South Korea to Mexico to Back Home
"Before ever going to South Korea I made a lot of plans. I knew I wanted to get a lot of tattoos and my eyebrows microbladed. I’ve been following artists on Instagram for years and I finally got the opportunity to be in the same country as them. Being in quarantine I had nothing to do but check my email and watch the news for any updates on the situation. On February
25th I got an email from UMB saying they were closely monitoring the situation in South Korea and that the CDC declared them to be level 2: exercise caution warning. I saw on the American news that many colleges/universities were canceling study abroad programs. I was afraid that my trip would be canceled too. I went in with the intention to study in South Korea and that’s what I’m going to do. I was ready to do anything, even be put in quarantine."
25th I got an email from UMB saying they were closely monitoring the situation in South Korea and that the CDC declared them to be level 2: exercise caution warning. I saw on the American news that many colleges/universities were canceling study abroad programs. I was afraid that my trip would be canceled too. I went in with the intention to study in South Korea and that’s what I’m going to do. I was ready to do anything, even be put in quarantine."
"On February 29th I was 1 week into quarantine just 1 more week and I would be free to explore the city and experience Korea culture. I was really excited to try Korean food and experience K-beauty. At the time coronavirus was getting pretty bad in South Korea there were almost 3,000 cases and the numbers kept rising. I checked my email as usual and I saw that UMB was suspending all programs in South Korea. The CDC had declared South Korea a level 3: Reconsider Travel/Limit non-essential travel. In the email, it said they would work with students on a “case to case basis.” It also said I could change my study abroad program to UNAM CEPE a university in Mexico. I couldn’t even think about studying at another university when I was already in Korea and everything was paid for."
"I was completely heartbroken and destroyed. A lot of emotions and thoughts ran through my mind all at once. I didn’t know what to focus on or how to reply. I was too overwhelmed. Then I just felt nothing for a while and I finally started crying. At the moment I just thought about the stressful process getting there. Dealing with a school that didn’t communicate well and wire transfers. It just felt like nothing I did matter at that point. I felt like I struggled up until that point for nothing. All the work I put into getting there just gone. I thought about the decisions I’ve
made up until that point and thought “I should have applied to a university in Japan. Japan is still safe to travel. You’ve always wanted to go to Japan but you only applied to KU because it was affordable. Look at how affordable it is now. You’re probably not gonna get financial aid.” I was
in a very negative space. I thought about the study abroad scholarship I’ll lose too since I’d have to leave. I just felt very financially insecure along with everything else going on in my mind.
made up until that point and thought “I should have applied to a university in Japan. Japan is still safe to travel. You’ve always wanted to go to Japan but you only applied to KU because it was affordable. Look at how affordable it is now. You’re probably not gonna get financial aid.” I was
in a very negative space. I thought about the study abroad scholarship I’ll lose too since I’d have to leave. I just felt very financially insecure along with everything else going on in my mind.
The email was sent out on Friday so Saturday my time. I knew that if I emailed them back I wouldn’t hear back until Tuesday. There was also a 13 hour time difference which made communicating even more difficult. I had Saturday through Tuesday to be alone with my feelings and thoughts. As those days went by it just got worse. I felt so neglected and like I
didn’t matter. Everyone for themselves I guess. I was anxiously waiting to hear back from UMB.
didn’t matter. Everyone for themselves I guess. I was anxiously waiting to hear back from UMB.
I didn’t hear back for 5 days. I felt like I was in the dark. I didn’t know what was going on or what would happen but also I was in a negative headspace. It didn’t help that I was in a foreign country and in social isolation. I was just told one of the worst news in my life. How am I supposed to deal with this alone but also wait 5 days for a response? I didn’t feel supported at
all in my time of need. I felt awful so I went on twitter to find people who we’re dealing with a similar situation as me. It honestly felt nice to know I was not alone and someone else in the world was dealing with a similar situation but I also felt empathetic. After emailing with UMB it
looked like I had no choice but to leave. I decided that I could not afford to lose financial aid and my scholarship so I switched my study abroad experience to Mexico. I bought a flight to Mexico to fly out the day after I finished quarantine. I wished and hoped that all was well after that but
here I am now sitting at home in the USA."
all in my time of need. I felt awful so I went on twitter to find people who we’re dealing with a similar situation as me. It honestly felt nice to know I was not alone and someone else in the world was dealing with a similar situation but I also felt empathetic. After emailing with UMB it
looked like I had no choice but to leave. I decided that I could not afford to lose financial aid and my scholarship so I switched my study abroad experience to Mexico. I bought a flight to Mexico to fly out the day after I finished quarantine. I wished and hoped that all was well after that but
here I am now sitting at home in the USA."
-Annie Deng, University of Massachusetts Boston
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