Advice from a Chinese student
As an online ESL teacher, I have watched my students in China deal with being quarantined for several months. Beginning around mid-December, many of my students were no longer allowed to leave their homes. Schools closed, along with restaurants and stores. Travel restrictions were implemented, so the usually bustling and festive Lunar New Year season was interrupted.
At first, once the disappointment of missing holiday celebrations wore off, my students were generally ecstatic about being out of school and having time to do leisure activities at home. After more time passed, however, the strain of the situation began to show.
As the United States has been plunged into social distancing, many lessons I learned by watching my Chinese students have helped me cope with the stress and given me inspiration for taking quarantine self-care seriously.
One of my older students was talking to me recently about how she has fared throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. She is an insightful and articulate ten-year-old, who is wise beyond her years in many ways.
I’m sharing her words of advice for quarantine self-care, because the more I think about the things she told me, the more I realize these seemingly simple things are actually vitally important.
Quarantine Self-Care Tips
- Read all the books you’ve been wanting to read. Line them up on a shelf and look at them. They will make you happy. Go to bed early so you can read before you go to sleep.
- Do crafts or other artistic things you like. Fold paper, paint with watercolors, draw your surroundings. Explore the beauty of creating something new with your hands.
- Cook together with your family. Try new recipes and old family favorites from Grandma. Spend time making something from scratch.
- Exercise a little bit every day. Jump rope, stretch, dance, or walk around your house.
- Take a shower every day or you will start to smell.
- Buy food from a farm. The supermarkets can be crowded, and farms usually have plenty. {My student actually has buckets of live fish from a farm on her patio, waiting to be cooked!}
- Text your friends.
- Play chess, and if you don’t know how, learn it!
- Drink plenty of water. It is good to stay hydrated and you’ll feel better.
- Take care of your health and try to stay home!
These are all great ways to take care during quarantine. I agree with the cooking part, especially; there are a few recipes that I’ve been looking to try my hand at but simply haven’t been able to do due to being away from the house all the time. It’s a good way to take advantage of the new time I have.