Studying Abroad in the Time of Swine Flu
Not as serious as Coronavirus, but the actions are similar
Most people compare the Coronavirus to SARS. I’m never sure if it’s better or worse than the SARS epidemic. Yes, the Chinese government is more transparent this time around. However, there are still more details most people don’t know unless they’re in the country.
I was a teenager in the SARS epidemic. I barely remember it. The plague I remember vividly is the Swine Flu.
Today, Swine Flu is a blip on the plague radar. If anything, the seriousness of the disease is debatable. People I knew who had it said it wasn’t that bad. But the panic in China felt like it was similar to what I see in the news today.
Landing in Beijing, 2009
From the time I got off the plane until I made it to my hotel, people never stopped approaching me to take my temperature. Even when I moved into my college dorm room, the ayis (cleaning ladies) took our temperatures if were in the dorms while they cleaned. One of my roommates told me they took my temperature while I was sleeping one morning.
With all the thorough temperature taking, I never heard any stories about anyone getting caught with a fever. The foreign student community at my college was a close-knit…
