We have come to the end of season one! In this episode, the host, Zola Zingithwa is alone on the mic. She reflects back not only on the first season of Covid Stuck Abroad, but also on the pandemic itself. It is a ramble through her personal history with novel viruses, but also how in retrospect, she argues, we should have seen coming the devastations of Covid-19.

There is a survey to review Covid Stuck Abroad [see link below]! Please complete it before August 29 2021, 22:00 SAST. It would be much appreciated. You can also google Ohambileyo.com and right at the top of the homepage, you will see a button that, after you click on it, will direct you to the survey.

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For verified information about Covid-19, please refer to the World Health Organization (WHO) website. [see link below]

For South African specific information on Covid-19, please refer to the official South African government website. [see link below]

(This episode was recorded on 11 August 2021).

“Covid Stuck Abroad” was created Zola Zingithwa.

This episode was produced and edited by Zola Zingithwa.

Music: “Lazy Sumday” by Sahy Uhns, part of the “Bonus Beat Blast”. It is an original beat/rhythm library from dublab’s international family of music makers. The entire collection is licensed under a Creative Commons CC BY 3.0 license which gives you the freedom to share and remix. Source: Free Music Archive. Covid Stuck Abroad Podcast Survey · World Health Organization · South African Government · Instagram · Facebook · Covid Stuck Abroad

On the final episode of the season, Merissa Naidoo traces her life back to her time living in Suchen, China in December 2019. She had fallen sick, but was convinced it wasn’t this new virus that everyone back home in South Africa seemed to be worrying about. What she didn’t know at the time was how much that virus would affect everything in her life, including being stuck near the border of Hong Kong for a week in January 2021, all while expecting her first child, wondering if she would ever make it back home.

For verified information about Covid-19, please refer to the World Health Organization (WHO) website. [see link below]

For South African specific information on Covid-19, please refer to the official South African government website. [see link below]

(This episode was recorded on 30 July 2021.)

“Covid Stuck Abroad” was created and produced by Zola Zingithwa.

Music: “Lazy Sumday” by Sahy Uhns, part of the “Bonus Beat Blast”. It is an original beat/rhythm library from dublab’s international family of music makers. The entire collection is licensed under a Creative Commons CC BY 3.0 license which gives you the freedom to share and remix. Source: Free Music Archive.

This episode was recorded with assistance from the Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme through the National Arts Council. World Health Organization · South African Government · Instagram · Facebook · Covid Stuck Abroad

Sinenhlanhla Zungu, a PhD candidate at Lehigh University in the US, was giving her first talk at a conference in New Orleans in February 2020, when she first heard about the coronavirus. She didn’t know it then, but the pandemic would come to determine so much in her life, from the hobbies she would suddenly take up, to whether she could come back home to South Africa.

For verified information about Covid-19, please refer to the World Health Organization (WHO) website. [see link below]

For South African specific information on Covid-19, please refer to the official South African government website. [see link below]

(This episode was recorded on 15 July 2021.)

“Covid Stuck Abroad” was created and produced by Zola Zingithwa.

Music: “Lazy Sumday” by Sahy Uhns, part of the “Bonus Beat Blast”. It is an original beat/rhythm library from dublab’s international family of music makers. The entire collection is licensed under a Creative Commons CC BY 3.0 license which gives you the freedom to share and remix. Source: Free Music Archive.

This episode was recorded with assistance from the Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme through the National Arts Council. World Health Organization · South African Government · Instagram · Facebook · Covid Stuck Abroad

The beginning of 2020 marked a year since Gareth Smit had been to South Africa. He was feeling homesick, and planning to travel back home to catch up with family and friends. But in early March, the governor of New York declared a state of emergency, as New York became a coronavirus epicentre. And Gareth was there to bear witness.

For verified information about Covid-19, please refer to the World Health Organization (WHO) website. [see link below]

For South African specific information on Covid-19, please refer to the official South African government website. [see link below]

(This episode was recorded on 15 July 2021.)

“Covid Stuck Abroad” was created and produced by Zola Zingithwa.

Music: “Lazy Sumday” by Sahy Uhns, part of the “Bonus Beat Blast”. It is an original beat/rhythm library from dublab’s international family of music makers. The entire collection is licensed under a Creative Commons CC BY 3.0 license which gives you the freedom to share and remix. Source: Free Music Archive.

This episode was recorded with assistance from the Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme through the National Arts Council. World Health Organization · South African Government · Instagram · Facebook · Covid Stuck Abroad

Madia Ueckermann had many exciting trips planned for 2020. In January, with schools on a break for the Lunar New Year, she travelled to Thailand for a short vacation. Then in March, her parents travelled all the way from South Africa to visit her in Da Nang, Vietnam. The family planned to hit many of the popular tourist spots during the month long vacation. Except, the pandemic would turn it into a 3-month long stay in Madia's studio apartment.

For verified information about Covid-19, please refer to the World Health Organization (WHO) website. [see link below]

For South African specific information on Covid-19, please refer to the official South African government website. [see link below]

(This episode was recorded on 14 June 2021.)

“Covid Stuck Abroad” was created and produced by Zola Zingithwa.

Music: “Lazy Sumday” by Sahy Uhns, part of the “Bonus Beat Blast”. It is an original beat/rhythm library from dublab’s international family of music makers. The entire collection is licensed under a Creative Commons CC BY 3.0 license which gives you the freedom to share and remix. Source: Free Music Archive.

