ASIA
SHANGHAI, CHINA
Karen Wang - A fourteen-year-old girl living in Shanghai, who attends the American School:
“I think during this time it has been pretty challenging for everyone but we’re currently doing pretty well. The biggest challenges that I have faced have probably been just keeping up with schoolwork online since it has been very different without actually having teachers there to help.
When I got back from America during March I was in quarantine for one night in a confined hotel especially for quarantine and then I was moved back home to be quarantined for 2 weeks.
My quarantine started on March 18th when I got back from America but it has already been two weeks. I have had a couple of friends one in 8th grade and one in 12th grade that tested positive for the coronavirus. When I look outside my window I see every single person walking on the streets wearing masks and being very distant. I noticed that basically in every store I go into they have to take temperatures for precaution and it has been very different than when corona didn’t exist. In my free time, I have been trying to contact my friends that haven’t gotten back to shanghai yet just to check in on them and get some schoolwork done. I look forward to seeing all of my friends in person, Once all of this is over. I miss being able to leave my house without thinking of bringing a mask or anything else with me and getting my temperature taken everywhere. I think that the government here has been taking control of everything fairly well because things have gotten a lot better and most people are staying at home."
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- April 25, 2020
JAPAN
Rina Hamanishi - A fourteen-year-old girl who is currently staying in Japan:
“My family and I are all doing well, staying home, and not getting into crowded places as much as possible. I am very sad that I cannot attend school and see my friends and enjoy events that were planned to happen. I’m not in lockdown, but I am quarantined. When I was in India a few weeks ago, I was in lockdown as well, but now in Japan from April 7, I am quarantined.
When I look outside my window, I see maybe just 2-4 people either walking, jogging/running, riding bikes, walking carrying shopping bags. However, Something odd which I have observed is that there might be children without parents out and jogging. And while the government announced people to prevent going outside, mothers are letting their small kids hangout at parks. In grocery stores, for example, I’ve seen a little less than the usual amount of people, everyone wearing masks, hand sanitizer placed to clean hands and the shopping carts. Products like prepared frozen foodstuff are more sold than others. Surprisingly, sometimes there are long lines waiting for registration. Also, we were allowed to buy only one pack of women’s sanitary products, as they were making limitations of toilet papers too. Sorry, this was long.
In my free time, I either read, draw/paint, watch YouTube/Netflix, FaceTime friends, go out for a walk, do some workouts, bakeries, help my grandma with cooking. The most important thing I’m looking forward to once it’s over is going to school and seeing my friends! I miss seeing my friends, but I guess another thing is seeing the rest of my family: my dog and my dad. Because of Corona, I had to travel to Japan for safer care. Once the Japanese government got the news because there’s no single person like Prime minister Modi to announce things, so it’s kind of like the television news just tried to tell the citizens to “avoid going outside” or like “go for shopping only one in three days”. And because of that not-very-straightforward-announcements, there are only a few people who follow the rules.”
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- April 27, 2020
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
Hyoeun Lee - A fourteen-year-old girl living in Seoul, Korea:
“My family and I are well. We are staying healthy, taking vitamins, and wearing masks everywhere we go. My family and I really do want to go outside and enjoy the weather, but we are trying our best to avoid public and crowded areas. The biggest conflict i've faced regarding COVID-19 is Not being able to freely go around places that I would normally go. It is not required to be quarantined, but it is strongly recommended for the citizens of South Korea to be quarantined on their own. So, I am isolating myself in my house from other people. I started to be quarantined since my school closed. I think it was around the middle of February. I didn’t have any other big reasons to go outside other than school, so i automatically was in quarantine.
The longest was two weeks straight in my house not going outside. During the day, I see people walking around and cars. I think many people are exhausted from self-isolation, so they are starting to come out again. Which is not good because the coronavirus is not completely gone yet. I went outside to pick up my stuff from school and went to buy masks and other daily necessities. I also went to see my grandmother, but we didn’t visit any public places, only house to house. I usually go outside once or twice a week. I never went to crowded public places these days. Recently I had to go outside and see all of my friends to take the graduation photos. But we sanitize our hands every hour and it was an open area (we were not locked in a closed small place where the air is trapped (if you get what I mean) ).
I noticed that when the coronavirus broke out and the spread of the virus was at the peak, there were fewer people going around compared to before. We went to a huge park for the photos, and we saw people jogging and having a picnic and still keeping up with social distancing with others.
In my free time I have been doing my school work ( I still have the same amount of school work), watching movies, Tv shows, eating food, facetime, and other indoor activities. I want to go shopping, go to restaurants, and meet my friends. I miss going to school because the online school is making me sick. I am so tired of staying inside and my health is getting worse. I also miss Going outside without any concerns about the virus. Seeing my friends and family. I think that South Korea has great and one of the best medical staffs and systems.
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- May 1, 2020
BANGKOK,
THAILAND
Ayaka Bijli - A fourteen-year-old girl who lives in Bangkok, and attends the international school there:
“My family and I are doing great! We're all doing virtual work, my brother and I doing Zoom classes and my parents are also using Zoom for their work. We're all finding new hobbies and even though we're getting on each other's toes from time to time, we're doing great! My biggest conflict is probably just being in such a different environment for school and missing my friends. It also feels like my work ethic when it comes to studying has decreased. In the area I live in, my school is inside a giant compound and within that giant compound there are smaller compounds with housing. Because of this, I live in a gated community which is already pretty isolated.
