Junior Deals with New Reality on Campus in the Midst of Pandemic
“I am thankful that they have decided to put us on quarantine so we can stay healthy, I was kind of happy about this decision they made. Now, that it is becoming so long it is kind of annoying but I am working on enjoying it,” shares Tuguldur Batjargal during his interview.
Tuguldur is a Junior, studying Information Systems and Economics at AUBG. He is Mongolian and due to COVID-19 he could not go home. Now, he is one of the 105 students quarantined on the AUBG campus.
“There are like 120 students on campus, in Skapto one and two. I barely see any people around, I just see a couple of people I used to see all the time, even before the quarantine. Even around the campus, in front of ABF and BAC, where local people used to sit around, there is nobody now, everything is empty,” claims Tuguldur.
His life on campus has drastically changed. Nothing is working apart from the gym. Students are not allowed to go to the canteen either. They are being sent the menu the day before so they can order their food for Skapto. No one is around and everything is changing, but Tuguldur is happy because he feels safe.
Before the quarantine, he would wake up, go out with some peers, and then go to lectures. He would not spend much time in his room. Contrary, now he is spending all of his time there.
“My day pretty much starts like in the afternoon, most of my classes are being recorded and I can revise them anytime and that has been pushing me to sleep until later,” he laughs. When he wakes up, he cooks something and then he starts watching TV Series or playing video games. He is currently binge-watching a Korean Tv Series and playing CS GO.
Tuguldur is not afraid about the future, although he does not know what he will do. He planned on going to Work and Travel but he knows this will most probably not happen. He is thinking about applying for a remote internship and staying in Europe after the end of the semester. However, he knows this might be hard and he might have to go home but he will still remain thankful to the university administration for the measures they have taken.
“They have taken great measures I think, the situation has been handled almost perfectly and what they did was the best,” shares Tuguldur about the measures. He feels safe and he is trying to enjoy this time - keeping it positive.
Estela Valeova is a 21-years-old, third-year student at the American University in Bulgaria, double majoring in Journalism and Mass Communication, and Business Administration.
This is a part of a series of stories created for Professor Laura Kelly's Writing for Media class where students profiled their classmates who were quarantined on campus during the COVID-19 pandemic in Spring 2020.