To all the exchange students out there

Dear exchange students,

No matter where you come from, where you are at the moment, what program you are on, in high school or in university, if your exchange experience is strongly affected by the pandemic, I’m sending you a big virtual hug from Glasgow.

I am studying in Penang, Malaysia and I came to University of Glasgow, Scotland for a semester exchange. I arrived here in January, everything was great, I was having a lot of fun, and I had everything planned.

WhatsApp Image 2020-03-26 at 9.43.48 PM — My time here has been as magical as this castle is.

I was going to visit the “Harry Potter” bridge, try all the best restaurants in Glasgow, spend more time with my new friends, get to know them better, enjoy my spring break in Budapest, take my family on a Western Europe tour, and finally spend my summer in France before I return to Malaysia.

But here I am, writing this blog post, 12 hours before my flight back home scheduled on 27th of March.

Some of you decided to stay where you are, some of you decided to return to your home country, many of you did not have a choice and were/are waiting for instructions on whether to stay or to leave.

As much as I desire to return to my family and friends, it does not make me feel any better to leave Glasgow.

I was just about to grow comfortable with the city.

I was just about to get familiar with the names of the streets.

I was just about to declare my favorite pub, club, restaurant and coffee shop.

I was just about to get used to the weather (plus it’s turning spring!!!).

I was just about to bond closer with my new friends.

I was just about to make progress in my new hobby.

…

And then everything shattered and ended way too abruptly.

It feels very complicated. It is hard to put my feelings into words. On one hand I am excited to go back, on the other hand I know I will not be in Glasgow for a very long time and I am going to miss it badly.

For the past weeks I hated to wake up. I hated the moment waking up and realizing how the global pandemic had deeply changed my life, our lives… basically the whole entire fucking world.

“You can always visit again,” says everyone.

Yes. But we all know that even if we do, things will never ever be the same.

We wouldn’t be living with the people that we had/have been living with. We wouldn’t be hanging out with the people we enjoy hanging out with. We wouldn’t be doing the same thing, studying in a local high school or in a university as an undergraduate student.

Many of us work hard to get to this place. From the application to the selection to the visa application and so on, the paperwork was a lot of effort. And when we finally made it here, ready to jump start a whole new semester, we never would have imagined things ended this way.

But I still believe that going home is for the best, at least for me. At this confusing time, it is so much better to have emotional support from family and friends. If you are feeling depressed, talk to your friends, or your family, or write it out. They might not understand how you feel and that might make you feel extremely frustrated, but I am sure they are trying their best, they might be very confused themselves as well. (and if you are not home yet, I am sure that your family is worried sick. My dad almost teared up when he knew I finally got a flight ticket home.)

I hope you have at least made the best out of your limited time in your exchange destination and you never regret for choosing this path.