My Student Exchange Experience During COVID-19

I think I speak for the entire world when I say 2020 has been a very sad, strange, scary and confusing time so far. Nobody has been untouched by the effects of this global pandemic. In the last five months our lives have been placed our hold, turned upside down and changed indefinitely. 

When I boarded my flight to Singapore on the 9th of January this year, I could never have predicted what was in store for me on the other end. Before the virus really became a major cause for concern, my exchange started off like any other. We had the usual formalities; first day orientation, various tours and other organised gatherings and meet ups. It was the ideal programme for any exchange student trying to make their way in this very new and unfamiliar territory. I can still recount those first few weeks quite vividly. It was a time of adjusting and settling in. I was getting used to a new class timetable, trying new foods, finding new shortcuts around campus and meeting so many new people during the course of a single day. The best part was finding time outside of class to travel into the city and explore both the tourist traps and hidden gems. Since I knew I had four and a bit months in Singapore, I didn't mind dedicating a whole day to one specific location. I thought I could afford to take my time with things. Little did I know this mentality was really going to be put to the test. Singapore had its first case pretty early on, around the end of Jan. At that time though, I was still very much consumed by the normal exchange student fears of overcoming homesickness, passing classes and making friends. Unfortunately this resulted in me paying little attention to the media and lacking a lot of knowledge surrounding the virus. 

My wake up call moment happened around the end of Feb. I had booked a trip to Japan and South Korea with a group of other exchange students during a week long semester break however a couple days before we were due to leave, there was the major outbreak in Daegu. The gravity of the situation really sunk in then and we immediately cancelled our trip. All throughout March, exchange students were flying back to their home countries. This was honestly the most difficult part of the entire exchange for me. Having to say goodbye to so many of my friends so much earlier than expected made the parting process that much harder. There were very few exchange students left on campus by the time April rolled around. In fact, there were very few students left on campus period. When Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong announced the circuit breaker on April 3rd, I moved out of my hall accomodation and into my Uncle's apartment. During my stay, I was able to complete all four of my classes which felt like a real accomplishment amidst everything that had been happening. I also felt oddly proud about being able to finish my coursework in Singapore even though there was no real requirement for me to do so since submissions were online. Although classes were over, the hardest challenge was yet to be resolved. As long as I was in Singapore, there was a lot of planning, emailing and phone calling to be done in order for me to get home. 

Finding flights that were confirmed to be going ahead was no easy feat. Luckily for me, I got in touch with two other exchange students from my home country that were able to point me in the right direction. We flew out together which was such a great decision and it was a reasonably smooth trip home. It's been about two weeks since I've been back and it feels so surreal to recall all that has happened this year. Writing this blog post has been a real opportunity for me to organise the jumble of thoughts in my mind. People ask me whether I regret going on my exchange or wish things had gone differently. My answer to them is no. I'm so thankful for this experience and it was still worthwhile to me in every single way. Singapore and the people I met there (you know who you are) will forever hold a place in my heart. Nothing, not even a global pandemic, could change that.