The large-scale outbreak of the new crown epidemic has become a label that Shanghai cannot tear off in the spring of 2022. On May 15, the last teaching week of NYU Shanghai’s spring semester ended, and in the weeks that followed, NYU Shanghai students began their journey home. At this point, two months have passed since the closure of the Shanghai New York school building on March 14. For most of the semester during the epidemic, we have walked through many difficulties, confusion, and depression; and since Shanghai has not been completely unblocked at that time, our return home and isolation experience are also full of various uncertainties. sex. In this issue, we look back on the stories that happened in the past two months. From closing the school to returning home, we have experienced and felt the harvest.

1｜Farewell to campus

 Crispy Fish｜Due to the relevant requirements of Shanghai epidemic prevention and control, in the early morning of March 13, NYU Shanghai officially notified the teaching building of the upcoming closure by email. Since the 14th, the teaching building has been closed, and most students have started online classes for two months in dormitories 6 kilometers away from the teaching building. First of all, I would like to ask everyone to recall your last encounter with the teaching building. What are you doing in the last few days before leaving the building? Any unforgettable memories?

Francis｜Nothing unforgettable, that is, I was preparing for the micro (microeconomics) exam, and it was very late to write the questions. On Thursday (3.10), all staff were suddenly required to have nucleic acid. At that time, I felt that suddenly everything was different.

Rao Ziheng｜I was studying normally at that time, thinking that I would be banned for three or five days at most.

Crispy Fish｜I remember that when the mid-term was approaching, there were a lot of video assignments to be handed in in the dance class. On the last day before the school building was closed (3.13), I went to the dance classroom with my classmates to record a video. At 8 or 9 o'clock in the evening, I heard the announcement that everyone should take their personal belongings and leave the school building. It felt like a notification before the disaster in a disaster movie Everyone evacuated. That day, we missed the last bus again. We thought we would finish recording the video, so it doesn't matter if we go back later, but we were pulled out by the uncle who cleared the venue. Uncle said that the epidemic has become serious, let us go home early.

The person who grows pineapples | I have nothing unforgettable. It was not until the day when all the school staff got nucleic acid (3.10) that I suddenly realized that the epidemic situation was quite serious, and then I was pulled home by my parents. At that time, I thought it would be closed for two weeks at most, but due to the large number of close contacts in Shanghai society, I was a little afraid that I would accidentally become a close contact or a sub-close contact, and returning to the community would be a drag on the residents of the community.

LA+｜My experience with Crispy Fish is somewhat similar. First of all, I was informed that the school might be closed. I thought that if it was closed, I would not be able to touch the guqin. I hurried to school on the weekends, but I didn’t study. I just went to the classroom to play the guqin. I still remember that I happened to meet the cleaning aunt mopping the floor to clean up. It was closed the next day. Now that I think about coming and going to school in time to play the piano, it is the most correct thing to do. In the second half of the semester, Guqin changed to an online theory class, and I never touched the strings again.

Little Blue Hedgehog｜On the last day of Century Avenue (3.13), we occupied a small classroom to play a business competition (the full name is Business Simulation Challenge). Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, we could see the Bund in the distance, which was before the shutdown. busy Shanghai. In the evening, the sound of the broadcast sounded in the teaching building. It was the first time I heard it in the two years since I entered the school. I had a hunch that I would not be able to come back for a long time. Now it seems that we may be the last batch of people to leave the teaching building. The last thing I saw before getting into the taxi was the golden library, brightly lit but empty.

Caiyuan Xiaobing｜I remember that on March 10th, I made an appointment with the professor of the choir. At the TEDxNYUShanghai recording site the next day, I passed on a letter written to her by a classmate at the Women's Day event to her, but I didn't expect that all the school members had nucleic acid that evening. , the recording for the next day was also canceled. I had to shove the envelope into the professor's office through the crack of the door, hoping she would see it later when she got a chance to return to the office.

2｜Life under lockdown

 Crispy Fish｜From the end of March, Shanghai has gradually entered a mode of static management, and it has continued for a long time. Whether you live in a dormitory or outside the dormitory, everyone must have had different degrees of lockdown experience. Can you please talk about life during the two months of closure? How is your state of mind during this time? What are the things that impressed you most? What are your feelings or thoughts?

