Foreign staff at Fudan ride out epidemic in Shanghai
French man Antoine Riaud returns to Shanghai on February 2.
Not afraid or frustrated, French man Antoine Riaud, 31 really enjoys staying at home and has developed an unexpected interest in cooking.
“I never knew my microwave oven and toaster were so versatile,” Riaud, a researcher at Fudan University, told Shanghai Daily.
In a video taken to cheer up the nation, he shared his tips about how to spend the extremely long winter holidays. “Just stay at home and cook well,” he said, with a sincere smile on his face.
Riaud joined Fudan University institute of microelectronics in 2018 and spent this year’s Chinese New Year with his wife in her hometown in northwest China’s Shaanxi Province.
“I took a high-speed train to Shaanxi on January 23, but came back on February 2,” Riaud said. He returned two days ahead of schedule, worried about travel restrictions. “On arrival, we were asked by our local community to stay at home for 14 days.”
“My parents in France were very worried about me at first. But after learning about China’s efforts in curbing the virus, they felt quite relieved.”
Riaud has followed anti-epidemic measures according to instructions. He stays at home as much as possible, washes hands regularly and wears a mask when he goes out. His biggest challenge is online mentoring.
"I much prefer school to online courses because, at school, I can write formulas on the board, rather than voice chatting which makes explanations much more difficult," he said.
Like Riaud, many foreign researchers and teachers at Fudan are staying at home.
Mohammad Hatamvand, a postdoctoral researcher at the school of information science and technology, didn’t return to Iran with his wife and his daughter during Chinese New Year.
“I love China and I am sure the epidemic will be concluded by Chinese government soon. And I’m ready to help,” he said.
Japanese researcher Satoshi Nawata, from the department of physics said. “I hope we will put the force together to stamp out this outbreak. Best wishes to people in Shanghai. I hope we will start our spring semester soon.”
