When checking in, I got a list of instructions in Chinese – what to do, what not to do, and when to expect food, among other things. Some of the more memorable rules are that I have to keep my room clean, how and when to take the garbage out (there was even a laminated sheet in the room with pictures!), how to order more bottles of water for 2 yuan, if I had drunk all 34 1/2 liter bottles that they supplied me with, and that I can’t order more than 300 yuan worth of stuff. (What can I get besides water?)
There was also the most important bit of information – when I’d be released. I was set to be released at 10pm. Why that late at night? I’d rather just stay the extra night, leave after breakfast the next day, so that I could easily just go back to the airport and, finally, catch a flight to Shenzhen.
However, I don’t really get much of a choice in anything while in quarantine.
Once I had made it up to my new, temporary, home with ‘dinner’ (several small breads, muffins, and a milk) in hand, there were yet more forms to fill out that asked almost the exact same questions. Surprise, surprise. Honestly, how many different ways are there to say where I’m going after quarantine, how I got here, and that I’m not sick and don’t know anyone sick?
I get in my room, start putting down all my stuff and look around. Then, an alarm goes off on my door. I look out in the hall to see if anything is out there and if there is a clue out there on how to turn the alarm off. Nothing. I close the door and it stops for a bit. But, it goes off again. Hmm… Maybe I need to lock the door? After I flip the bar that prevents the door from completely opening, it stops. Weird.
But, before I could finish the ‘new’ forms and send the pictures to a WeChat account called ‘medic’, I had to figure out how to work my shiny, new thermometer. I’ve only ever used digital thermometers before. Now, I had this weird, triangular, glass thermometer. One side is the numbers, another is tick marks, and the third has manufacturer information. However, whichever way I looked at the thing, I couldn’t see a red or silver line.
After looking at it from all angles, trying a couple things, and Googling, I admitted defeat and messaged the ‘medic’ for help. I got a couple short videos. In one of them, I saw the silver line. I looked at my thermometer and there it was! I had finally found the stupid line.
But, as I’m sitting in my room with the thermometer in my mouth to take my temp so that I can finish the forms, I get a couple messages and phone calls to fill out the forms and turn them in. They have to have them right that second or I might not be able to leave quarantine on time. I rush through the forms and write whatever the thermometer currently says, and fill out my first temp survey. Everyone is happy. Or, at least, they leave me alone.
Time for bed.
Except, now, I’m not tired. My body has decided that it’s daytime and not time for sleep anymore, even though I was napping on the bus ride over from the airport.
Eventually, after a long night of playing on my phone and taking my morning temperature, it is time for breakfast.
There is purple soup.
I didn’t know soup could be purple. Why is the soup purple? And why does it smell so bad?!
I didn’t eat it. I’m still scared of it. So far, I’ve seen 3 different soups – the purple one, a yellow one that tastes like nothing, and, my favorite, dumpling soup. Ok, technically, I saw several different ‘dumplings’ in the soups, but, as I’m not an expert on Chinese food, they are all ‘dumpling soup’ to me.
Right after breakfast, my body decided that it was time for sleep. I slept until lunch, when the doorbell woke me up. After eating, I was awake for a whole two hours, mostly because I had to take my temp again, then it was time for another nap. After dinner, I was hoping that I’d be able to sleep through the night, as I have slept all day and easily slept at night before, but not today. I tried to sleep and it just didn’t happen.
While I mostly couldn’t sleep, I came up with a plan. I would stay awake between breakfast and lunch, then I could nap until dinner, and hope to sleep a little that night. Slowly, I’d work my way into a proper day/night cycle. I mean, it’s not like I had anything else to do. No outdoor activities to help with the jet lag this time.
By the end of the first week, I’m almost completely adjusted. I wake up and go to sleep a little earlier than I would like, but it’s close.
So far, I’ve only had one visitor. On my second day. Someone came to the door in full COVID protection gear (they looked like they were ready for work in a hazmat lab). They said something in Chinese. I said ‘I don’t understand’ in Chinese while looking confused. They said ‘OK’ and left. I still have no idea what they wanted or why they stopped by, but I miss them. And seeing people.
I just have to wait another week.
My TEFL Adventure 