LA+｜Probably different from most people, I didn’t feel sad when I first knew that I was going to be banned, because I prefer to live at home rather than go out. More freedom in dorm time, no need to commute, guilt-free nighttime sleepovers, etc. But in the middle and late May, I really couldn't stand it. The dormitory is too small, and sometimes I look out the window and want to go out. When I could go downstairs to play, I saw many classmates sitting on the lawn chatting, doing homework, and having picnics, which I had never seen before the epidemic. So I think that the epidemic has also made everyone more closely connected with the area where they live, and discovered the beauty around them.

Crispy Fish｜I was similar at the beginning. After all, many people at that time thought that they would not be closed for too long. At that time, they did not feel sad, but more of a novel mood, feeling that they were witnessing history. In March, the school provided an empty living room for students who took dance classes. Several times, I made an appointment with a good friend to record the homework of the dance class. We danced together and were very happy. But then, seeing that the epidemic situation is getting worse day by day, takeaway and express delivery cannot operate normally, and our students can't go downstairs casually, and my mood becomes very unstable. During the worst period of the epidemic, I woke up every morning and watched the news on my mobile phone that the number of new cases was increasing day by day. There were all kinds of tragedies circulating on the Internet. I felt powerless and felt that all good things were far away from me. , the efficiency of work has also become very low. Later, I chatted with my good friends and found that everyone understood my feelings very well. Everyone supported each other and felt very moved. Later, the overall situation of the epidemic gradually became clear. The school opened group buying and sent everyone some snacks from time to time. Later, I could go downstairs for a walk at the specified time, and my mood improved a little bit. Looking back now, even during the most severe period of the epidemic, I still believed that everything would get better sooner or later, so if I say comprehension, I have a deeper understanding of hope.

Little Blue Hedgehog｜I finished chasing "The Legend of Zhen Huan" in the two months of isolation in the dormitory. After entering the pit vertically, I often consoled myself, saying that I spent my commuting time on weekdays chasing dramas. During the epidemic, I also formed a profound "revolutionary friendship" with the sisters on the same floor of the dormitory. Everyone went downstairs to make nucleic acid, cook instant noodles, and fried potatoes with Mapo tofu and Haidilao's beef sauce. Happiness has also become simpler. We will use effervescent tablets as Fanta soda, Orion Pie with candles as birthday cakes, and use water to raise radish heads. Whenever I open the freezer on our floor, there will always be frozen yogurt or frozen banana popsicles made by my classmates. I still keep the habit of frozen yogurt.

People who grow pineapple | Living outside the dormitory has indeed experienced some extreme shortages of food at home, and the community has a single/poor quality/non-distribution of supplies. Because he has always adhered to an optimistic attitude, he also quickly put the food right. The impact of life is reduced to a minimum. Maybe more changes are brought about by online classes. Personally, it is really difficult for me to concentrate in this online mode, and I need to spend more time reviewing and summarizing knowledge points. In addition, the lack of learning and life with peers and the lack of information made me even more anxious. But later, he also corrected his mentality and used the period of closure and control to exercise perseverance, and only compared himself with himself every day. This mentality change has also made my whole person more peaceful, and I feel that this life experience of being able to bear my temper will also be beneficial to my future study and work.

This semester I am also learning the science of friendship in Academic English, and the biggest takeaway for me is that positive feedback from people to people is really important. In this epidemic, it may be difficult for you to help your friends, but in the process of getting along, you really need to give your friends and relatives positive energy, less negative energy to vent, smile more, cheerful and optimistic. How difficult it feels.

Crispy Fish｜I feel that the mentality during the online class is really important! Can you talk about the changes in your mentality in detail, and how to adjust your mentality?

People who grow pineapples | I was very anxious at the beginning, because I felt that the information was not equal. The change in mentality is that I found that my friends are not studying, and I am not anxious for a moment. My realization is that you don't learn to "roll" other people, just follow your own pace. Anxiety can be replaced by your earnestness/focus when you're engrossed in doing things, and if you feel anxious, get yourself busy right away. I feel that 24 hours a day is not wasted, so I am not so anxious haha.

