A Bangor University student isolated in the UK thousands of miles from her family in the USA, has shared her experience of the coronavirus crisis.
International Students from more than 80 countries study at Bangor University every year and make up over 10% of the total student population in the city.
The University suspended all ‘face to face’ teaching in March, following the spread of the Covid-19 virus in the UK, at which time many international students left Bangor to return to their home countries or to stay with relatives or friends in other parts of the UK.
First-year English literature student Shaina Adelman, 20, from Dallas, North Texas, had to make the difficult decision whether to remain in Bangor or make the 4,500 mile trip back to her home in the USA.
Shaina said: “My dad and my sister are both considered high-risk for contracting the virus.
“A lot of it came down to protecting them and myself. I didn’t want to imagine how bad it could be if I were to go live with one of them.”
Shaina said the hardest part of the lockdown is being without family and friends.
“The first few weeks were really tough,” she said. “It’s lonely being stuck in a foreign country during such a traumatic time.
“I talk to my dad more than he probably wants me to.”
She said she originally decided to study in Wales because scholarships made it affordable for her and the curriculum focused more on topics that interested her.
Once the lockdown is lifted, Shaina plans to look for a part-time job and her father, Avi Adelman of Dallas, said he plans on visiting her as soon as it’s safe to do so.
