Eleven year old Jinelle is a schoolgirl from Dubai in United Arab Emirates... here she tells us what lockdown is like for her.
Jinelle says:
I live in an apartment here in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, with my family. I first found out about the coronavirus pandemic through my friends but since then I have learnt and read about it in the newspaper, the Khaleej Times. I felt sorry for all the people who were affected by the virus and tried learning about the virus in detail. I was at first very shocked as I thought the new year would be a time for fun, joy and festivities because of the Expo 2020 we were due to have here. It was a very sad moment for communities and the government who tried their best in making good decisions for the country such as starting social distancing. They have now enforced a strict lockdown and if you come out of your household or residence without good reason you will have to pay a fine. You need to fill out an online form stating where you’re going and the time you will take outside if you need to go anywhere - even so, you are only allowed to go to hospitals, pharmacies and to buy groceries.
Schooling in the lockdown is a very tough time for teachers and students alike. We have no school until this coronavirus pandemic is completely stopped - the schools don’t want to take any risks for the children, so we are learning from online classes. We have less school work and projects to do as teachers don’t want to stress the children out.
We have tried playing board games and cards but the way we live is totally exhausting and boring here. We literally don’t have much choice of play but we try passing the time by watching movies and episodes of reality TV shows. We write small books and try making bracelets and DIY things. One of the hard challenges we have to face is trying to pass time out as sometimes we are left doing nothing and getting sleepy all of a sudden... the lockdown has us being lazy and is stopping us from doing exercise and walking outside. Another challenge is trying not to get too involved in phones and screens and do something else to pass the time. There isn’t a lot to do, so we use limited time for gadgets and devices. Another challenge is food as we don’t have many things to do so we start eating too much. Food gets scarce and we have to adjust to the limitation of food.
There are some plus points, like getting to spend more time with family and getting to know more about each other. We had less time to spend with families when we were at school, and parents were also too busy with work, so having family time is great. The lockdown has changed me a bit - I want to meet my friends and go back to school. We have problems and lots of them and I have learnt how to get used to it. It takes some time for me to get used to the feeling of the imprisonment at home and somehow my focus is on school and home which is mostly unbalanced... but now I see how to situate them both together and I can see the differences too. The lockdown has me all frustrated and unhappy but I try making a difference by situating the two conditions and adjusting to them. After all, we have enough problems right now without creating more!
Recently I came across my loom bands and started creating right away. I found some tutorials too so I started learning... it was a great experience. This lockdown has made me learn new things even in closed walls and has taught me to show my true colors and tell the world that nothing is impossible without having a try! I love the creation of loom bands and I'd encourage others to also try new things that they haven’t done a while as the lockdown is the best time to do that!
I live in an apartment here in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, with my family. I first found out about the coronavirus pandemic through my friends but since then I have learnt and read about it in the newspaper, the Khaleej Times. I felt sorry for all the people who were affected by the virus and tried learning about the virus in detail. I was at first very shocked as I thought the new year would be a time for fun, joy and festivities because of the Expo 2020 we were due to have here. It was a very sad moment for communities and the government who tried their best in making good decisions for the country such as starting social distancing. They have now enforced a strict lockdown and if you come out of your household or residence without good reason you will have to pay a fine. You need to fill out an online form stating where you’re going and the time you will take outside if you need to go anywhere - even so, you are only allowed to go to hospitals, pharmacies and to buy groceries.
Schooling in the lockdown is a very tough time for teachers and students alike. We have no school until this coronavirus pandemic is completely stopped - the schools don’t want to take any risks for the children, so we are learning from online classes. We have less school work and projects to do as teachers don’t want to stress the children out.
We have tried playing board games and cards but the way we live is totally exhausting and boring here. We literally don’t have much choice of play but we try passing the time by watching movies and episodes of reality TV shows. We write small books and try making bracelets and DIY things. One of the hard challenges we have to face is trying to pass time out as sometimes we are left doing nothing and getting sleepy all of a sudden... the lockdown has us being lazy and is stopping us from doing exercise and walking outside. Another challenge is trying not to get too involved in phones and screens and do something else to pass the time. There isn’t a lot to do, so we use limited time for gadgets and devices. Another challenge is food as we don’t have many things to do so we start eating too much. Food gets scarce and we have to adjust to the limitation of food.
There are some plus points, like getting to spend more time with family and getting to know more about each other. We had less time to spend with families when we were at school, and parents were also too busy with work, so having family time is great. The lockdown has changed me a bit - I want to meet my friends and go back to school. We have problems and lots of them and I have learnt how to get used to it. It takes some time for me to get used to the feeling of the imprisonment at home and somehow my focus is on school and home which is mostly unbalanced... but now I see how to situate them both together and I can see the differences too. The lockdown has me all frustrated and unhappy but I try making a difference by situating the two conditions and adjusting to them. After all, we have enough problems right now without creating more!
Recently I came across my loom bands and started creating right away. I found some tutorials too so I started learning... it was a great experience. This lockdown has made me learn new things even in closed walls and has taught me to show my true colors and tell the world that nothing is impossible without having a try! I love the creation of loom bands and I'd encourage others to also try new things that they haven’t done a while as the lockdown is the best time to do that!
Cathy says:
I love Jinelle's blog, taking us through boredom to the discovery of something creative and fun! What are YOU doing to lift the monotony of lockdown? COMMENT BELOW to have your day!
I love Jinelle's blog, taking us through boredom to the discovery of something creative and fun! What are YOU doing to lift the monotony of lockdown? COMMENT BELOW to have your day!
Wooowww! Can't wait to try this!
ReplyDeleteI looooove loom bands! My name is Rumi, and because I'm obsessed, I get called Loomy Rumi by my friends :)
ReplyDelete