Vegetable Garden Cake | I didn't choose to go back to my home in Shanghai, I lived in the dormitory for two months. My roommate came home, and I lived in a triple room by myself. Under the care of the school, I didn’t need to worry about food and other issues at all. It really seemed like I was living in a huge lucky bubble. Almost all of my anxiety comes from seeing the helplessness of people who have faced all kinds of difficulties during the lockdown. I consciously reduced the time I spent on my Moments and Weibo. I went on Zoom and started exercising with my friends. I only talked to my family once a long time ago. During the lockdown, I often contacted them and shared each other's lives... These little things are right It helps a lot to adjust my mentality.

Little Blue Hedgehog | Yes! Living in a dormitory during the pandemic is really a valuable experience. I remember that during a particularly difficult time for me, I saw the balcony floats of foreign friends in the circle of friends patrolling, and it turned out to be in the Disney employee building next to our community. When I was doing nucleic acid, there would be songs from "Frozen" in that building, and there would also be concerts on the balcony when night fell, all of which made me feel like I wasn't so alone. Some nights, after washing my hair, I would walk out to the balcony to watch the stars, or watch the lights of thousands of homes in the neighborhood next door. For the first time, I realized that behind every lit window is the vivid life of people. Everyone stayed up from spring to summer, but they all tried to find a way to live a more lively and splendid life in the boring isolation life... The most touching moment was when the final exam was almost finished, watching New York at one or two in the morning Live stream of college graduation ceremonies. Watching the new Yankee Stadium full of violets, listening to the speeches of President Hamilton and NYU alumnus Taylor Swift, I sat in the small common space of the dormitory, in the fighting room, but my heart was The furthest I've gone in two months.

3｜The way back home

 Crispy Fish｜So looking for the subtle beauty in life, maintaining a positive attitude, and strengthening connections with others can make our lockdown life more interesting. Next, I would like to invite you to talk about the experience of going home. When the semester finally comes to an end, what preparations have you done to go home? Did the process of buying tickets or packing up go smoothly? If it didn't go well, what unexpected things happened? In addition, you can also share how you finally left Shanghai and returned to your home city, or left your dormitory and returned to your home in Shanghai? Was there anything impressive about the whole trip?

LA+｜ For me, the worst part about getting home is buying a ticket. My term ended very early, and I was happy to be able to go home early. But the plane ticket was cancelled, bought and cancelled again and again, 5 times. During this period, my parents also put a lot of effort into helping me grab tickets, and even found a ticket grabbing software to spend money on it to register as a member. Later, I finally waited for the Lianyungang transit ticket and returned 3 days later than expected. The experience of transiting to Lianyungang also made me very emotional. As soon as we got off the high-speed rail, we were asked by the staff to line up, and each person was issued a set of protective clothing (the kind worn by nucleic acid personnel) to put on. In the waiting room, looking at the people around me who are well-protected, I feel like I'm facing a biochemical crisis in a trance. Fortunately, the journey went relatively smoothly, and I successfully entered the quarantine hotel at night. The 7-day centralized isolation may be a bit boring, but the feeling of being in my hometown is already very good.

Crispy Fish｜ I also encountered some difficulties when buying tickets. The tickets I bought several times were cancelled. Finally, other students from my hometown who were studying in Shanghai introduced Spring Airlines’ student charter flights, so I rushed to buy tickets two days before departure. The night of the takeoff happened to be the deadline for my last thesis, so I had to change my homework with my computer at the airport. At that time, the huge Pudong Airport was empty. There were few people in the terminal, all the shops were closed, and only a few flights could take off. This is probably a phenomenon unique to the epidemic.

Francis｜ My journey was even more exciting. I came back with a chartered car with a few classmates. It was only May 16th, and there was no car on the road. The driver I contacted asked for a sky-high price, and we agreed. At 5:00 that morning, we went to the gate of the community to wait for the bus. After waiting for more than an hour, we finally arrived. As a result, the driver thought we had too much luggage and did not want to carry passengers. I argued with him for a long time with a few classmates before he agreed. The rest of the journey was relatively smooth. When we arrived at Kunshan Huaqiao, everyone cheered, which was quite interesting.

