Indefinitely Postponed

I had only flown to the US for a competition. A quick return to the States; by the end of the week I would be back in Zurich – a place that was slowly but surely becoming a second home.

Or that was the plan. Little did I know that the US President was about to announce a travel ban for all Europeans entering the US. A vague message that would cause my school to pull all students out of Europe-based study abroad programmes. This meant I would not be going back to Switzerland. My semester at ETH Zurich would be postponed – “indefinitely”, a word that has become all too common.

The following week was a chaotic swirl of uncertainty and anxiety as I organized the retrieval of my things, which were still in Zurich; deregistered from Switzerland; and prepared to take online classes at midnight. Throughout, I was constantly thinking of everything I was leaving behind in Switzerland. Not just my stuff, but also the plans I could never implement and the people I was unlikely to see again.

There would be no backpacking in the Alps. No road trip to western Switzerland. But the worst part was not being able to say goodbye to the friends I had made. It seemed that my friendships would be postponed indefinitely as well.

Stuck in quarantine back home in the States, I dwelled on the feelings of hopelessness and bitterness as the word “indefinitely” filled my inbox and became a recurrent theme. It wasn’t long until I began scrolling through the pictures on my phone, trying to distract myself. But as I went through the pictures, another feeling gradually emerged. An immense feeling of gratitude.

Seeing all those pictures again, I realized that there was something more indefinite than the cur-rent situation, and that was the memories I had made during my time at ETH. I began to recall the last-moment trip to Lucerne, hikes around Sihlwald, runs along Lake Zurich, long hours of studying at Einstein Cafe and random conversations at BQM. All these moments that felt so distant came rushing back.

The corona crisis has taken away many things and will continue to do so. But as I reach out to now-distant friends, it is clear that it cannot take away the memories or relationships I already made during my brief stay in Switzerland. I am forever thankful for the people I met and the ongoing late-night Zoom calls. Although the pandemic and my current situation is less than ideal, I realised that ETH Zurich had already become a second home to me – indefinitely.

The thing that keeps me busiest at the moment is: Zoom chats with friends and, despite feeling like summer break, school.
My favourite app: Tiktok.
One book or movie I recommend: The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen.
And if all else fails, my instant pick-me-up is: Boba