Coronavirus: NI's new students arriving amid a pandemic

Inayat Pahuja has been in Northern Ireland for a month, and has been impressed by the people here

Lockdowns, virtual teaching and lonely evenings in halls or at home - this is not the stuff of university dreams.

But it's the reality thousands of students in Northern Ireland - and beyond - are facing up to in the era of Covid-19.

While students may be on campus or in privately-rented accommodation, much of what they are currently doing is online.

Like face-to-face teaching, face-to-face socialising has been limited for the new arrivals.

BBC News NI spoke to some of them about settling into their new homes in the midst of a global pandemic.

'Most difficult period'

For international students, adjusting to a new city and a new country is always tough - but adjusting during a pandemic is even tougher.

"A general thing that I noticed, is that back in India people are more cautious [about the virus]," said Inayat Pahuja, an 18-year-old from New Delhi.

She's among thousands of students who have this year travelled to study at Northern Ireland's universities amid the global coronavirus pandemic.

"Over here people don't care that much. All of us are 18 year olds and a lot of us are immature... so there might be some people who are partying a lot.

"But back home everyone is wearing face masks when they are out walking in the street."

Ms Pahuja said the period after her journey to Belfast from the Indian capital, 4,350 miles (7,000km) away, had been the most difficult bit of the transition.

"Because India isn't on the green list, I had to self-isolate for two weeks, and when I arrived, I was properly isolated, there was no human contact at all, because I was the first one in the flat," she said.

"I didn't have my groceries and then the university provided me with food, and to be totally honest, it wasn't great.

"Since then though, things have been really good."

Inayat Pahuja said people in Northern Ireland seemed to take the restrictions less seriously than in India, but that having less population density was a good thing

Since arriving, the dentistry student has taken to co-ordinating her clothing choices with the weather forecast and said any residual homesickness subsided once she realised she could get the ingredients to make roti, an Indian bread.

She said that despite arriving during a pandemic, she has already formed connections - having been in a WhatsApp group with her classmates since March.

"For social interactions, everything becomes a bit more difficult, and not a lot of people are willing to go out and meet," she said.

"Even in our classes we have two to three metre gaps between each other."

Ms Pahuja said she is making regular facetime videos with her parents and was hoping that Northern Ireland would not have to face another lockdown, but that generally speaking "everything is perfect".

'I've just been sitting doing work'

One student who is a bit more local, but who is still yet to fully integrate with his peers, is Eoin McCarry.

The 18-year-old from Derriaghy, County Antrim, has been in halls for just a few short weeks, but in that time his social circle has not expanded much beyond the three flatmates in his immediate block.

"I've kind of just been sitting in and doing work, to keep myself ticking over," he told BBC News NI.

After arriving at his halls of residence, Eoin and three of his flatmates were tested for coronavirus, with him and two others testing positive.

The group has been in isolation since then.

"I've just been getting to know my flatmates, and I haven't met anyone from my course because all of my lectures have been online, and tutorials are only just starting.

"The last week when I was in isolation. So I have been really just getting to know my flatmates, and that is about it."

Eoin McCarry is isolating, after starting his law and politics course at Queen's University, and testing positive for the coronavirus

Eoin said that while he was not currently enjoying the full university experience, he was optimistic things would change in the new year.

All the same, he said his situation was better than someone who might have had to travel here.

"I'm sure if you were an international student, you would be having a way harder time with it," he said.

'Some have chosen to stay away'

One student who is returning to Belfast after some time away is Eleanor Trott, who is originally from just south of London.

When the 21-year-old business management student moved back for a placement in London a year ago, it was a very different Belfast she was leaving.

"I chose to physically return to Northern Ireland, obviously some others have chosen to stay away and work remotely," she said.

"Now, there are lots of precautions, there have to be clear markings about where you can sit, where you can't sit.

"The university is trying to put forward options, they are trying to engage us with what is working and what isn't working."

Eleanor Trott says support from the university has been good

The experience for Ms Trott is much changed compared to her original stint in Northern Ireland and the group she lives with are making efforts to stick with the regulations.

"We have unanimously agreed to abide the law at the moment," she said.

"We aren't inviting anybody to the house. We are the only people that we are mixing within the house, if we are in face-to-face lectures - you are all single file and you are all sitting apart.

"The only other socialising is out in a restaurant, and that would only be with two other people to abide by the rule of six."

Ms Trott said she there had been a lot of contact with the university and she felt she was being given good support - she said the situation would be tougher for someone coming to the university for the first time.

"Knowing people definitely alleviates a level of anxiety and nervousness, because you don't know the people you are living with until you do get to know them.

"What I would say to first years who are changing their living environment for the first time, there are lots of things to be engaging with... I adore the city, and there are a few things on my list to explore."