Is it Covid?

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Ingrid Valladares

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Ingrid Valladares

<i>"Hello" in your host country's language:</i> ใ“ใ‚“ใซใกใฏ (kon'nichiwa) <i>Home Institution (your U.S. University/College):</i> University of Maryland, College Park <i>Expected graduation year:</i> 2022 <i>Destination city & country:</i> Kyoto, Japan <i>Program provider:</i> Kyoto University <i>Major/minor:</i> Criminal Justice / International Development and Conflict Management <i>Demographics:</i> First-Generation College Student, Transfer Student, Hispanic, Immigrant, LGBTQ+ <i>Future career aspirations:</i> Upon graduation, I plan to apply to the Peace Corps so participating in this study abroad program would help me gain valuable experience living abroad in preparation for my service. Afterwards I intend to pursue a graduate degree in International Development with a focus on climate change and environmental sustainability. Studying abroad would provide valuable foreign cultural experience in a country that is very different from what I am used to. This program would also allow me to pursue my academic interest in the global environment as well as my personal interest in the Japanese language, which would benefit my long-term professional goals in pursuing a career with the USAID Foreign Service. <i>Top 3 goals for your time abroad:</i> One of my goals for my time abroad is to improve my Japanese language skills. But more than that, I hope to deepen my appreciation for different cultures and further my desire to travel and connect with people who I might not otherwise have had the chance to meet. This is why my second goal is to learn how to better communicate and connect with people from different backgrounds than my own. During my time abroad, I am interested in volunteering with a non-profit that serves at risk and disadvantaged social groups. This would allow me to engage with Kyotoโ€™s local population and have meaningful interactions as well as give back to those most in need. My last goal is to work towards building lasting bonds, regardless of cultural differences and language barriers, with those I meet while abroad.

During my two weeks in South Korea, Iโ€™ve visited many attractions, hiking trails, markets, and restaurants. Everywhere I go, Iโ€™ve noticed that most people here are vigilant about wearing their masks when out in public. This is a change from back home in the states as most people have opted to not wear them as much. Of course, the lifting of covid restrictions is something we all look forward to, but with it comes the fear of an uptick in community transmission of cases. Seeing as Iโ€™ve not had covid this entire pandemic, Iโ€™ve just continued to do what Iโ€™ve always done, continue to wear a mask regardless of whether there are masking mandates in place or not. This has helped me stay covid free for almost three years so I figured it would work the same in Seoul.

My school, Yonsei University, has a covid protocol in place in case someone turns out to be positive. If students experience covid symptoms, they are required to self-isolate and get tested. If they are positive, they will be assigned to an isolation wing within their housing building. Students are also required to fill out an online exemption form which will excuse their absence from classes. Those who test positive, are expected to complete 7-days in quarantine. During those seven days, lectures and other class materials will be recorded and made available through an online portal. This way, students donโ€™t fall behind just for contracting covid.

After almost two weeks in Seoul, I began to feel a bit under the weather. It started with a sore throat, then a slight cough, followed by a fever. At first, I didnโ€™t think much of it since I had gone to karaoke the night before and I always wake up with a bit of a sore throat the following day. Whenever my allergies flare up, I end up with a slight cough because my throat gets a bit irritated. And since itโ€™s been really hot every day, I didnโ€™t notice the fever right away.

After a day of not feeling so great, I decided it would be best to get tested. The first at-home covid test turned out to be negative. Although it was a relief that it came out negative, it wasnโ€™t much of a victory as I was still feeling sick. As my symptoms got worse, I decided to take a second test the following day. That too, turned out to be negative. But I wanted to be triple sure that the first two tests didnโ€™t show a false negative, so I took a third test which came back negative as well. At this point, I was certain I didnโ€™t have covid, but I still had to work towards getting better as I had obviously caught either a bad cold or some other similar bug.

Iโ€™ve been isolating for four days now and even though my illness is not covid, I still donโ€™t want to accidental pass it on to someone else. However, I think this may turn out to be a blessing in disguise as itโ€™s a perfect opportunity to get some much-needed rest.

Included is a picture from my dorm balcony.