By Suyash Tewari

It was the summer of 2020 when I had applied at University of Limerick for my masters. I still remember celebrating when I was accepted here since it was my dream to study in Ireland and what could have been better than UL. The pandemic was just beginning at that point, but I was hopeful that everything would be fine soon, and I will be able go to the university. Fast forward now, 7 months later when my first semester is half done and I am studying from my home country – India. It is really saddening especially when you’re doing a masters just for a year and everything becomes virtual.

I started my university on 28^th of September this year. It’s been over a month and everything is still online. Classes are now being conducted online or being pre-recorded. All my classmates are just my pen friends whom I have never met. This pandemic has been tough especially for students like me. I am still grateful to UL for making our life a bit easier with all their continuous support to all their international students. Virtual events, meets and hang outs have made life our student life more bearable. All the support that we have been receiving from our professors and module leaders has also helped us to cope up with online education. The time difference could be painful but for me it’s been a blessing in disguise. My 9 AM lectures are not my 9 AM lectures anymore. Due to 5.5 hours’ time difference between Ireland and India, my day starts in the afternoon which gives me enough time in the morning to prep and gear up for my classes. Despite all the cons that came up with this pandemic, UL has assured that students safety as well as the education quality is up to the mark and they have left no stone unturned and that is very commendable.

Now, I plan to travel to Ireland post-Christmas. I am looking forward to exploring this beautiful country. I am hoping the Covid situation gets better so that I can have some on-campus experience as well. It really saddens me that I have not yet been to the beautiful UL campus and am almost done with my first semester. I have a lot of hopes for the next semester and I just pray for the things to get better.