Photo by Stefan Stefancik

In the fall of 2021, international students received a chance to go to Shanghai for spring 2022. However, there were still many students who were unable to travel to China and had to rapidly formulate a plan B. The choice for Go Local was taken away for all but the few in Abu Dhabi, so students had to choose between online classes or a last minute leave of absence.

NYU Shanghai students doing Go Local in Abu Dhabi learned in November that there was a possibility of going to Shanghai for the spring. With no direct flights readily available (a requirement to go to China), students became skeptical. One of the six freshmen in Abu Dhabi during the fall semester, Anya Zhukova, shared her experience, stating that they knew very quickly there was no way they would make it to Shanghai. They were stuck in “one month of uncertainty” while fighting to remain in Abu Dhabi. Finally, after a month of emails, confusion, and the stress of uncertainty for the fall semester, they were given the option to stay in early December.

Dennis Papadakis, a freshman that studied in Berlin, had to return to his home, Athens, Greece, after the fall semester because the school refused his request to stay in Berlin for unknown reasons. In his case, the problem was that there was no way to obtain a Chinese visa. “I had prepared all of the required papers for the visa application,” he shared, “and [the school] told me that I should be fine if I went to the consulate.” Unfortunately, the consulate was closed to students, and Shanghai was, therefore, not an option. Others outside of the United States and Abu Dhabi shared the same experience as Dennis.

In the United States, meanwhile, there were direct flights and a possibility to obtain a visa. Still, due to COVID cases, last minute flight cancellations, and personal situations, many students were struck with the realization that Shanghai would not be an option for this semester.

NYU Shanghai students, now scattered all over the world because of the circumstances, will spend their semester taking online classes from Shanghai. There are several aspects of college that the in-person experience can be important for: classes, overall community building, and extracurriculars. All three have been substantially impacted by the format of this semester for students. The time difference between New York City and Shanghai is 13 hours before daylight savings and 12 hours after. Thus, normal class time in China is often late at night or very early in the morning in the United States (not to mention the time differences for students in other locations). When a student has less schedule flexibility, as was the case for Nartay Ualikhan, a freshman from Kazakhstan currently in New York City, that means classes can be at very unreasonable times. He said,“My classes start from midnight to 3:15 a.m. and then I go to sleep and then I have to wake up at 7:15 p.m. for my next class.”

Dennis Papadakis is taking two blended classes through NYU Florence and, despite being in a much better time zone situation, he expresses the difficulties with engagement saying, “[having students both in person and online] is tough for the professors. They can’t always interact with both in person students and online students.” Some classes were shifted to an asynchronous format, which was convenient for time zones, but lacked the important interactions that normally occur in a classroom setting.

Community building and interaction occur outside of classes as well. The school slogan, “We are Shanghai,” is supposed to unite us through our troubles and successes. However, classes aside, for students away from the campus and from peers, feeling the sense of community is much more difficult. Dennis Papadakis, away from any NYU campus this semester said, “I don’t feel connected at all.” Nonetheless, those that were able to be on a campus with other NYU Shanghai students felt a stronger sense of community. Nartay Ualikhan was able to do Go Local in New York for his first semester. That opportunity to be on a campus and surrounded by other NYU Shanghai students was very important in beginning to build connections with other students. Nartay shared, “I feel like the only connection I have with [NYU Shanghai students] is from Zoom, and I feel like I wouldn’t talk to them outside of zoom if I hadn’t met them in New York.” Anna Jędrzejewska, who also spent the fall semester in New York felt a similar sentiment. “I think it really helped me that we had the opportunity to spend last semester in New York,” she shared, “When it comes to the NYU Shanghai community, we are still Shanghai, just all around the world now. I think it’s kind of beautiful how we are all still in touch.” In Abu Dhabi, there have been more opportunities to connect through study away activities organized by the school. Anya Zhukova shared that they went kayaking and took trips to the desert with other study away students.

When asked about how remote learning has impacted his ability to participate in extracurriculars, Nartay shared that he feels like he has none to join. While some clubs and activities have added an online format, there is still a level of disconnect between those present and those on the screen. For that reason, students have begun creating their own extracurricular activities to keep busy outside of classes. Anya Zhukova, for example, goes into the city of Abu Dhabi on weekends to “explore the culture, explore the city, and see museums.” Nartay has been able to do volunteer photography including photographing at New York fashion week. Dennis has been able to explore his passion for music by playing and writing music.

Now, the students are prioritizing their semester online and hope to arrive in China next semester. Anya Zhukova shared that “the thing that helps me to stay [positive] is thinking about the options that I have and the amount of people already in Shanghai.”