Quarantine Diaries

​I’m laughing right now as I read over words that I wrote at the start of this year. I wrote them in a little printable booklet called The Year Compass, that I use to reflect on the past year and write down my hopes for the year to come. I found the booklet as I was leafing through my art journal yesterday and couldn’t help but burst out laughing when I got to the section about my wish for this year. I optimistically wrote “I wish to leave Istanbul feeling grateful and not stressed. I wish to land in Vietnam gently...” Bahahahaha If only I had known.

But in all seriousness, I’ve wondered on more than one occasion in the last few months if I still would have chosen this path had I known the immense hurdles that I would be facing along the way. Although there are many times that I have wished for a time machine to share these struggles with my before-signing-my-contract self, the truth that I cannot deny is that I know I am where I am supposed to be. I can feel it in my bones. I feel it so deeply down in my knowing that I want to question where it came from, but instead I am trying to sit with it. To listen to it. Trying to trust it.

Trusting this knowing was especially difficult when we got word that Kim’s flight into the country had been cancelled by the Vietnamese government. She was told last minute that she would need to make a flight this weekend and it was a furry as she packed her bags and said her goodbyes. Then, less than 24 hours before she were to fly, it was cancelled. It is unclear exactly why or what happened but it was so very disappointing. I’m trying to lean into gratitude, knowing that if anyone has a chance at remedying the situation, it will be my school.

Kim had already handed Penny over to the pet transportation company when we got the word of the cancellation. We decided to let Penny move forward with her journey since it was already under way. She is set to fly mid next week and, upon arriving to Vietnam, will stay in a boarding facility that we have arranged until I get out of quarantine

Other than the stress of Kim & Penny’s situation, I haven’t minded quarantine. The room I have is lovely. Big enough for what I need. I can squeeze my yoga mat in by the door for my morning sun salutations, spread out my art supplies and notebooks across the desk area, and take meetings on a padded bench - just to change it up a bit.

The three meals a day I have been getting are quite tasty. There is an entire vegetarian menu that is comprised of Vietnamese inspired dishes with a few western items thrown in here and there. The regular menu gives a choice between meals but there’s just the one option for vegetarians. No complaints here though, it has been more than satisfying the majority of the time and it is fun to try out a bunch of new Vietnamese dishes. I am starting to feel like one of Pavlov’s dogs though, for whenever I hear a rustling in the hallway my mouth starts watering (thinking that it just might be meal time). I do fear that I will be over rice and noodles by the time I leave.

My school has been so kind at delivering necessities as we request them. The day after I arrived I received my school laptop. Following that we were given cleaning supplies (laundry soap, dish soap, spray cleaner, masks, hand sanitizer, etc). Plus we have had the opportunity to request items throughout the week that were shopped for and delivered by some colleagues that are already here. I feel so well taken care of.

I have begun the apartment hunt as well. SSIS is the first school I’ve joined who does not have school housing and instead gives a housing allowance (my last two schools you had a choice between living in the housing or accepting the allowance). Thus, my first time apartment hunting in a new city. Actually, my only time apartment hunting abroad, for when I moved off school housing in Myanmar, the apartment found us rather than the other way around. For now, we have decided to find a temporary place to stay for a few weeks while we get our bearings and so we can see apartments in person. This will be especially important I’ve realized, because one thing that is different here is that apartments can only be listed with one real estate agent, thus you most likely need to work with multiple agents in order to find what you are looking for.

I had my second COVID test yesterday. We will continue to have them every 4 days or so while we are here so they can catch any positive results as soon as possible. Thankfully the test is a quick throat and nose swab that is done in seconds.

We had been enjoying being able to go in the hallway on our floor the first few days we were here. I learned during the weeks I spent staying at home when Corona virus first hit Turkey, that having some sort of movement every day was important. So two or three of us would get together and do a workout or yoga in the small area near the elevators. However, after a few days some new people moved onto the floor to quarantine. We realized then that it was too risky being out in the hallway. No way would I want days added to my quarantine if there was a potential exposure to these new people. Thus began the full isolation.

So my days are filled with working on my Istanbul memories mini-book, browsing curriculum documents, talking with friends and family, searching for apartments, reading (currently Then She Was Gone), bits of yoga (and hall-walking if I’m feeling brave), waiting on word about when Kim will be able to come, taking my temperature every morning and evening, and listening for the rustling of lunch/dinner arriving in the hallway. Next week I’ll begin virtual orientation for school so I’ll have that to keep me busy for sure. In the meantime I’m sending you well wishes from a little hotel room in Vietnam.