In March, I wrote a blog post for Times Higher Education Student sharing how the coronavirus pandemic had affected my plans to study abroad. At that time, I was a master’s student in Brazil holding a fully funded offer for a PhD in the UK. I had no idea how I would meet all the deadlines, get my visa and travel to the UK. A lot has happened since then.
Being in Brazil during this pandemic was my biggest challenge. Sadly, we were one of the worst hit countries, so my family and I decided to quarantine ourselves in the middle of March, only going out when it was absolutely essential. As the virus is still actively circulating here, we are still shielding. It takes a considerable mental toll but we know we are doing the right thing and that we are lucky to be able to do that in such an unequal country.
My university in Brazil rapidly closed its campus (and this is still the case,…
