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One week before going back home

They’re being so overdramatic. My friends and I were supposed to go to a concert tonight, but it was cancelled at the last minute over health concerns. The first cases of the coronavirus are being detected in France, but I don’t get the big deal. My priority? To have fun while I can. Sure, the situation is rapidly evolving all across the world, but there’s no way that something that serious could also happen here, right?

11 hours before

We live in changing and uncertain times, and I believe that the role of the student is evolving along with the fierce competitiveness of an interconnected global job market. Growing rates of global inequality, persistent levels of poverty and the climate change conundrum are among the seismic challenges that our world faces, as well as the current coronavirus outbreak. 

I am of the opinion that, whether at undergraduate or postgraduate level, students can make a difference.

I wasn’t entirely sure I’d be glad to be back in South Korea this spring, my third, which has – as always – brought with it fleeting weeks of candyfloss clouds in both the sky and the cherry tree branches. The pale pinkish-white flowers blossoming all over my campus at KAIST in Daejeon lend a romantic air to the university for a brief season every year.

Although usually an idyllic period, this time the tranquility is exceptional; the absence of the visitors who normally crowd the picnic and photo spots has left an odd stillness. 

Last November, the semester at universities in Hong Kong was cut short after protests spilled on to campuses.

At that time, students could barely contemplate the possibility of switching to online mode. Some professors were flooded with emails from students struggling to present in groups in an online class or being able to complete assignments without library access. How things have changed.

I’ve now been away from the classroom for a few weeks. In isolation, I have very little motivation to work on my end of semester assignments with remote direction, refreshing my university inbox for updates on upcoming exams, and searching job boards for a miraculous influx of new opportunities.

I remember waking up one Friday morning in February to a notice from my university, Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT), informing me that I was to be placed on a leave of absence (LOA) with immediate effect. One of my classmates had tested positive for Covid-19 and had been admitted to hospital for treatment.

In line with the measures put in place by Singapore’s Ministry of Health at the time, SIT had mandated that the entire cohort of Year 3 telematics students were to be placed on LOA. We were also reminded to seek medical treatment should we feel unwell.

Who could have known that the last time I jogged along La Garonne would be the last time I jogged along La Garonne?

No time to wave goodbye to the enchanting city of Bordeaux where I had lived for seven months, nor to set foot again in the bakery where I went for baguettes. The coronavirus outbreak had brought my exchange year to a halt.

But not unexpectedly, to be frank.

If you’re on social media, I’m sure you’ve seen many people sharing images stating that a global lockdown is the perfect time to be productive. All this extra time that you now have at home is the optimum time to cross a few things off of your life to-do list.

If you’ve ever harboured the desire to learn a new language, start a podcast, read loads of books, spring clean your space, start cross-stitching – well apparently now is the time to do all of those things.