My last trip was a business trip to Milan, Italy in February. I was concerned if
I should have traveled there because I was worried about the coronavirus, but it
was before Italy had started increasing in positive cases. With only two days left
of my business trip, the coronavirus situation in Italy got really bad all
of sudden, and the people in Milan started looking at me as if I was a criminal
or a disgusting creature. They avoided me with covering their faces because I'm
an Asian. Although I was a Japanese from Paris, all Asians were same for them.
It was the worst experience of discrimination I have ever experienced, though I
could understand their worries and fears. My existence scared them.
I used Google translate to explain where I came from in Italian, and showed the
phrase to people on my mobile screen when I had to communicate. However, to be
honest, I wanted to say that anyone could have already carried the virus at
that time. After coming back from Milan to Paris, I quarantined for two weeks
and canceled all upcoming plans. Then, after the quarantine, I came back to
where my husband lives, and again I did quarantine. Since then, I hadn't seen anybody except him until August. I was too tired to travel, so I don't want to
travel by airplane again until the pandemic finishes or reliable vaccines will
be available.