Interview by Cheyenne Boone
Photos by Serena Nappa
Serena Nappa is a Sophomore majoring in Advertising photography and was studying abroad in Paris during the Coronavirus pandemic.
When and how did you first experience COVID-19?
I went to the American University of Paris, which has like kids from all over the world. So, a lot of people had to be quarantined for two weeks after spring break, and they weren’t allowed back into school… A bunch of people went to like Milan and Florence and stuff. And luckily, we didn’t end up going to Florence or Milan, and we like decided to just not do that part. And so luckily, like we weren’t quarantine and we still got to go to school and everything. But that was, that’s when it started to kind of like ramp up. That was pretty crazy.
We had a crazy spring break…. we were supposed to spend the whole second week in Spain. The first day I woke up in Madrid my dad called me and was like, the Coronavirus just hit Madrid like it’s getting bad over there, or it’s at least like happening over there and my parents were really worried about me. So, he made me take the first flight home to Paris. Which sucks because my spring break got cut short… Spring Break was like the beginning I think of everything, beginning of the end, I guess you could say.
How or were you seeing changes in the community?
We started to notice like when we’d go on the metro, you would hear a Corona announcement. So usually there’ll be an announcement like, watch out for pickpocketing or whatever because that’s like really big there, especially because they just had their Metro strike. So, it was like kind of huge. But then by the end of the trip, when you’d go in the metro, there’d be a regular like, make sure you wash your hands don’t cough or sneeze on your hands like cough into your arm or whatever. Um, so that was like a big change but other than that, like the big thing was the lube shutting down for like two days.
People using the subway acted like nothing was happening. I will live everything’s fine.. it was comforting because, my parents were freaking out, you know, like, everyone at home was kind of freaking out. And so, it was nice to go out in the town, you know, on the streets or whatever and everything was cool.
How were you feeling when everything happened so quickly?
It was so funny, it was a whole whirlwind of emotions because like when I was sent home back to Paris from Spain for spring break, I was like just really frustrated you know? Because I thought my parents were overreacting over everything and my roommates were staying so um, obviously there’s frustration there. For a long time, I did not think I was going home at all.
What was your experience leaving like? Did you have to leave quickly?
It was like, 2am and I got a call from my dad. He basically was just like, find a flight home right now. Trump just said this thing, and you’re not going to be allowed in the country after Friday because Trump had misspoken. So, we were all under the belief that I was going to be locked out of America. So yeah, that was crazy…. so, I was like super lucky that I got that call and everything because otherwise I probably wouldn’t have gotten a flight home.
What was your experience like coming home? How were the flights and airports?
I had a layover in Iceland, and I think it was a little more hectic and I saw a lot of Americans that were kind of like freaking out. But the one interesting thing was because my sister came, my twin, her flight was on Friday, so I had to go back to the airport and pick her up. Both times when I was exiting the airport, and when I was picking her up, it was just like, students everywhere. Like we just saw this one girl walk into her mom’s arm like bawling.
But what I thought was really interesting was that when I went through customs they asked, because I had to write Italy down on like my card because I went to Italy for spring break, he was like, do you have a fever? I said no. He was like, have you been to China? I said no. And then he saw Italy and he was like, oh, where’d you go in Italy and I was like, just the Amalfi Coast and Palermo, whatever I told him in Rome. And he was just like, Alright, you’re good to go. I think it took me like a minute to get through. It was so easy. And I was like, I know the borders haven’t closed yet, but this is too easy. Like, what if I’m lying to you? I don’t know. That was crazy. I was almost worried, I was like I don’t want to go back into the country if you’re just letting everyone in.
Did you quarantine? If so, where and with whom?
I just went home, and we quarantined for two weeks. It’s actually really funny because my mom was in the middle of redoing our kitchen because we were all out of the house and everything. So, we currently don’t have a stove or an oven or sink. Luckily my grandma lives next door, so she’s been cooking for us. So yeah, we’ve been quarantining and we’re all fine.
How have you been coping with coming home and quarantine?
I’m just so lucky because we’re a super creative family. So, I’ve been playing a lot of music. My oldest sister makes us paint a lot with her. Things like that which, keeps you busy and kind of inspired and creative and everything. So that’s really good also, because they just like cheer me up.
I’ve been literally waiting for this and I don’t even know since like early elementary school and there were a lot of expectations and I was so excited and then it just kind of gets ripped out of your hands. The first few days, I was crushed, coming back from America. I didn’t change my clothes. I mean, I just kind of stayed in my room. It’s helped because my twin studied abroad too. So, we would just like sit and talk and my family’s been really cool about it and they’ll just listen to us talk about our experience and I think that helps.
Do you see yourself returning to Paris in the foreseeable future?
Oh, yeah, I really hope so. I mean my whole family loves Paris, they love traveling and stuff. So, I know for sure that I’m going back to Europe and Paris. I’m going to get to do all that again. I know that for sure just because it’s so important to me. Honestly, I guess it makes a hell of a story. I just try and look at it in a good light. I just try to remember the things that I did get to do and that I did experience are just insane and I’m super lucky.
