2020 is really THE year....of havoc.
2019 marked the end of a decade, and to many people 2020 symbolised a new beginning and a fresh start in their lives..... and then, the corona virus started spreading.
This whole blog post is not only my experience in isolation but also how the corona virus has impacted me and my thoughts about this outbreak.
I currently study A-Levels in the UK and was about to take my A levels in May 2020. The A-levels is probably one of the most important examination a student can take as it literally determines their future. It can only be taken once and that grade and the subjects you take more or less determines your future career path and where you can go in life essentially.....
However, the corona virus made it impossible for students to take the A levels physically, as exam centres is essentially a mass gathering. Around mid Feb, the first case of the corona virus was documented in Bristol. A few weeks has passed and the number of confirmed cases only rose to less than 100. Suddenly, the outbreak of corona virus in Italy caused the number of corona virus cases to skyrocket. In a matter of a single week, the number of cases rose from 200 to almost 1000, and it took less than a week to rise to 2000. By the end of the 3rd week of March, the number of cases almost hit 3000.
Everyone expected schools to close, however, no one really expected for the exams to be cancelled. I remember our principal telling us that if the a level students had to return, it would mean that it is impossible for them to take their a levels. However literally one day later after the news was announced, the principal told us to pack our things and return ASAP. I always wanted to go home, but I never expected to leave all my friends and literally end my high school life in such an abrupt manner.
With all of the uncertainties of how our A levels will become,I had to pack my room and clear my room in 3 days and return back to my home country. In my home country, those who returned from the UK has to be isolated for 14 days. This means, no human interaction, no going out for a whole 2 weeks. Normally I would be fine with this arrangement, I am not an extroverted person in any way and staying at home for doing nothing is actually my forte. However, this means I cannot stay at home, so I rented a hotel room and stayed with my friend.
Tbh, it may seem fun, staying in one room with your best friend, but to me it was really uncomfortable. There was only one queen sized bed and I literally cannoy share a bed with someone, especially for 14 nights, thus I decided to sleep on the sofa bed. It was hellish, it was so uncomfortable every night and it made my already bad back even worse. Not to mention there wasn't a proper table for me to work and study since there was only one table in the whole entire room.
Privacy was also another issue as I enjoy my own personal space. I think even living with my own mother in such a confined space will make me go berserk and thus I decided to move.
Luckily for me, the government provides hotel accommodation for people who needs to be isolated, and in a matter of a weekend, I was at my new hotel. Tbh, I felt a huge sense of relief when I knew I could move. Staying in a hotel all day is always something I wanted to do since young and I finally got to do that HAHAHAHAHA
The hotel I was assigned to was a really old hotel, it wasn't modern like a lot of new hotels are right now, but it still has the basic facilities you would expect, although there were quite a lot of things that are breaking apart.
The bathroom was really big, with a huge bathtub that I use all the time to soak in a nice hot bath while listening to music. There is also a mini fridge hidden in the cupboard (and the door of the cupboard broke shhh). There is a kettle and a ALOT of coffee and tea, enough to last one for a week or so, but the coffee is literally the worst coffee I have ever drank in my whole life. There is a nice study desk and chair which I sometimes use to study. Of course there is a TV that no one uses now HAHAHAHA.
The room is really very spacious and I have enough space to put my Yoga mat and do some exercises. I will just walk around in the afternoon to stay active before heading to the bathroom to soak in the bathtub for around an hour HAHAHAHA
The government provides food daily, breakfast lunch and dinner. Breakfast is served at around 8 am (before I even wake up) Lunch is served at around 1 pm and dinner at around 6pm. The food is either a hit or miss. There are a few days where the food is really good and I enjoyed it thoroughly, other days the food either has ingredients I absolutely detest (aka chicken rice) or the food just tastes...interesting? on these days i will just order delivery.
what i really like is that there is an e buddy that calls you daily to check up on you and kinda talk to you. You can tell them anything and talk to them like a friend. They are the only form of human interaction you can have for the next 14 days so its always good to be polite and nice to them. My E buddy is really sweet and nice, I was having wifi problems and she helped me get a portable wifi that i can use for 4 hours daily which is really sweet ( i mean it is not a must they have to do that ) and she also gave me some nice cookies.
Now its day 9 of the 14 days so I am almost done. Tbh I think i will miss my life in isolation as it is really very comfortable in this hotel. Isolation is really not as bad as it seems as long as you have your meals taken care of and decent internet for you to connect with your friends and family members and also surf the net.
This is definitely a once in a lifetime experience, and hopefully, no one needs to experience this again. Thank you for reading this and I hope the corona virus will be gone soon and everyone can return to their normal lives. But before this happens, do treasure every single day you have with your family and friends. Do not be pessimistic in this situation, remember to live your best everyday and actually enjoy this period, it will most probably the last time anyone in this generation will experience such a large outbreak, and while taking the necessary precautions, do remember you can learn a lot of life lessons from this pandemic. Stay safe and stay healthy and remember to wear masks and wash your hands!
