Infrastructuring arrival and homemaking in COVID-19 times: Experiences of newcomer Chinese students in Dutch cities

Abstract

This paper examines the experiences of newcomer Chinese students in Dutch cities during the COVID-19 pandemic, building on three strands of literature on (i) arrival infrastructure, (ii) homemaking and (iii) the nature of conflating digital and offline spaces. Based on qualitative research findings from two research projects, the paper illustrates resilience among the students in infrastructuring their arrival and making a new home in an unfamiliar city that was rather inaccessible due to recurrent social distancing restrictions and incidents of ‘Corona racism’. Narratives of the research participants offer insights into their arrival experiences and homemaking practices in key interlinked life spaces, namely academic, residential and socialising spaces as well as spaces of interactions with the broader (unwelcoming) society. In addition to students' agency, our findings demonstrate the importance of (transnational) communal care and the role of the digital in students' arrival experiences and homemaking practices.