Little Blue Hedgehog｜ Compared to everyone, I belonged to the lucky group. I went back with a few classmates in the car of my parents and friends. Along the way, my parents helped us make arrangements and set off at four in the morning. After six o'clock, I saw the toll station in my hometown. Special thanks to the security guard and the teacher stationed in the dormitory for helping us transport our luggage to the door of the dormitory in the middle of the night. The trolley clacked all the way, and leaving in a hurry was like fleeing. When the car left Shanghai, I vaguely dreamed back to the first time I drove a high-speed to Shanghai to report, but I was full of longing at that time, but this time I was more numb and tired. During the trip, I accidentally took a passer-by who originally wanted to ride a bicycle through the cross-river tunnel. We don’t need to say much during the special period, but such an episode added a little warmth to our journey.

Caiyuan Xiaobing｜ I am lucky. Near the end of the semester, I have two options. One is to wait for the inter-district traffic in Shanghai to return to my home in Shanghai, and the other is to take the high-speed rail to my hometown. Seeing that the day I needed to move out of the dormitory was approaching, and there was no news of Shanghai lifting the lockdown, I resolutely bought a high-speed rail ticket back to my hometown. It may be that the peak of everyone returning home has been passed, or the destination is closer to Shanghai. I have no difficulty in grabbing tickets. I hurriedly packed my luggage and set off. Watching the purple school bus gradually leave at Hongqiao Station, I felt very moved and warm. There were more people at the train station than I thought. Many people were wearing strict protective clothing and looked very tired. They really felt like "escape from Shanghai", and I seemed to be in a relaxed mood. got heavier.

What impressed me was that when I was waiting in Lishui Station, I suddenly heard a familiar local accent. It was a college student who also came home from Shanghai calling his family. I heard him say, "I'm so hungry, I really want to eat. Zongzi". We took the same train to Jinyun West. After leaving the station, we waited for the train arranged by our respective villages and towns to take us to the centralized isolation point. The driver who picked me up was very helpful and gave me a warm zongzi to eat while waiting for the release notice. I suddenly thought that the classmate who really wanted to eat zongzi was still waiting for his car in the rain. It happened that my father asked the driver to bring me some zongzi. I wanted to ask the classmate if he needed it, but when I looked up, I found him Got into a van. Interestingly, we met again at the gate of the quarantine point, and he told me that his mother also gave him dumplings.

Crispy Fish｜ Speaking of escaping from Shanghai, I still have a deep impression on me. After returning to Shenyang, I saw someone eating barbecue and drinking beer on the roadside on the transfer bus from the square cabin. It was more than ten o'clock in the evening. , we, a carload of college students returning from Shanghai and Jilin, even felt that all these imprints of life were a little unreal. The smell of roadside snacks wafted in when the fellow passengers got off the bus, familiar and unfamiliar, and suddenly I was very moved.

LA+｜ Wow, I actually experienced something warm when I think about it this way. While waiting in line outside the quarantine hotel, I heard someone singing with a microphone in the small square opposite, and I remembered that it was time for the uncle and aunt to go out at night. Although I sang a little out of tune, but after being locked in the dormitory for a long time, I suddenly had a real sense of the outside world, and finally felt that I could return to a normal life.

4｜Isolation Experience

 Crispy Fish｜Most provinces and cities have taken certain isolation measures for those departing from Shanghai. After leaving Shanghai, do you spend your quarantine life in a cabin, a hotel, or at home? How was your life during the quarantine period (such as three meals a day, daily routine, recreational activities, etc.)? Did you have any special experiences during the quarantine? What touches or thoughts did these special experiences bring to you?

Francis｜My hometown policy is 7+7. When I was in the hotel, I had a lot of exams. When I didn’t have any exams and didn’t need to study, I desperately watched movies and watched a lot of Stephen Chow’s movies, because the hotel basically only had Xing Ye movies for free. After I got home, I felt very comfortable living alone. I could order takeout. I ordered KFC for the first meal. I was in tears at that time. Later, I also cooked by myself, played guitar and played games. Movies, in fact, for me, the isolation at home is already very happy, compared to the days in Shanghai, it is quite good.

