Three international students share their experiences being away from home during the pandemic

Lockdown has been tough on us all, but perhaps none more than those many miles away from their loved ones.

In times of crisis, we tend to head for home where we’re surrounded by family and our closest friends. But international travel restrictions put an end to that for many stuck in foreign lands and they’ve been forced to sit alone for months as the pandemic played out around the world.

Those trapped include bright students who took the opportunity to spread their wings and study abroad. This is an increasingly popular trend – there are over 5,3 million international students around the world, according to Unesco – so many students have been left to their own devices to cope with the disruption caused by the virus and the mental shift necessary to handle lockdown.