As I am certain is the case for everyone who has done their year abroad this year, the current out break of the Coronavirus has presented some unique challenges. Fortunately for me, my schools were immensely helpful and supportive.
I was advised by my university to return home to the UK, however I decided to stay in Spain for several reasons. Firstly, I did not want to risk contributing to the spread of the virus by travelling between countries, especially because Spain was hit noticeably harder than most countries. Secondly, I did not want to risk having physical contact with older members of my family who are more vulnerable. And thirdly, I have two flatmates who also decided to stay, and I felt like it would be best for us to stay and support each other. Of course, it was also worth bearing in mind that abandoning my year abroad early would influence my Erasmus Grant.
Rest assured, it has been a unique and at times very daunting situation to be in a foreign country during these times, but I do not at all regret my decision. One of the things that frustrated me the most was that our flat does not have a balcony, therefore when we were in the full lockdown which meant that we were not allowed to leave the flat for any reason other than to go to the supermarket at the end of the street or take out the rubbish, it was impossible to get any sunlight. I asked my mum to send me some vitamin D tablets to combat this.
Slowly but surely, the restrictions were lifted and now I am pleased to say that life here has in many ways returned to normal with bars and cafés now reopened and people able to travel across Spain. Just recently my friends and I travelled to a nearby town called ‘Lastres’ because it was the filming location for a popular series called ‘Doctor Mateo’. We took some photos and had a ‘Menu del día’ before resting on the beach.
It was very sad for me to not be able to say goodbye to the students in person, however I was grateful to receive a certificate and some very nice comments from my tutors in my ‘After the Mobility’ reports. For the last few weeks, I have been doing lessons online through Microsoft Teams. I am immensely proud of myself for the way that I have managed with this, I feel as though I adapted to it very well and had some lessons that were fun and interesting.
I will for sure miss my students and I hope that I have helped them with their English.
I will miss Gijón and the friends I have made here very much but I am looking forward to returning home to be reunited with my friends and family, whom I have not seen in many months.
¡Muchísimas gracias Gijón!
#Coronavirus #Travel #Lockdown
Callum En Asturias 