ow many swine flu jokes have you heard in the past week? How many of your friends had to be convinced that their feeling under the weather was not swine flu? The disease popped up, seemingly from out of nowhere, and ever since, the media has been riveted on reporting every second of the potential pandemic. Constant parallels were made to the’18 flu epidemic that killed millions of people worldwide, and the pandemic protocols put in place under the Bush administration were tested.

In addition to all this, pandemic fears have hit close to home when several Dartmouth students were reported as having “probable” cases, even though we found out that they did not test positive in the end (though we’re still waiting on one). Despite the drama, the outbreak still seemed somewhat remote, not leaving a lasting imprint on the Hanover bubble as of yet.

For some students, however, the experience was much more immediate. A group of Dartmouth students on the Spanish Language Study Abroad program in Cholula, Mexico were eyewitnesses to the swine flu outbreak. I spoke with one of these students, Justin Lee ’11, about his experiences.

Dartmouth Free Press: When did you first realize that you were witnessing a potential pandemic?

Justin Lee: We were actually on an excursion to Cuetzalan when the outbreak first happened. Cuetzalan is a small town with a lot of indigenous people, and we were staying at a hotel run by indigenous women. We’d heard a few rumors floating around about the swine flu, but were just relaxing and walking around, going to waterfalls, and taking in the sights. On the bus ride back to Cholula our professor Francine A’Ness told us that Dartmouth was considering making us stay in Cuetzalan longer, but decided to move us back to Cholula where there was better healthcare and less tourism. Only when I later got on my computer and checked the news did I realize how big of a deal the media was making it out to be.

DFP: Could you describe the experience?

JL: After reading up on the swine flu, to be honest I didn’t really think it was that big of a deal. The first day back in Cholula, nothing really changed. It wasn’t until our prof told us that the president of Mexico was closing all universities for a week that it really impacted us. We also started noticing more masks around, and that night all the restaurants and bars were closed down. It was a little creepy around town with nothing open. Behaviorally, not much changed. People were talking, but no one really seemed all that worried. I remember the taxi drivers in particular were adamant that it wasn’t a big deal. Someone told us the masks weren’t all that effective at preventing the spread of the disease, so few of us bothered with them. I just washed my hands a little more often than usual and that was about it.

DFP: What did you do while waiting for Dartmouth to make a decision when classes were no

longer in session?

JL: I don’t recall the exact timeline, but we had only stayed in Mexico for a day or two after classes were cancelled. We were given work to do, but I spent most of that time Skype-ing people back in the states. Since everything was closed down, the group ended up getting together to watch season 2 of Lost at someone’s house. After that, we flew to Houston and everyone went to their respective homes in the states.

DFP: Was Dartmouth in contact you with throughout the experience?

JL: Yes. We had emails coming at us from our professor, and someone from Dick’s house called us every day the week we came back home to make sure we didn’t have swine flu. We just got word today that we’ll be headed back up to Dartmouth for a two-week “intensive” course in Spanish.

DFP: How did you feel when you were told you had to leave the program? Do you think Dartmouth made the right choice?

JL: I was pretty bummed out about it, but we had a tight group and everyone was trying to make the best of it. But I understand and agree with Dartmouth’s situation. Especially in the early stages when not much was known, I think it was a definite possibility that things could’ve easily escalated and if we’d stayed we could’ve been trapped in Mexico due to border restrictions. That’s ignoring the possibility of one of us getting sick. Also, since Mexico basically shut down, there wouldn’t have been much for us to do if we’d stayed anyway. Dartmouth took really good care of us. They chartered a private plane (since commercial planes are incubators for disease) a day or two after they decided to fly us out, probably at great cost to them and took care of all our flights home.

DFP: What are you going to do now to get credit for the term? Do you think it’s fair to make you finish the LSA coursework in Hanover?

JL: We’re heading back to Hanover for a few weeks of intensive coursework. I think it’s fair, especially since I get no work done at home and would’ve felt gypped by “distance learning.” Dartmouth is also taking care of the flights, so I have no qualms there. Plus, we get to be here for Green Key weekend, and that’s all that really matters.

DFP: Anything else you want to add?

JL: I think the American media blew this thing out of proportion. If you look at it objectively, it really hasn’t infected that many people, and the death rate is on par with the normal flu. Swine flu also responds to antivirals. Shutting down a country’s economy, and some of the stunts other countries have pulled (Egypt killing 300,000 pigs, Russia and China banning pork imports from the Americas, quarantine of hotel in Asia) are absurd. The media coverage when I came back to the states was more dire and extreme than what I saw in Mexico. Sure, it’s better to be safe than sorry, but I think there is a limit to that, and I think a lot of parties involved definitely crossed that line.

I felt like a leper when I came back; I heard that someone sitting next to one of my friends changed seats when they heard my friend had just come back from Mexico. There is an inherent danger to hybrid flues since the general population has no immunity (you should check out Mary Guerinot’s Bio 11 class on Infectious Diseases because it talks very specifically about these types of cases), but people shouldn’t let unjustified fears dictate what they do.

That being said, the general response by the United States, Mexico, and even Dartmouth (excluding the media) was admirable. I feel that we are better prepared now to face these kinds of threats than we’ve ever been before.