The students I meet while tutoring

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Speaking to people from around the non-English parts of the world has been so interesting. At times it can be a bit like counseling, listening to problems and suggesting things. A young Japanese woman was in Vancouver, BC, studying English, was going to be there for at least six months. She was also using the site I teach on. We had talked several times and she was making good progress. But then last week she called, crying, saying that her parents wanted her to come home because of so much Covid 19 in the world. She felt she must obey their wishes, but really wanted to stay. Flying back to Japan meant that she would have two weeks quarantine alone in a hotel. She was booked to fly on Wednesday of this week, but could find no hotel close to the airport in that huge city of Tokyo. I looked up the Japanese Consulate and suggested that perhaps they could help in some way or that perhaps she could change her flight. The Consulate did not even respond, but she worked it out to fly to Osaka, where her boyfriend will pick her up and booked a hotel for her. I hope to hear that she gets home safely.