Hey, travel bestie! ?
Ways to Catch Up
Watch the Video ? (above)
Listen to the Audio ?
Read the Text ?
I know it's been a few weeks since you heard from me, but I wanted to make sure that when I came to you, I came in the right frame of mind…that I had the full story to give - as full as it's going to be. And you know, I was moving - you know, I was moving - so I really did need to kind of pull myself together and get settled into this unexpected new home.
The Big Move ?
So the last update that I gave you was that I had to move off campus. I moved into my apartment on March 9. I was a little concerned because I was wondering, "how am I gonna go get my things from campus?" I have so many things! Seriously, I have a full living situation! "How am I going to go in and move all of that in a decent time?"
Long story short, I didn't have to do anything. I contacted my cleaning lady - we call them, "Ayi," which is Auntie in Chinese - and she and I had already been in contact constantly during the pandemic. I also contacted her to see if she could clean my place once a month. We had already cleaned the place together the day that I left for Ghana last year. She knows exactly how I like my things cleaned so when I reached out to her, she sent me a message that said, "you have too much stuff." ?
She had to call in reinforcements, get another cleaning lady to come and they packed up everything. Within a matter of hours, my entire apartment was packed up!
Through some networking, I contacted a moving company and they were able to actually go the very next day to campus, get my things and bring them to me here at the new apartment. It was kind of surreal. I didn't pack up anything. I didn't touch anything. I didn't move stuff. And I was very grateful for that, especially during this time.
As I was getting settled in, I realized that it would take more than a few weeks. It was interesting because I had to move an entire apartment from campus to this new beautiful home - which I am going to show you, I promise! I will most certainly give you a tour of this beautiful apartment and view when the transformation is complete. ?
My First Time on Campus Since January 2020 ?
I was getting adjusted to everything and really trying to get settled in before classes began. Well, I went to campus on the following Friday after moving in…
Friend…I was denied access. ?
I was literally denied entry to campus.
The guards at the gate were asking for a code that I thought was the green health code needed to enter into certain buildings, etc. That was not the code they were looking for.
I tried another code. Nope…still not it.
So I called my HR representative and she said, "I'm so sorry. But we just received your application and it was rejected so you're denied access to campus."
I'm sorry, what???
Long story short, that messed with me. The HR director contacted me shortly thereafter and said, "Dear Charity, I am so sorry. You have been denied access to campus at this time."
Me: "But what about my classes?"
She said, "Well, we are adjusting your classes to being online. I haven't read the full details from the administrative office but this is what I know so far."
As I left to return home, I was in a funk. I kept thinking, "What is happening? What is going on? I sacrificed a lot to come back to China to teach in person, in class, with my students….just to be denied access after 59 days of quarantine???"
And of course, you know why?
The Reason
Xiamen.
I tested positive for COVID, was hospitalized and in the isolation ward, got out, had to go back to the hospital because I tested positive again. So, friend, this all weighed very heavily on me.
I was not in a good mental state. When I got home, I tried to settle in and my director sent me a message asking if we could have a conversation.
I told him that I was in a bad mood at the moment because of what happened and needed to get myself together first. I could tell from his sense of urgency that we needed to have the conversation much sooner rather than later.
Dealing With Negative Self-Talk
While moping on the couch, I had this, "come to Jesus" meeting with myself.
"Okay, Charity. You're really in a funk. What's the underlying issue? What is really bothering you?"
And it all boiled down to the feeling of rejection and feeling like this was a personal attack.
"You got COVID…you can't enter…I don't care if you've been cleared or if you're negative now…you still have antibodies and so you can't come on campus."
That's not what was said, friend. ? I don't want you starting a riot or getting flustered yet. That's just the type of negative dialogue that took place in my mind. And I had to remind myself that although it feels personal, it isn't.
It's political, not personal.
Then I finally told myself, "Okay, Charity, deal with it. It is what it is. Think about where you are right now. Yes, everything that has happened up to this point has been quite unfortunate. But look at the fortune that happened as a result of the misfortune."
Sure, I was evicted from a free apartment. I don't care how nice they try to put it…? I was kicked out of a free apartment. Not only that, but you're denied access to campus.
Girl…get it together. It is what it is.
The Meeting with My Director
So after my "Jesus, take the wheel" moment, I told my director that I could meet. We hopped on Zoom and he said, "there's no easy way to say this."
The bad news ??
I'm like, "wait a minute…no good conversation begins with 'there's no easy way to say this.' What has happened now?" And he says to me, "they don't want you teaching on campus nor online."
Wait, what? Come again. ?
He said, "I don't understand it. I've never seen anything like this before. You're still employed -"
Wait, what? ?
The good news ??
"Yes, you're still employed. You're just not teaching this term. I've been wrecking my brain trying to think of something you can do and I know that you're really keen on leadership. Maybe you can create some type of like coaching program for the students."
Wait, what? ?
Yes, friend, my vocabulary escaped me because ya girl was having a moment.
Part of me just kept thinking, "what is happening?" and the other part of me really wanted to burst into tears because I starting to feel stressed from the pressure that had been continuously building up from all of these unexpected turn of events that were happening without my permission.
But the other hand, I thought, "wow, this could be a very unique opportunity; this could be something pretty dope."
I still have my current leadership position of module convener for the English for Management course and was told that as long as it's not teaching, it's fine.
Although I'm not doing the primary job that I returned to China for, I felt like it was a simultaneous slap in the face but it also a positive push in a new direction. Believe it or not, many Chinese students here in the universities are not coping well with online learning so the coaching program would be of great benefit to them.
My Gratitude ❤️
So friend…that's what's been going on. The video has a little more detail about the apartment and what the coaching program will consist of so press play (if you haven't already) and enjoy!
Again, thank you for being so patient with me over the past 3 weeks. I've missed keeping you updated but as you can see, this most recent turn of events was a doozy!
So I had to wait before giving you an update because there was just so much that was still happening. I was blogging multiple times a week during the Quarantine Chronicles because, honestly, I needed someone to know where I was and how I was in the event that anything happened to me. I am certain that had I stopped posting during that time due to something serious, there were people in the world who would know and try to figure out what was happening to me.
What to expect from me
And we survived those 59 days together. Now that work has begun, you can expect at least one blog post and YouTube video a week. Sometimes there may be more (if there's a special turn of events, etc.) but I commit to keeping you updated and sharing my experiences with you as a glocal citizen at least once a week.
Deal? ?
There you have it, friend. I just wanted to give you an update and to say thank you for sticking with me. Please, please, please accept my gratitude and appreciation for being there for me when I was going through one of the darkest times of my life.
Things are looking up. They're getting brighter and I look forward to sharing every bit of that with you.
I love you, friend. 'Til next time.