When I first came up with the plan to teach English in South Korea after I graduated, I was convinced that Covid-19 would not be an issue. Obviously, I was very wrong which is why I found myself doing the two week government issued quarantine for all incoming travelers to South Korea a year and a half later.
After a seven hour wait at the airport to get through customs, immigration, and now the additional quarantine and health checks, I finally made it to my quarantine destination. Luckily, I met several other EPIK teachers to pass the time while we waited at the airport. All of the EPIK teachers were placed in two hotels to complete our quarantine. My hotel was
Hotel Skypark Dongdaemun and my room was on the 19th floor, also known as “The Princess Floor.” And yes, the whole room was princess themed--pink walls and curtains, hearts and crowns everywhere. Definitely made me feel like a princess:)
After a few days in quarantine I was able to quickly establish a routine of sorts. I would wake up really early, usually anytime between 4-6, watch some EPIK orientation videos that had been assigned to us during quarantine, eat breakfast, workout, eat lunch, call my boyfriend and family members, and then relax for the rest of the day. I would typically go to bed early too, because by 8 pm I’d be so tired since I’d been up for so long.
Basically, my quarantine routine revolved around my meal times which were at 7 am, 12 pm, and 5 pm. Meals were an adventure because I never knew what I was going to get. My options for meals were a Korean lunchbox or a veggie/salad/fruit mix. After a few days of getting the Korean lunchbox for both lunch and dinner, I changed my dinner option to the veggie/fruit/salad mix because I was craving fruits and veggies and it did not disappoint! I had a lot of laughs during meal times, because sometimes (most of the time) I had no idea what I was eating. One time I thought I was about to eat a type of curly pasta, but instead realized the pasta noodles were actually little fish! The variety of food definitely kept me on my toes.
The room I was placed in did not have a beautiful view of Seoul as I wished, but instead faced the hotel’s courtyard. In a way I was lucky though, because I could see the other hotel rooms where fellow EPIK teachers were quarantining. It was nice to be able to see people who were going through the same thing as I was. People put signs of encouragement on their windows and we would wave at each other when we saw each other through the window. There were also a few dance parties when someone would blast music on their speaker so everyone could hear. My favorite song they played was, When Will My Life Begin, from the Tangled soundtrack...seemed fitting. There was also a last night of
quarantine dance party where music was played through the speaker and people changed the lighting settings in their rooms to be fun colors.
Even though I eventually had a schedule for my day I would still get very bored at times as I’m sure most people who have had to self-isolate would agree with me. Quarantine was a roller coaster of emotions, especially when you just moved to a new country. It was a weird feeling to be in this new place, but to be stuck inside a hotel room for two weeks instead of exploring your new home. It’s like you get really excited to leave your home country, then once you get to the new country you get more nervous and anxious all over again until the last days of quarantine when you get excited again. But finally, I got to leave and it was such a strange feeling to walk out of that hotel room. I felt as if I was doing something wrong! And I’m quite confident to say that although I thought my princess room was cute, I never want to see it again!
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