What was supposed to be a wonderful cross-cultural experience has now been called off. According to the Asbury University website, the “China study abroad program has been cancelled until further notice due to the coronavirus.” The outbreak has been classified as a level 3 alert, meaning that any unnecessary travel to or from China is not permitted due to risk of infection.
2020 was supposed to feature the semester abroad in China, a trip that included seven weeks in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province; one week in Qinghai, NW China, Thailand and South Korea and four weeks in Beijing.
During this fully immersive trip, students would have visited historical sites and participated in service projects throughout their time. Students would also have earned up to 16 credit hours while on this trip.
“With much deliberation, the decision to cancel fall 2020 semester in China was made after careful review of the risk to student health and safety, as well as travel advisories from the state department,” said Rev. Esther D. Jadhav, the assistant vice president for Intercultural Affairs. “We are continuing to monitor this situation in order to ascertain when we can offer this opportunity again.”
At this time there are no plans to reschedule the trip, but there is hope that with the progress on virus treatment and containment that the trip may be rescheduled in the future.
With the ever-changing nature of the coronavirus, there is no telling whether the severity will decrease to a level where travel is once again seen as low to zero risk. The university may issue updates on the program’s future as new information arises.
