lessons being live lessons, I spend a lot of time on my devices. Therefore, I spend my break and lunchtime with my family and our new addition, my puppy! With school starting from 8 am till 4 pm, I’m working incredibly hard for a long time, and therefore, ask soon as it hits 4 pm, I like to leave my desk and go for a breather.

After school, and after having some time to myself, I like to spend some time on social media to keep myself updated whilst also getting a grip on what is happening right now in our current climate. Although scrolling through social media may seem redundant, it can definitely be comforting to have one portion of my routine remain the same. After spending some time on social media, and even Netflix or YouTube, I spend some time with my siblings just to ensure I am still able to socially interact.

In quarantine, I have had the time to exercise and therefore I have been exercising on a regular basis to improve my fitness levels whilst also accomplishing a CAS experience. My exercises vary, but I have been enjoying HIIT workouts and running.

After this, if I have no work, I like to spend some time on Netflix, not only to watch my favourite shows, but to also increase my filmography knowledge, or my awareness of issues by watching Netflix documentaries. Otherwise, I spent some time finishing any outstanding work, any homework or any revision I could be doing. I don’t like to pressure myself to work even harder than necessary but I always feel accomplished after getting something productive done.

The day is usually done by now and after having dinner, I spend some time talking to my friends whether that's over the phone or via texting. It's important that we prioritize our friends and family during a time like this, where physical contact is extremely rare. 30 minutes before I go to bed, I like to get my reading done, and I use this as a time to unwind. I am currently reading “The Secret Barrister", and I am thoroughly enjoying it, especially with the focus on the law which would be incredibly useful for my future career plans as a lawyer.

Although my quarantine routine is very different from my usual and normal routine, I have tried to make the best of it, and I hope you have too.