It is now cherry blossom season in Japan–and also three weeks into self-isolation since my school issued the order for all students to stay indoors due to the coronavirus. And honestly, I’ve reached the point where I am both resigned and annoyed. Just to make things clear, though, I do not have the virus. Most schools here have simply been shut down in order to help contain its spread.
But I have got to say, even though I am an introvert by nature and I love staying indoors, I am getting a bit restless from staying at home all the time. I mean, I didn’t come all the way here to Japan just to stay indoors. I can easily do the same back home in Malaysia.
But at the same time, I understand how important it is not to contribute to aggravating the current situation. Plus, despite how gorgeous cherry blossom season is and how now is possibly the only time I’d ever get to enjoy it without the crowds, at the very least, I’ve experienced it last year. I tell myself this with reluctance as I stare at all the beautiful cherry blossom photos and goodies flooding social media. Sigh.
So at home I stay, finding ways to keep myself occupied–and thanks to my natural love for being alone, it’s not that hard. It’s not ideal, but it is what it is. Despite all the negativity and anxiety buzzing in the background, I try to look at this positively. I count my blessings, feeling grateful for the opportunity to study in Japan, and know that I have had a lot of wonderful experiences to last for a long time to come.
Then I carry on, finding ways to stay as productive as possible. For instance?
I keep an eye on the news
One of the things that really helped me out during this whole Covid-19 situation was keeping track of the news, right from when it started in China. Despite Covid-19 not being an issue for Japan at the time, as soon as I caught wind of how the quarantine for the Diamond Princess cruise ship was being handled, I went out and bought some essentials to help tide me over, just in case. It’s unlikely that Tokyo would go into total lock-down like China had to, but you never know, right?
So what kind of essentials did I get? Well, stuff like canned food, rice (a new sack plus instant rice), pasta, meat and soap. I was even lucky enough to nab a 65-pack of masks, before it was sold out all over Tokyo. It was sitting prettily on an extremely well-stocked shelf and I thought, why not? The next day, the shelves all over Tokyo were cleaned out of masks.
Which is why, guys, we should all pay attention to the news.
Even if it can be depressing and a cause for anxiety. Japanese social media and news haven’t been the most optimistic of things. Many Japanese are in confusion, stress and anger over what’s going on here. Many are unhappy about the school closures, because many working parents don’t have anyone to look after their children; some are unhappy because they’re contract workers so they can’t earn money for a while if their contract ends because of the virus; etc.
It’s a terrible situation all around. Unless you’re a kid, because then you get to stay indoors playing video games.
I attend online classes
Even though my school closed down, that didn’t mean that was the end of that. Classes still continued, but just online. Well, at least till next Monday, because that is when my last day of “school” will be. The next day will be the start of Spring break.
Now, what do I think about my online classes? In a way, I like them. I like them a lot. I don’t have to stress about my commute or arriving to school on time; I get to sleep in; I can save more money; classes are a lot shorter; and I can now say that I’ve attended class in my pyjamas. Hehe. In exchange for all of that, though, my teachers assign us a hefty amount of homework everyday. We have to write essays almost everyday, and if we don’t complete our homework, we would not be marked as having attended “school”.
That said, I actually kinda enjoy the homework because I like writing.
But all of those good things aside, it’s still not the same as actually physically attending class. At least by going to class, I can chat with my classmates in (broken) Japanese. That’s something I’m missing out on a lot by being stuck at home.
I’m trying to remedy that by reading aloud in Japanese and listening to Japanese audio files–and I’m also trying to get myself into using Hellotalk again. Hopefully that would help.
I study Japanese
With a lot of extra time on my hands, I try to take advantage of it by studying Japanese. I go through my Japanese textbooks, do some revision, listen to Japanese audio files, watch Japanese content (dramas, movies, anime, even YouTube videos), practice kanji, message native Japanese speakers, etc.
But even with all of this time I have, the amount that I have to learn still overwhelms me. When I focus on one aspect (listening, for example), I lose touch on another aspect. For instance, kanji. Studying Japanese is not easy, and even now I’m still trying to find what works best for me and to stick to a schedule. Alas.
Wish me luck, because I need it.
I make sure to have my own little stockpile at home
This is related to my first point, I know. When I say stockpile, I don’t mean that I went panic shopping and bought out the entire store. (Although some people have done exactly that.) What I meant is that I buy a bit more than I usually do whenever I go out. I’ve been doing this even before the school closures happened in Japan–I started as early as the first week of February. Thus far, it has proven to be the right move.
Unfortunately, the panic shoppers got to the toilet paper before I could. I didn’t think that toilet paper would be so vied for but now I know. Lesson learned. The next time I think there’ll be a huge emergency like this one, I will buy an extra pack of toilet paper. I’m not letting panic shoppers get the best of me again.
It has been weeks and I still can’t buy any!
I try out new recipes
There are only so many things that I can do to entertain myself at home, and one of the best ways is to try out new recipes. It’s somewhat fun and it’s a good challenge to give myself every now and then. Best of all, it’s (sometimes) delicious.
It’s a win-win! Not only do I get to eat something new, I widen the number of meals that I can cook at home. I find out new ways to cook something, and at the same time, I get to avoid food wastage. Knowing that I’m getting the best bang out of my buck is an incredible feeling to have.
I watch Netflix
In this day and age, who doesn’t? Netflix is what I turn to when I want to unwind before or after a lot of studying. There are lots of cool shows and movies to watch on it whenever and wherever I want. It’s perfect.
These days, I’m re-watching Friends, and watching whatever Japanese content with English subtitles that I can find. Since I’m using Netflix Japan, there obviously aren’t many.
When Netflix fails to entertain, there is also YouTube. I’ve recently started watching bilingual (English/Japanese) J-Vloggers because I find that it helps with my listening skills while feeding my interest in Japanese culture.
I write
Obviously. Admittedly, though, I’ve been losing steam lately. Probably from being stuck indoors most of the time, haha. Doing my best to get that fire back!
And there you have it. All the things I do to keep my sanity during this sensitive time. May this situation alleviate for everyone soon.
