Andie Yu, a computer science student from Las Vegas touched down at Beijing for her Chinese study abroad program at Peking University. Her plan was to improve on her competence in Mandarin and get a better footing for a job in China.
California University suspends Chinese Study Abroad Programs
However, her Chinese study abroad programs were halted after California University withdrew non-essential traveling to China including the institution abroad studies programs, due to the spread of the highly contagious Coronavirus.
Now, Andy, a 23 years old United States citizen, is holed up in Chinese Xiamen. She managed to book a Los Angeles flight but was unsure if she would make it back home amidst expectations that she would be quarantined.
Just like Andie, many college students have been forced to suspend their semesters due to intensified response to Coronavirus in China.
University staff and students alike are scrambling for visas to fly back to America to enroll back for coursework to avoid missing out on a whole semester.
Caroline Maas, an International Exchange vice president for study globally operations expressed that studying in foreign countries for most learners is very challenging because if it does not work out in the slotted semester, it is pretty unlikely to succeed in another semester.
These challenges facing student exchange programs between America and China are among various ways in which Coronavirus has inconvenienced many lives globally.
Recent figures indicate that 1775 deaths have been recorded as well as 71,300 infection cases that have been confirmed.
Study abroad organization, Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) has stopped its Chinese summer and spring offers.Following this move, many students from Miami, Colorado, NS Syracuse Universities have been adversely affected.
When the cancellations were announced in late January, most of the students’ local institutions had started lectures. The learners were allowed to choose to join the programs or get refunds for their study in China.
However, most of the learners had advanced their immersion into Chinese language. Andie Yu, was among 50 students whose Chinese study abroad programs were directly administered by University of California.
Yu was born in Fujian province before migrating to the United States and she hoped to get fluent in Chinese Mandarin that would enable her to learn about her native society.
Students inconvenienced after the cancellation of Chinese Study Abroad programs
She said that all her plans were squashed following the suspension of her study abroad program. However, she asked if she would continue with her study because she had already traveled to China, an appeal that was objected following California University policy for nations with travel based advisories.
A chance was offered to Yu to make an application to the University of Korea but she took too long to decide on it.
Andie also faced an ordeal while trying to get her belongings to Los Angeles from Peking University, instead, she asked her teacher to ship them to her family.
It has been a busy hub at study abroad as officials respond to issues following the Coronavirus outbreak.
Moreover, approximately 250 students from Shanghai relocated to Manhattan while most Chinese students remained home and opted for distance learning.
Featured image credits: Pixabay
