Witnessing COVID-19 in Southeast Asia
Marist ASAP student shares her experience
Students returning from Marist Asian Study Abroad Program (ASAP) have come back with a unique perspective on the pandemic that is shaking the world. COVID-19 ended their semester of traveling, but in an extremely strange way, it helped enrich the program.
Marist ASAP is a culturally immersive opportunity for students to learn about international business while also understanding the cultures of each country. The program runs over the course of the spring semester. This spring, students were expecting to travel through Japan, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Taiwan, and Nepal.
“I feel very fortunate I was there 70 out of the 99 days,” said Lea Sciancalepore ‘21, a Fashion Merchandising student, who recently returned from traveling through the empty streets of Southeast Asia. “We did four out of the seven countries. We started in Japan, then went to Myanmar, Thailand, and Cambodia,” Schiancalepore said.
“Because we felt like any moment we could be pulled, we lived everyday like it was our last day in the program,” she said. “We tried every experience we could, which might have not necessarily been the case if we had the entire time.”
Schiancalepore said Marist College handled this unpredictable situation well for the ASAP students.
However, Sciancalepore gives Wesley King, their program coordinator, tremendous credit for putting the students at ease throughout their travels. King only works with Marist through ASAP and is not a Marist employee.
Regardless, King was constantly tracking and researching the virus to send updates to Marist. King always reminded students he would never put them at any risk or harm. Schinacalepore said King had their complete trust and is thankful for his dedication to keeping the students not only safe but also aware of the situation.
“We were never at a high risk of coming in contact with the virus,” Schiancalepore said. “The main concern was always if we would be allowed back in the US.”
Despite being in countries that are close neighbors to China, Schiancalepore said,
“There were more cases in my town and county than in the country of Thailand. I never felt at risk until I flew home and I was in New York City.”
The students arrived in Tokyo, Japan on Jan. 10. They visited religious sites to enhance the religious courses and also met with companies as well as a former ASAP student. Then, they moved onto Myanmar and started seeing news about COVID-19.
Group of ASAP students at Angkor Wat in Cambodia
“We had our first conversations about it. I have pretty severe asthma so I was keeping pretty close tabs on it the entire time,” Schiancalepore said.
King, the program director, called a meeting with the students assuring them they were not at risk of coming in contact with the virus but they were diligently tracking all the updates. King also told the students the itinerary may change, with their safety as the top priority.
On Feb. 1, the group of students arrived in Chiang Mai, Thailand. “This was when things began to pick up and there was a lot more news about the virus,” Schiancalepore said.
“We were in a spotlight. The whole board of directors at Marist was looking at us,” Schiancalepore said. In early February, a representative from Marist Abroad arrived in Thailand to monitor and talk with the students.
“At that point, we were at risk of being pulled,” Schiancalepore said. “No one wanted to leave.” The representative decided the students were not at risk of contracting COVID-19 and they continued the program.
By mid-February, the virus had swept through Europe. “For the first time, we were concerned about our friends being sent home from Florence,” Schiancalepore said. “None of us thought Marist would pull their biggest abroad program.”
The entire world began to change, as cities in every country began shutting down and travel restrictions were forming.
“We visually saw the impact of the virus. Tourism was being affected and we heard about airlines cancelling flights and laying off workers,” Schiancalepore said.
After Thailand, the students arrived in Cambodia. They visited Angkor Wat, a huge collection of temples, which is a popular tourist destination. Sciancalepore said it was surprisingly empty. The streets were also scarce in Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital.
“It was sad to see these companies that rely on tourists losing money,” Schiancalepore said.
Lea Sciancalepore at an elephant sanctuary in Chiang Mai, Thailand
Along with the rest of the world, the Marist ASAP students started taking health precautions. Practicing social distancing, washing hands frequently, and check-ins every night by the team leader. “Essentially there is a new team leader each day. They are primarily responsible for the students and if there’s changes in the itinerary, they help coordinate that,” Sciancalepore said. “Towards the end of the program, they would also go around each night to check up on everyone and see how students were feeling. We were just being really diligent.”
Marist announced the Florence program was cancelled at the end of February. “Marist had pulled Florence and refocused on us again,” Sciancalepore said. “We had only been through 50 days of the 99-day program. None one knew what was going to happen.”
Students were confused and worried, but parents were concerned the most. “We were trying to express to the parents that we were safer in most parts of Asia than at home.” Sciancalepore said, “There were more cases in my town and county than in the country of Thailand.”
While Marist was considering how to approach the situation, King kept the students updated. As countries began restricting tourists and requiring quarantines, the college did not want their students forced to undergo a quarantine in a foreign country. Therefore, Marist decided the students should return to Thailand to stop crossing borders.
“We never felt we were really at risk but we were constantly worried about our friends and family at home. We saw on the news the virus was spreading throughout New York and Florence,” Sciancalepore said. Despite being in countries that are close neighbors to China, Schiancalepore said, “The main concern was always if we would be allowed back in the US.”
Mid-March, Marist abroad made the announcement that all abroad programs needed to send their students home by March 25. According to Sciancalepore, some students were ready to fly out the next day and others wanted to stay until the end. “A lot of us freaked out because a lot of parents wanted us home sooner. Things were getting bad in the US and no one wanted to get stuck in another country.”
Under intense circumstances, the students came together and coordinated a group meeting. They mutually decided they would all leave on March 19 to accommodate everyone’s needs. It was a middle ground for those who wanted to leave early and those who wanted to stay longer. There were 18 students in the program, three students left March 16 and the remaining 15 left altogether on March 19.
“I would definitely say my concept of working in a group is a lot different now,” Sciancalepore said. Accommodating 18 students’ different needs, wants, and most importantly safety is extremely difficult. The students were able to have a small voice in the abrupt ending of their program. “We all could walk away feeling pretty good about our decision.”