Coronavirus and My Abroad Experience
It felt as if I had been on the island of my week-long honeymoon for just an hour, and was forced to leave immediately because a potentially deadly storm was on its way.
I write this article as I sit at home, completing my 14-day self-isolation period.
Everything was amazing in Italy. Sure, my apartment had some problems. But the architecture, food, school, friends, and shopping—I had to leave it all behind after just one month.
I was sitting at my favorite pasta place in Colonne, Miscusi, with my friends Rachel and Natalia when all of a sudden I received a text message from my friend Antonino.
“School will be closed next week due to coronavirus.” Pure shock and fear washed over my body as I began rapidly texting many questions.
What did he mean? I thought Coronavirus was only in China? How could it have possibly reached Milan? If it was in Milan now, and fashion week had just passed, this could be VERY bad.
Surely, (i thought) it couldn’t have been a large enough issue for school to be canceled one week. I figured the issue would likely go away within a few days and everything would return to normal.
So, upon getting back to my apartment that night, I decided to go to my favorite healthy supermarket on my street(Naturasi) as soon as it opened the next morning, stock up on some food, and stay inside in case the issue was going to get out of hand.
I debated traveling out of the country to Barcelona, Amsterdam, and even Greece. As more students found out about the virus and canceled classes, there were two main reactions:
I get one free week of traveling/resting
I need to leave the country immediately
Naturally, my parents had reaction #2 while I had reaction #1. However, my plan to go to Barcelona with friends was quickly shot down. The next morning, I grabbed groceries and locked myself inside my apartment. I was driven crazy from my own boredom and isolation. Reported cases of the virus in Lombardy, the region which Milan is located in, were multiplying rapidly and my fear grew just as quickly. As someone with asthma and a small heart condition, I knew I couldn’t stay in the country any longer should it reach Milan. Thus, I quarantined myself, packed half of my belongings, and flew home to Florida within the next 3 days.
What shocked me the most about this experience might be the fact that neither I nor other passengers on my direct flight were checked for the virus. Not even a fever check. I used hand sanitizer after touching every object that didn’t belong to me, wore a face mask, wore my glasses, and avoided touching my face at all. I contacted my primary doctor to check for myself, and I knew I would be fine. However, I couldn’t help but worry about the other flights headed to the U.S. after mine…once cases in Italy continued to multiply. Those scared me most.
I originally scheduled my flight to return to Milan for March 4th. However, American Airlines canceled it and refunded me for the trip. Italy is now the third most infected country in the world with this virus, my university classes have been canceled until March 15th (with “distance”/online learning being our only option), most of my friends have returned home either forced by their parents or by their schools, and Milan (the economic and fashion capital of the world) is a ghost town. The stock market is down, but my morale is just as down if not worse.
I spent my entire childhood looking forward to living and studying abroad for a semester, especially in Italy, where I could learn about my Italian background/culture first-hand. I dreamt of this semester my whole life, chose to attend Cornell University based on their abroad opportunities there, and planned a year in advance for this one semester (clothes, trips, Instagram captions, visits to friends). Now, I sit at home. Watching online lectures through Blackboard, getting refunds for trips I already booked for the semester, contacting friends to help me get the rest of my belongings from my apartment, attempting to cancel the rest of my rent, scrolling through a gallery of only 1 month’s worth of abroad photos, contacting the friends I made through apps, and wishing this virus would go away so I could return to Milan.
However, the day I return to Italy is unknown. So thanks, coronavirus, and those who don’t wash their hands/choose to spread their germs with the rest of the world. Thanks for affecting my abroad experience-and the experience of thousands of other students who waited a lifetime to study in Italy. I’m grateful to be healthy and alive at the moment, but my prayers are going out to those who currently are dealing with the effects of the virus mentally and physically.
