14 days inside a hotel room. 14 days without hugging my husband, Zee. 14 days completely and utterly alone in a foreign land. Sounds a bit bleak, doesn't it? But all in all, it hasn't been too terrible.
I initially dreaded the impending loneliness and lack of freedom that inevitably came with quarantining for two weeks, but I really haven't felt all that lonely. Maybe it's the only child in me. Or maybe it's because I have a giant community of friends and family that have made an applaudable effort to keep Zee and I entertained while locked up.
Here are a few highlights from this strange and mandatory experience:
Rest: I'm surprisingly grateful for the quarantine. I won't say I'm grateful for all 14 days of it, but I am grateful for some. Jet lag is a beast, and I cannot imagine having to jump right into orientation and culture shock without letting my body recuperate first. It took a solid 3-4 days for my body to adjust to a semi-normal sleep schedule, and I imagine it would have been a much more uncomfortable experience adapting to KST if I hadn't been able to rest by myself with no responsibilities.
Food: We have our food brought to us three times a day. Someone drops little bags filled with Korean cuisine at approximately 0700, 1200, and 1700. I've never seen whoever drops it off; I hear my doorbell ring and when I open the door the food stork has come and gone. We also have nearly zero say in what we're going to eat. For breakfast we either get rice porridge with kimchi and cereal, or we get what Zee calls a Big Mac (double layered stacked sandwich with turkey? Ham?
Not sure). For lunch and dinner we get a bento-styled tray with a bunch of little mini dishes, rice, and a varying meat. There are practically no accommodations for allergies or diet restrictions. You can request a veggie plate, which consists of a salad and some fruits, but that's truly our only say in the matter. One of the other EPIK teachers is highly allergic to peanuts, and the first night she got here, all they had were meals with peanuts, so she went hungry. Our colleagues that eat halal diets almost always have to eat the veggie plate since pork is such a staple meat here, and there isn't much protein on those veggie plates unfortunately. I usually have enjoyed the meals; luckily I'm a big kimchi fan. But I have started to feel like a Pavlovian dog, trained to anxiously await the sound of my doorbell.
Exercise: Turns out with endless time on my hands, I'm still incredibly lazy. No surprise there.
Hobbies: They're essential. I have patted myself on the back countless times for bringing a little starters embroidery kit. Also, as much of an absolute pain it was to lug my whole PC across the globe, it has been a godsend to be able to play games with friends back home. There's constantly someone to talk to in the discord or on snapchat, so I've never really felt alone.
Internet: My PC hasn't been good for just the hangs. I also brought an ethernet cable because, ya know, computers need those things. Turns out, in my hotel, ethernet cables are worth their weight in gold. Our Wi-Fi here is often unusable, and my little ethernet cable has saved me from two weeks of not being able to stream Netflix, finish my onboarding, and talk to my friends and family. I probably would've been declared mentally unstable after quarantine without my trusty blue cable; I owe it my sanity.
I'm currently writing this on day 12/14. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. In just a few short days, I'll have to leave my cave and walk into the sunlight to begin the next leg of my journey. I'm so excited to see Zee; I've missed his hugs and noisiness. I'm looking forward to pick what I eat. I'm anxious to see human faces and see smiles, even if it is through a mask. But there is an uneasiness that comes with leaving extended solitude. I'll be leaving a safe space, where a new culture could barely shock me, where my poor Korean skills could not be judged, and where I barely had any responsibilities or stressors to bombard me. I'm leaving my healing time in the infirmary and heading straight onto the battlefield. Luckily, I like a good challenge.
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