This week was bonkers, especially for all those who are not currently in their home country. I arrived in India on Jan. 4 to do my global development studies internship. The news broke about the coronavirus in China just a few days later, but it wasn’t until it became a global pandemic that the university started getting concerned and the talk of coming home early began. After my internship I was planning on doing some backpacking to explore more of this fascinating country, as well as complete my yoga teacher training in Rishikesh, the very birthplace of yoga.
My return flight was booked for May 26, and I had zero plans of coming home before then, pandemic or not. Besides, India had very few coronavirus cases, which is surprising considering their close proximity to China and the poor hygienic conditions in many areas. How little India seemed to care about the virus was shocking; it was life as normal here. The CEO of the nonprofit organization I was working for even told me not to worry because “India has many gods protecting her.”
However, the situation escalated far more rapidly than I ever expected. To help control the rapid spread of the virus, the government imposed a temporary ban on all tourist visas. This didn’t affect me too much, as I was already in the country — I even thought the situation could work in my favour, as busy tourist spots would be empty, and I could explore them in peace. Obviously, India’s nonchalant attitude about this virus had rubbed off on me, and I wasn’t taking it seriously in any way.
It wasn’t until a member of my own family became sick that I realized maybe this virus was a pretty serious issue after all, and I better just be safe and hop on home. My friends and family urged me every day to return because it was not a matter of if but when the pandemic would hit India, and surely hit it hard, considering its high population density. Also, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was strongly urging all Canadians to return home as soon as possible, as Canada would soon be imposing its own travel restrictions and commercial air travel options would become increasingly limited.
Thus began the challenge of trying to reschedule my flight home. I was on hold with my booking agent for hours, as travel agents and airlines were overwhelmed by the sheer volume of people trying to change their travel plans. I cut my losses and just booked a whole new ticket home for Tuesday, March 24.
I felt confident in my decision, and at peace with the situation. Until I woke up from a nap on Friday, March 20 to half a dozen notifications of people informing me of a new travel ban the Indian prime minister had just announced — there would be no incoming international flights into India from March 22 until March 29. I phoned my airline in a panic sweat, and after hours on hold, a surely under-paid and overworked representative told me this travel ban would not affect outbound flights, just incoming, so I had nothing to worry about.
The next day I went about my business, took a leisurely stroll to the market to pick up a few things, and when I came home I decided on a whim to check the status of my flight home, just in case. It was cancelled. Nearly all flights were cancelled because of this newly imposed travel ban. Either I leave immediately, or I stay in India indefinitely.
I booked the most spur-of-the-moment plane ticket of my life to leave the country in a short five hours. I shoved all my clothes in my backpack, quickly booked a domestic flight to the capital of Delhi, where I would be leaving from, sent some goodbye messages on WhatsApp to my dear friends in India I never got the chance to say goodbye to in person and got the heck out of there.
I’m writing this piece in a nearly empty airport in Hong Kong, waiting for my flight back to Vancouver. I am grateful to have a country with such a reliable healthcare system to go home to, but am also scared of what awaits me, as I’ve been told the situation in Canada is only getting worse and hospitals have started to run out of room.
My internship was cut short because of an unprecedented situation completely out of anyone’s control. I keep telling myself it could be worse. I have friends whose cancelled school trips and internships means delaying their graduation date, as well as international students who are in the same boat as me, scrambling to get home. Not to mention the uncertainty that international students at Fraser Valley India, UFV’s sister university in Chandigarh, feel on whether or not they will be able to transfer to Canada in the fall.
Right now, these travel restrictions just seem annoying and inconvenient, pushing back plans and readjusting schedules; however, we can’t yet predict the effects these travel bans will have on universities in the long term. The university’s growing reliance upon international students’ high tuition fees could have an effect on less-profitable departments if the government doesn’t assist post-secondary institutions and students in some way in light of this crisis.
However, I’ll worry about all that after my 14-day quarantine at my mom’s house.
Andrea Sadowski is working towards her BA in Global Development Studies, with a minor in anthropology and Mennonite studies. When she's not sitting in front of her computer, Andrea enjoys climbing mountains, sleeping outside, cooking delicious plant-based food, talking to animals, and dismantling the patriarchy.
