{"id":7353,"date":"2020-12-15T15:09:34","date_gmt":"2020-12-15T20:09:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.internationalstudentinsurance.com\/blog\/?p=7353"},"modified":"2021-04-09T16:51:25","modified_gmt":"2021-04-09T20:51:25","slug":"celebrating-the-holidays-as-an-international-student-during-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.internationalstudentinsurance.com\/blog\/2020\/12\/celebrating-the-holidays-as-an-international-student-during-covid-19.html","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating the Holidays as an International Student during COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The holiday season is fast approaching and as an international student, this time of year can be difficult. This time last year you probably were worrying about making it home for the holidays after a long finals season, or maybe thinking about what to get your roommate as a gift! This year, however, as the pandemic continues to affect our lives, the holiday season might look a little different. No matter how you are spending the season, here are a few tips for how to stay healthy and happy over the holiday break.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Staying Happy Over the Holidays: Keeping Connected with Close Friends and Family\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/LxqeD_tvs20?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Treat Yourself<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Having to stay abroad during the holidays, without your family to spend time with, can be disheartening. However, not being able to fly home saves you a lot of money! This year why not get yourself something you have always wanted? After the year you\u2019ve had you deserve some self love. Finish up your finals and treat yourself to a reward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Plan a Virtual Holiday Party<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While you might be physically by yourself this year, in the age of technology we are never truly alone. Being able to talk to your family and friends face to face and make it feel like you are right there with them. Plan a time to have a virtual holiday party with your loved ones by accessing a free <a href=\"https:\/\/zoom.us\/signup\">Zoom <\/a>or <a href=\"https:\/\/meet.google.com\/\">Google Meet<\/a> online room. You can cook, dance, and celebrate together without worrying about COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Keep Traditions Alive<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Everybody\u2019s favorite part of the holiday season is the traditions they uphold year after year with their friends and family. Maybe in your house you always cook a big meal, sing special songs together, or play a fun game! No matter what you celebrate, it is important to keep your traditions going this year. You can even use this time to make some new traditions to pass on in years to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Focus on Your Mental Health<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p> Make sure that you are taking care of yourself and your needs during this time. It is always a good idea to check in with yourself and see how you are feeling. For a lot of students, this might be the first time you spend the holidays by yourself and that can take a major toll on your emotional wellness. While it is okay to feel upset about your situation, you don\u2019t want your mental health to suffer. Try learning some breathing techniques to keep yourself balanced or follow an online meditation video to put things into perspective. If necessary, you can always sign up for virtual therapy or counseling. Sometimes, your school might even offer it for free! If not, be sure to check with your insurance provider to see if this is something you will need to pay out of pocket. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>For more information on emotional wellness during the COVID-19 pandemic, click the link below.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"text-align:center\">\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.internationalstudentinsurance.com\/explained\/mental-health\/emotional-wellness-during-covid-19-outbreak\/\" class=\"btn btn-primary\">Click here<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<br>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Let us know how you are spending this holiday season and check out our social media channels for more!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-social-links aligncenter is-layout-flex wp-block-social-links-is-layout-flex\"><li class=\"wp-social-link wp-social-link-facebook  wp-block-social-link\"><a 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s0.484,1.08,1.08,1.08c0.596,0,1.08-0.484,1.08-1.08S17.401,6.116,16.804,6.116z\"><\/path><\/svg><span class=\"wp-block-social-link-label screen-reader-text\">Instagram<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n\n<li class=\"wp-social-link wp-social-link-twitter  wp-block-social-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intl_insurance\" class=\"wp-block-social-link-anchor\"><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M22.23,5.924c-0.736,0.326-1.527,0.547-2.357,0.646c0.847-0.508,1.498-1.312,1.804-2.27 c-0.793,0.47-1.671,0.812-2.606,0.996C18.324,4.498,17.257,4,16.077,4c-2.266,0-4.103,1.837-4.103,4.103 c0,0.322,0.036,0.635,0.106,0.935C8.67,8.867,5.647,7.234,3.623,4.751C3.27,5.357,3.067,6.062,3.067,6.814 c0,1.424,0.724,2.679,1.825,3.415c-0.673-0.021-1.305-0.206-1.859-0.513c0,0.017,0,0.034,0,0.052c0,1.988,1.414,3.647,3.292,4.023 c-0.344,0.094-0.707,0.144-1.081,0.144c-0.264,0-0.521-0.026-0.772-0.074c0.522,1.63,2.038,2.816,3.833,2.85 c-1.404,1.1-3.174,1.756-5.096,1.756c-0.331,0-0.658-0.019-0.979-0.057c1.816,1.164,3.973,1.843,6.29,1.843 c7.547,0,11.675-6.252,11.675-11.675c0-0.178-0.004-0.355-0.012-0.531C20.985,7.47,21.68,6.747,22.23,5.924z\"><\/path><\/svg><span class=\"wp-block-social-link-label screen-reader-text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery aligncenter columns-0 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><\/ul><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The holiday season is fast approaching and as an international student, this time of year can be difficult. This time last year you probably were worrying about making it home for the holidays after a long finals season, or maybe thinking about what to get your roommate as a gift! This year, however, as the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[107,103,611,100,104,99,968,105],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7353","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health-and-safety","category-insurance-explained","category-student-health-insurance-2","category-travel-insurance","category-international-students-in-the-usa","category-student-insurance","category-student-travel","category-study-abroad"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalstudentinsurance.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7353","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalstudentinsurance.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalstudentinsurance.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalstudentinsurance.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalstudentinsurance.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7353"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalstudentinsurance.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7353\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7570,"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalstudentinsurance.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7353\/revisions\/7570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalstudentinsurance.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7353"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalstudentinsurance.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7353"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalstudentinsurance.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}