Stranded stateside: SU international students struggle to return home

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Iris Yang has not been home since fall 2019. 

Yang, a sophomore in the School of Information Studies who is originally from the Guiyang, Guizhou Province in China, booked her round-trip flights for summer break in January 2020, shortly before the coronavirus pandemic hit the United States. But as the Chinese government began reducing international travel to prevent the spread of the virus, her flights were canceled before the semester ended. 

When she tried to book another flight, the average price had already gone far beyond what she could afford.

Many Chinese international students at Syracuse University have tried to head back home since the university canceled in-person instruction in March, but they’ve faced mandatory quarantines and expensive one-way tickets with price tags as high as $15,000. And students who have made it home now have to contend with lengthy international quarantines in other countries if they want to return to campus.

For nearly a year, going home has become a far distant dream for many, and the decision to stay in Syracuse or go home has been a hard one to make — one with complicated financial and mental health implications, and one characterized by uncertainty. 

Stay or leave 

Yang’s roommate, Violet Wen, a sophomore architecture major from the Nanchang, Jiangxi Province in China, also had to stay in Syracuse after many of her flights home were canceled.

SU provided Yang and Wen, along with many international students who chose to stay in Syracuse, with an apartment on South Campus for summer break. For the fall semester, the two moved into dorms on Main Campus. But since students can’t remain in the dorms over winter break, the pair had to find their own off-campus housing then.

After spending nearly a year in Syracuse, the isolation and loneliness has taken a toll on the pair’s mental health, they said.

The two also worry about the financial burden that staying in the U.S. has placed on their families, who were already facing financial difficulties as a result of the pandemic. But before the fall semester started, Yang and Wen were concerned about attending school virtually if they returned to China. They both worried that they wouldn’t be able to access stable internet or campus resources from home.  

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“Initially, I (was) skeptical about whether staying in Syracuse is the right choice for me — lots of uncertainties about the future, and you get really jealous seeing your friends having fun all the time after getting back to China,” Yang said. “But after the fall semester kicked off, I felt relieved because at least I can still have in-person activities on campus, which most of my friends don’t.”

Despite the challenges, the pair said they still feel luckier than students at other universities.

“I think SU has done better than many other universities,” Yang said. “Some of my friends studying in other colleges in the states (haven’t) stayed on campus since March — they have to take care of everything on their own because their schools just don’t care.”

Tough way to home 

Ainley Xiao, a sophomore from China, went back to her hometown in Shenzhen in July. Although she faced several flight cancellations and ended up flying back home from New York City, she didn’t have to receive any pre-departure COVID-19 tests for her flights.

But students who returned home after summer break have faced greater obstacles than those who left Syracuse prior to the fall semester.

The Chinese Embassy and consulate generals in the U.S. have been gradually increasing the restrictions for Chinese citizens traveling home from overseas. All passengers traveling to China are now required to provide negative results from both a diagnostic and antibody test within 48 hours of their scheduled boarding time. Travelers must be tested in one of the officially recognized labs in one of the six direct-flight cities across the U.S.

The embassy and consulate generals will ultimately determine a passenger’s eligibility to travel based on the authenticity of their submitted test results, as well as the “necessity and urgency” of their reasons for traveling, according to a 2020 announcement from the Chinese Embassy. When people are approved to travel, the embassies and consulate generals issue them a QR code on the WeChat app. 

Haglis He, a sophomore studying economics and sociology, flew back to his home city of Shanghai after the fall semester concluded. Before boarding the plane, He was subjected to the new testing requirements. Although obtaining the tests cost him extra, he said the procedures were necessary to keep everyone safe.

“Honestly, I can understand such policies as long as it’s doable for us because, after all, no one really wants to spread the virus back home if you get it,” He said.

Students who returned home after summer break have faced greater obstacles than those who left Syracuse prior to the fall semester. Courtesy of Haglis He 

The expenses incurred from the Chinese government’s travel restrictions, as well as plane tickets — which remained costly even after the virus was under control in China — frustrated He.

He recalled how Chinese citizens overseas provided support to their country as it suffered through the pandemic. At SU, Chinese students Ruohan Xu and Ze Zeng launched A Hand for Wuhan, a fundraiser for medical supplies to local health professionals in Wuhan, in January 2020. 

“Lots of international students, including me, did the best they can to support their hometown to fight against the virus,” He said. “But once the situation reversed, when the situation was under control in China but got worse in the states, $15,000 for a single way (back to China) is just so ridiculous.”

Long journey to school 

He is among the few students who have successfully come back to SU’s campus after returning to China.

After departing from Shanghai Pudong International Airport on Jan. 22, He switched flights in the Narita International Airport in Tokyo, Japan, then quarantined in Cancún, Mexico for 14 days before entering the U.S.

More coverage about challenges SU international students have faced during COVID-19:

• Remote international students face time differences, unstable internet
• SU international students feel betrayed, uncertain under ICE’s polices
• International students put travel, career plans on hold due to COVID-19
• International students going remote struggle to sublet apartment leases
• Chinese international students watch coronavirus outbreak from afar

Though He spent about $15,000 total on his trip from SU to China and back to campus, including expenses for plane tickets and hotel rooms to quarantine in Shanghai and Mexico. But to He, the money and time were worth it. 

“For everyone who chose to leave home again at such a difficult time, faced exposure risks and spent at least 16 days on the way, there must be some reasons for us to do so,” He said. “As a college student, I have to learn some real stuff in these four years, especially after spending such an amount of money simply to get back here. And honestly, I can’t find any sense of college experience by attending ‘Zoom University.’”