The Covid-19 global pandemic forced young people on exchange around the world to abandon their plans and return home. Their language immersion, cultural exposure, and social outings with new friends came to a sudden halt. A small group, however, chose to remain abroad. Why did they stay, and what was it like to experience the pandemic outbreak in a foreign country? How has Covid-19 altered their studies, their social lives, and their explorations of the host country? In this episode of our Covid-19 mini-series, Ching May and Dana, NUS students who remained in Japan to complete their year-long study abroad programs, share how they decided to stay and how they have coped with the isolation of sheltering in place and learning online in another country. In this episode, we hear what happens when you stay.
Sound effects from freesound.org. Music from audioblocks.com.
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Additional Links about Covid-19 and study abroad in Japan:
– Article by Wired on Diamond Princess:
https://www.wired.com/story/diamond-princess-coronavirus-covid-19-tokyo-bay/
– Article by Mainichi Shinbun on Japanese university lecturers’ view on online learning: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20200509/p2a/00m/0na/002000c
– Article by Japan Times on panic buying in Japan:
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/03/14/national/media-national/panic-buying-toiletries-like-1973/
– Ching May and Dana were sad to part after they had a brief catch-up in Tokyo during the spring holidays
– A walk by Shirokawa River, Kumamoto to get some air
– E-Learning 101 (Zoom session on the left, note-taking on the right)
– Kumamon, the Kumamoto local mascot advocating Covid-19 safe practices
– Poster reminding residents to stay home and practise social distancing
– Sad toilet paper shelves
– TOKYO2020 banners still being hung around despite the cancellation
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