Little Blue Hedgehog｜I sent a digital oil painting to my family. One afternoon, I was sitting on the sofa beside the floor-to-ceiling windows, listening to the musical "Rock and Roll Red and Black", while depicting the European town scenery in the oil painting, and felt that life was extremely cool. Also brought along is Wang Xiaobo's "A Maverick Pig". I liked it very much when I first read it in high school, and then went through an absurd epidemic. The dark humor and romanticism in his writing made me feel more empathy. During the quarantine period, I slept until I woke up naturally every day, and the hotel also provided cakes and milk tea every afternoon.

Crispy Fish｜I also feel this way, maybe because the end of the term has just ended. During the quarantine period, it seems that there are not so many tasks that must be completed quickly. In a sense, it is also a very free experience. I have a lot of time to quiet down what you want to do.

Vegetable Garden Cake | The isolation point is not a hotel, it seems to be a school dormitory, and the conditions are average. WiFi was useless, and after the feedback was fruitless, I used my computer to connect to my mobile phone hotspot for meetings and summer classes... Other than that, everything was fine. One day, I was very moved when I saw the Tujia Sauce Fragrant Cake I ate as a child for breakfast. Every day I listen to the sound of rain outside the window and look at the green mountains in the distance, I feel very at ease, and sometimes I can even hear the person next door practicing the bamboo flute, and seven days have passed in a flash.

Crispy Fish｜I don’t know if everyone’s quarantine is over now? For the students who have ended the quarantine, can you share the first thing you did that was meaningful to you after the quarantine ended? If your movement is still restricted due to time to return to your hometown or local epidemic prevention measures, what is the last thing you want to do after the quarantine or lockdown is lifted?

LA+｜After the quarantine ended, I went to climb the mountain with my friends! During the process, I deeply felt that my physical strength was severely reduced after being sealed for two months, and my legs and feet were sore after walking for more than 10,000 steps. It's also a lot of fun to go out with friends. I didn't realize that they are very funny before, and they had a good laugh the whole way. The natural scenery with mountains and water also makes people feel comfortable, which has changed my habit of staying at home and not wanting to go out.

Francis｜After the quarantine was over, I went to the zoo with my "friends". I stared at the giraffes eating the trees for a long time. They were really quiet and spectacular. I feel like watching animals is like watching myself in Shanghai, and animals are happier than I was at the time, at least they can move freely. A fellow student said something interesting: the more people I see, the more I like animals; the more things I experience, the more I like zoos. There were only a few families with children in the zoo that day and we were all as happy as children.

Crispy Fish｜My official quarantine end time is 5:00 pm. At 5:20, I went out of the community to the resident nucleic acid sampling point on the square opposite the community to do nucleic acid. I walked around the square a few times in a ritualistic manner, because I wanted to feel it. A feeling of total freedom. I ate dinner with my parents in the evening and went to see my grandma. After being sealed and quarantined, this very common thing has become very precious and beautiful.

The little blue hedgehog | The quarantine is over and I finally meet the person I like! Sitting in the back seat of his electric car driving through the streets and alleys of the city, the wind blowing in the summer night is very comfortable, it is a feeling of reunion after a long absence. In the past two months, because of the isolation and remoteness, I was always emotionally unstable. When I lost my temper and cried, everyone came to comfort me. So after the lockdown was lifted, what I wanted to do most was to spend time with my family and loved ones. Of course, what is more direct is to open Meituan for retaliatory consumption! Some time ago, when I was locked in a dormitory in Shanghai and wanted to eat, I would always order takeaway and call home the fried chicken and milk tea, and then I watched the live video of my family, and finally I was able to order takeout and eat it myself. Really happy!

Vegetable Garden Cake | The first significant thing to do after the quarantine is of course shopping! I wandered aimlessly in the town, observing which stores closed and which new stores opened during my absence, smelling the smell of oil mills and food stalls, and seeing middle school students coming home from self-study next night Walking and chatting, I feel that life is just as precious as everything is normal!

Planning｜Deng Kexin Xu Wenzhe Li Yongxin Yin Kaiwen

Discussion｜Deng Kexin Yin Kaiwen Rao Ziheng Li Aijia Shi Yuxin Ding Yinghong Li Yongxin

Moderator / Drafting｜Li Yongxin

Review | Alexa, He Yiyang

Editor | Zhang Yuxuan