Podcast – Gwénaelle Bucas (M1) and Prosper Gauthier (M2)
Script
Prosper : Hi Gwen
Gwen : Hi Prosper
Prosper : How have you been since the lockdown’s announcement? Are you staying in your apartment in Nantes?
Gwen : I’m fine thanks. Nah, I went back to my mother’s near Paris because I didn’t want to stay alone in Nantes. And it is going pretty well even if I admit I’d rather not be confined. This lockdown announcement didn’t make me incredibly happy because it put a bit of a stop to the beginning of this academic year, which is also the beginning of my master’s degree. But that’s how it is. And what do you think about this new confinement period?
Prosper : For me it hasn’t been easy either. It’s not like the first lockdown. The second one, we were expecting it. There wasn’t the shock of learning it all of a sudden, just like that. We knew it was coming, but it gets me weary just thinking about this. The moment it was announced, I said to myself, “Hey, man, it’s gonna be tough again.” We have to reorganize a lot of things in our lives. So, it’s not easy, a bit like you, I think.
Gwen : Yeah but me, I honestly didn’t see it coming since in Nantes we didn’t have a curfew or anything. I think we were free to do whatever we wanted until that famous lockdown during the holidays.
Prosper : Yeah I understand what you mean, but I had been following the news and a week before the social networks and the media were already talking about it a little bit. The announcement was still a bit hard because I had to stay in Nantes, in my little apartment, so it’s not always easy. Moreover, it was also the uncertainty of how things were going to be organized.
Gwen : And do you manage to get out otherwise? To do activities because being alone in your apartment is not always nice.
Prosper : Yes I can get out thanks to my internship. I travel through Vendée department for my internship, so I leave Nantes and come back each time. I also go to work on weekends, so I can actually go out and see people despite everything. Besides I’m not alone at home so it’s fine and I also have colleagues from the university who are confined in Nantes and who live less than a kilometer away. We can see each other and walk together.
Gwen : Ah that’s cool
Prosper : Yes it’s pretty cool and fortunately it’s possible because this confinement period would be really hard otherwise!
Gwen : And is it not too complicated to cope with a lockdown period during your second year of masters? It’s your last year before you become a psychologist, so isn’t it much more stressful than last year in terms of classes or even the internship?
Prosper : I had one confinement period during M1 and now this second one during M2 and I think the most stressful was last year. There was much more uncertainty, we had been left a bit alone to face the academic pressure. But it’s only my feeling. This year it’s different because we have a very important 500-hour internship. Since I have an internship and I can continue it, it is less stressful for me than for those who don’t have any or who had to cancel it because of the lockdown. For me, it’s a little less stressful, well, even a lot less stressful than the first lockdown, and that’s because I’m lucky enough to have an internship.
Gwen : That’s good, i’m happy for you
Prosper : And what’s it like for you? Concerning university, do you stress with deadlines, homework…?
Gwen : Well, I don’t know, because anyway, when I should be stressed, I’m more likely to adopt the strategy of denial. I’m not sure if I’m stressed or not. It’s kind of strange. Anyway it’s more about the internship.
Prosper : the internship ?
Gwen : I can’t find one. I feel like I’m on the phone all day and they told me no all the time. I feel like i’m in a situation that can’t evolve and that’s what bothers me the most at the moment. But as far as the classes are concerned, I find that the teachers have been quite responsive. We know what we have to do for the classes, we have the links on zoom. We know we are not alone, we know it will continue, and from the experience of last year, we know how things are going to happen. Yeah, it’s really finding an internship that is making me anxious.
Prosper : And compared to the first lockdown, do you see any differences?
Gwen : For me, it is not the same, but then it’s more about my personal life. Last year I was really fed up with it. Actually, I was back from Montreal and it was good to be home alone. I was quite happy then, since I’ve just arrived in Nantes this year I have started a bit of a new life, met new people and I was so happy. And then to put a big stop sign and have to go back to Paris made me a little more sad. I hope it will end soon and we will be able to go out for Christmas.
Prosper : But for Christmas, you are with your family in Paris, so if the lockdown period extends you can be with them.
Gwen : Yeah but I would rather move for Christmas, I like my family but I need to move. I’m in a hurry to get out
Prosper : Okay, yeah you need to move
Gwen : Ah yes I like to move. And what about your social life, your friends, your family, can you see them?
Prosper : I am lucky, once again, thanks to my internship, to be able to go to Vendée department where I can see my family a little bit. I’m taking advantage of it as long as my internship continues, so it’s fine. If it stops, however, it will be more difficult. Also I have some friends who live not far from me, so we take advantage of that too. The rule is to see only 5 or 6 people, so I reduce myself to see 5 or 6 people a day and that suits me.
Gwen : Don’t you spend all your time on social networks to talk to your other buddies?
Prosper : That’s a good question. Yeah, I spend a lot of time on my laptop. I’m even forgetting that there’s stuff going on outside of that. Besides, we are students, and we need a laptop to work. So, we spend a lot of time on the screens and I’m pretty tired.
Gwen : Are you going outside ?
Prosper : I try to take advantage of the daily allowed one-hour outting. I’ve been doing this since the beginning, but even this is not enough for me. I feel like I keep hanging on to the screens. I have a lot of books next to me that I need to read, and I can’t do it. I admit that it’s a way for me to protect myself, like a defence mechanism. Simply put, I cling to the screen like a link in the relationship with other people.
Gwen : Ah well, it does the same thing to me. We can’t go to see people or do parties anymore. And since I I feel like talking to other people, I talk to them by message. With work on laptops on top of that, I really spend my whole day looking at a screen. Luckily, we have laptops though; for the people who don’t have such equipment, I don’t know how they do it.
Prosper : Yeah, it doesn’t help them. But when we have one, we get very tired and it’s hard to get rid of it. I don’t think it’s bad to set rules or a rhythm, and personally I’m not always at the top of it.
Gwen : What do you mean ?
Prosper : I had a lot of trouble at the first lockdown, now I’m a little better organized, but it’s still difficult anyway. As you can see, I didn’t eat before 2:00 pm, whereas I usually eat between midday and 1 pm. It’s okay, it’s not dramatic because many people eat late too, but I feel that there are gaps in my daily life.
Gwen : Oh my god, what times it is?
Prosper : 3:00 pm, why?
Gwen : I have to go. I have a class by videoconference. I should go ! Bye Prosper!
Prosper : Ok, bye! See you later!