Q&A with undergrads Cara Meulenbroek and Margaret Hornett

Friends Cara Meulenbroek and Margaret Hornett were studying in Adelaide, Australia, at the University of Adelaide when COVID-19 broke out.

What was your experience before the pandemic?

Our time spent in Australia was absolutely amazing! Before the start of classes we were able to sight-see around Adelaide, as well as a few nearby places. We became zoo members, went to various beaches and all around had a great few weeks! The weather was much warmer than Canada, and it was so nice to be able to explore new places and do new activities that we aren’t able to do in Calgary. During the orientation weeks, we were able to have tours of the university, and meet some new people who were also studying at the university in our respective programs. The few weeks of school we had before the U of A closed were also fun - it was definitely interesting to experience new teaching styles.

How did your study abroad experience end?

When the pandemic started escalating, we made the difficult decision to stay in Australia. Australia as a whole was doing very well in terms of keeping their numbers low, while Canada's number of COVID-19 cases was starting to climb. A day or so later, we realized that our study abroad experience would come to a very quick end when Canada declared the border closures. Flights started disappearing quickly, and we were seeing numbers as high as $10,000 CAD for a one-way ticket home. We were fortunate enough to find a somewhat reasonably-priced flight home and booked it for a week out. Over the course of the next week, our flight was changed seven times, including date changes and all out cancellations. The craziest change was getting an email at 3:00 a.m. stating that our flight would now be departing at 6:00 a.m. that same day. Fortunately, I woke up in the middle of the night and checked my emails in time to sort that out.

What was your return trip like?

Once we finally had a flight that seemed reliable, we still had to address issues such as limited taxis available to take us to the airport due to the pandemic, and limited food and drinks provided on the fifteen hour flight as a health precaution. It was also incredibly interesting to see the precautions that the other travelers were taking. People were dressed in anything from normal clothing with no masks or gloves to improvised hazmat suits. Our domestic flights were the emptiest flights that I have ever been on, but I don't think there was an empty seat on our Australia to Canada flight.

How did the University of Calgary assist you in your return?

Both the University of Adelaide and the University of Calgary were helpful in assisting us home. They both supported us regardless of the decision we made - either to return to Canada or not. The Risk Management team at UCalgary offered to reimburse us for the return tickets home, as well as the fee we needed to pay to our housing provider, to terminate the lease early. This was great news, as we are both students, we appreciate the financial support! We also received a few emails offering to help us sign up for spring courses, should we need to obtain credit from UCalgary for the semester. That being said, we both ended up being able to take our courses remotely from Canada, so we will not need to take a spring semester! The UCalgary also set up a return home meeting for all students impacted, to make sure we have the necessary support we need during this time.