Usually, before the pandemic, I would go downtown with my friends to the malls or we would stay inside the compound when together. Now we cannot go downtown anymore since downtown Bangkok is under a more strict lockdown. For us in my compound, we are allowed to do exercise with other people and we can see friends as long as we are not in large groups - around a 2 other people limit and making sure that we are not touching a lot. Although these are not set in stone rules, this is what most people are doing. Personally, I am limiting my social interactions and making sure that if I am with others, I know exactly the places they've been and people they have been with so I don't accidentally end up being with people who have been in areas that they could have caught the virus. But, about 2 months ago, I came back from Japan from our February break and then after that I was quarantined for 2 weeks.
I have a family friend who was on a trip with people who had the Coronavirus but he was tested negative and living abroad. Outside my window are a lot of trees and my neighbors house! The other day there was also a BEAUTIFUL sunset outside my window. I have been running a lot so I get to see how environmentally this has actually had a great impact. The sunsets and sunrises are so beautiful and the air quality is improving tremendously as well. I have also left my house to be with a few friends (but in a controlled setting). Before, I was running a lot as well so I can now compare how different everything looks and feels from then to now.
In my free time, I have been cooking, been with some friends, spending time with my dogs, running, calling with friends a lot, doing tiktoks, and watching many many shows on Netflix! I definitely look forward to going for a swim and just being with a large group of friends again. I also really miss the sports at school and I can't wait to get back to that. I miss going out of my compound (going downtown) and I really really miss being with a lot of my friends because I have not been able to see them all. I honestly even miss the routine of school even though I had to wake up at 6 everyday and school could be stressful, not being in that routine has helped me realize how much I appreciate and enjoy it.”
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- April 25, 2020
COLOMBO,
SRI LANKA
Naqiyah Lukmanjee - A fifteen-year-old girl who lives in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
“My family and I are thankfully doing okay and we are all safe and indoors, none of us have gotten sick or is feeling ill. I feel, personally I haven’t faced major conflicts during this pandemic, but all schools and offices are closed and so we have school online which is quite inconvenient and stressful, and getting certain items like food is quite difficult as supermarkets have so many people ordering groceries etc. it does feel quite different adapting to this kind of lifestyle but I am grateful that we have it better than a lot of other people living in Sri Lanka who are suffering as they do not have access to any food and are losing their jobs.
We have been in curfew for about 6 weeks now, the official curfew started on the 17th of March, but school and offices etc. were closed from the 12th. I do not personally know anyone who has gotten the virus yet. When I look outside my window I see no vehicles on the road, no people walking on the sidewalk, only policemen and maybe a car or two every once in a while. The outside has gotten so much more peaceful now and there is so much less air pollution, no people shouting on the road, no cars honking every minute of the day, it is much quieter and peaceful. I have not left my house since the curfew started on the 17th of March as my parents do not feel like it is safe, and people are not allowed to be outside their houses without having a certified pass from the police station. In my free time, I usually try and do some school work as we have online classes and teachers are giving us a lot of assignments to spend our time doing, if I am done with all my work then I spend time with my family,
I call my friends and see how their doing and I’ve caught up with some old friends as well. I like to cook so I might bake some cupcakes or cookies occasionally. I like photography as well so I go around the house and the garden taking some pictures and improving my photography skills too. I look forward to going back to normal life and seeing my friends most of all. I look forward to being able to go outside and this is a surprise for me, but I really look forward to going back to school. I miss my friends and family (my grandparents and cousins that don’t live with us) most of all. I miss the restaurants and fast food places we used to go to afterschool with my friends and the hangouts we had at each others houses.
I miss being able to sleepover at my grandparents house with my cousins and have movie nights and spend time with them, I miss it all. I feel like our government has done a pretty good job with the whole situation as they have managed to keep everyone indoors and safe and are taking very strict precautions towards this outbreak. Sri Lanka has quite a high recovery rate so I feel like our government is controlling the situation well. The first word that comes to mind is when I hear ‘coronavirus’ is probably fear.
Everyone has been so afraid of the virus that countries have put their life on hold and refuse to even get out of the house. The media has also had a big impact on this as not only the fake rumors, but also the real news has made people fear for their lives. I feel like this virus has also made people realize and appreciate what they have/ had as it shows us how different our lives can be if we take it for granted.”
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- April 29, 2020
MUMBAI,
INDIA
Yuvi Shah - June 2, 2020
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"My name is Yuvraj shah and I am 14 years old. My family and I are doing great, Thank you for asking! The biggest conflict I've faced so far in terms of COVID-19 is being at home due to lockdown and self-isolation.
We have been on lockdown since the 20th of March. The only person I know that has been infected by the Coronavirus is my driver.
When I look outside my window, I see other buildings and currently, rain. I have not left my house since isolation, and during my free time, I've been reading a lot and spending time with my family.
I look forward to meeting my girlfriend once all of this is over and I miss swimming during summer as well as my friends. What comes to mind when I hear someone say, "Coronavirus" is all the people who have been impacted by the pandemic globally.