Isolated Far From Home

Home on the Dot

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.