This episode was recorded with assistance from the Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme through the National Arts Council. World Health Organization · South African Government · Instagram · Facebook · Covid Stuck Abroad

In episode 5, Kagiso Mogotsi told her story of only intending to go on vacation, but finding herself gone from China because of the coronavirus outbreak. One of the colleagues she left behind at the English language training centre she worked at in Tianjin was Michelle October. Michelle had decided to stay in the country; after all, her mother had flown all the way from South Africa to visit her in China. However, instead of a fantasy vacation to China’s “Ice City”, her ‘holiday’ ended up being a 5-month lockdown.

For verified information about Covid-19, please refer to the World Health Organization (WHO) website. [see link below]

For South African specific information on Covid-19, please refer to the official South African government website. [see link below]

(This episode was recorded on 22 June 2021.)

“Covid Stuck Abroad” was created and produced by Zola Zingithwa.

Music: “Lazy Sumday” by Sahy Uhns, part of the “Bonus Beat Blast”. It is an original beat/rhythm library from dublab’s international family of music makers. The entire collection is licensed under a Creative Commons CC BY 3.0 license which gives you the freedom to share and remix. Source: Free Music Archive.

This episode was recorded with assistance from the Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme through the National Arts Council. World Health Organization · South African Government · Instagram · Facebook · Covid Stuck Abroad

The Chinese New Year was an opportunity to travel for Kagiso Mogotsi. January 2020 marked two years since she had been living in Tianjin. After a short break to Vietnam for the holidays, she planned to return to complete her teaching contract. But while on holiday, China went into lockdown to deal with the upsurge of coronavirus cases. She then decided to come back to South Africa to wait out the crisis that would surely end in a few weeks’ time. Or so she thought.

For verified information about Covid-19, please refer to the World Health Organization (WHO) website. [see link below]

For South African specific information on Covid-19, please refer to the official South African government website. [see link below]

(This episode was recorded on 04 June 2021.)

“Covid Stuck Abroad” was created and produced by Zola Zingithwa.

Music: “Lazy Sumday” by Sahy Uhns, part of the “Bonus Beat Blast”. It is an original beat/rhythm library from dublab’s international family of music makers. The entire collection is licensed under a Creative Commons CC BY 3.0 license which gives you the freedom to share and remix. Source: Free Music Archive.

This episode was recorded with assistance from the Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme through the National Arts Council. World Health Organization · South African Government · Instagram · Facebook · Covid Stuck Abroad

In 2018, Sadia Dhorat moved to the USA to complete a two-year MBA programme. The beginning of 2020 signalled her last semester, with promises of a school trip to China, meet-ups with friends, and eventually celebrating her achievement with a graduation ceremony. But of course, 2020 happened.

For verified information about Covid-19, please refer to the World Health Organization (WHO) website. [Link below]

For South African specific information on Covid-19, please refer to the official South African government website.[Link below]

(This episode was recorded on 01 May 2021.)

“Covid Stuck Abroad” was created and produced by Zola Zingithwa.

Music: “Lazy Sumday” by Sahy Uhns, part of the “Bonus Beat Blast”. It is an original beat/rhythm library from dublab’s international family of music makers. The entire collection is licensed under a Creative Commons CC BY 3.0 license which gives you the freedom to share and remix. Source: Free Music Archive.

This episode was recorded with assistance from the Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme through the National Arts Council. World Health Organization · South African Government · Instagram · Facebook · Covid Stuck Abroad

In March 2020, as South Africa was preparing to go into a level 5 lockdown, the United Arab Emirates was also experiencing its own version of a hard lockdown. Noxolo Pule had to decide if she would rush back to her husband and family in South Africa, before borders closed down, or if she would stay in Dubai for her job, possibly subjecting her to being alone for months on end.

For verified information about Covid-19, please refer to the World Health Organization (WHO) website. [See link]

For South African specific information on Covid-19, please refer to the official South African government website. [See link]

(This episode was recorded on 15 May 2021)

“Covid Stuck Abroad” was created and produced by Zola Zingithwa.

Music: “Lazy Sumday” by Sahy Uhns, part of the “Bonus Beat Blast”. It is an original beat/rhythm library from dublab’s international family of music makers. The entire collection is licensed under a Creative Commons CC BY 3.0 license which gives you the freedom to share and remix. Source: Free Music Archive.

This episode was recorded with funding assistance from the Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme through the National Arts Council. World Health Organization · South African Government · Instagram · Facebook · Covid Stuck Abroad

St. John Hunter had plans for 2020. He was going to start a new job plus take up graduate studies, doing a Masters in Finance part-time. He did both those things. But of course, 2020 also had its own plans: turning most people’s lives upside down. Which, in St. John’s case, included contracting the very virus that had brought the world to a standstill.

For verified information about Covid-19, please refer to the World Health Organization (WHO) website. [Link below]

For South African specific information on Covid-19, please refer to the official South African government website. [Link below]

(This episode was recorded on 09 May 2021)

“Covid Stuck Abroad” was created and produced by Zola Zingithwa.

Music: “Lazy Sumday” by Sahy Uhns, part of the “Bonus Beat Blast”. It is an original beat/rhythm library from dublab’s international family of music makers. The entire collection is licensed under a Creative Commons CC BY 3.0 license which gives you the freedom to share and remix. Source: Free Music Archive.

This episode was recorded with funding assistance from the Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme through the National Arts Council. World Health Organization · South African Government · Instagram · Facebook · Covid Stuck Abroad