When the UC Berkeley campus shuts down for the winter break, student Abdoul Aziz Sandotin Coulibaly usually returns home to spend the holidays with his family in the western Ivory Coast city of Man.
"We follow the traditional way," Coulibaly said to KQED about his family holiday traditions in Africa. "Just getting some chicken, and then cook and eat together."
But not this year.
The 23-year-old graduate student studying for a Ph.D. in structural engineering is stuck in Berkeley because of the pandemic.
"It has been hell," Coulibaly said. "I never really thought I would have to go through something like that. And especially alone."
With cases of the coronavirus increasing around the globe and a no-travel advisory in full force across the Bay Area, many people are making the difficult choice to spend the holidays without family and friends. But for international students like Coulibaly, who infrequently see their families throughout the school year due to distance and cost of travel, it’s an especially bittersweet time.