LOS FELIZ, Calif. — Stuck in China, it’s rare that Samson Adame goes outside. But earlier this week he ran a rare errand outside to fetch drinking water in a remote village, 6,000 miles away from home. 

“I think the worst thing that can happen is actually catching the virus so I can’t complain about all the inconveniences it has caused,” Adame said over Skype. He’s on a semester abroad gone awry – as he ran errands, he sent Spectrum News 1 videos of a country under quarantine in what he describes as "a small village in the middle of nowhere."

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Adame should be in class. He came to Beijing on a scholarship from California State University Northridge, or CSUN. He was on holiday in Shandong Province to celebrate the Lunar New Year when the world changed. 

“We kept reading on the news: another person infected here, another person infected here, and then as soon as the first person died, everyone started getting really scared,” Adame said.

He’s about a 10-hour drive from the epicenter, Wuhan, but the entire countryside is on lockdown. 

The village where he is staying is now as isolated as it is remote. His new reality sounds like science fiction. He only leaves the house to get drinking water and food. 

Thanks to Skype and WeChat, he can talk to his mom, Nancy Krank, every day. She’s staying calm but angry about the way CSUN handled the situation. 

“My hands are tied as a mom, you always want to fix things and this is something I can’t fix,” Krank said. 

When CSUN suspended Adame’s program, it meant his travel insurance was also canceled. Krank says the school could be doing more to keep her son covered, in case something happens while he is living in the middle of a global health crisis. 

“Come through for your students and show you care,” Krank said. 

CSUN called back their students, but Adame is stuck. To leave the village means defying the Chinese government. The main roads, highways and even train stations are shut down. 

For now, life is on hold. Days tick by playing cards and watching videos.

“I’m not scared. We’re perfectly safe where we are,” Adame said. “They’re not letting anybody in. Nobody here has the virus. We’re pretty isolated.”

And in China, isolated – is exactly how he wants to stay. 

Spectrum News 1 reached out to CSUN for comment on this story and received the following statement:

"When the coronavirus first emerged as a health crisis, we reached out to students and others in a China study abroad program to offer assistance. CSUN requested all participating students and alumni in China return to the U.S as soon as possible, and informed them that the program has been suspended until further notice because of the ongoing health crisis there. Additionally, campus officials worked to provide support and resources for those affected, and have been working with the Chinese Consulate to help facilitate each individual’s return. The health and safety of students and alumni in this program is CSUN’s top priority and our return efforts will continue until every individual is home safely. Federal student privacy rights statutes prevent CSUN from providing information regarding individual students.”