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- Story Listed as: True Life For Teens
- Theme: Survival / Success
- Subject: General Interest
- Published: 09/30/2020
The Quarantine Palace
The sticks went deep into my mouth and the throat. Then they were drilling my nose out- I didn’t understand what there was to drill, there was already enough of a hole there! They used 2 sticks 1 for each nostril, 4 in total. It hurt. I screamed so loud that my mother, a few doors away, heard me clearly. My father came rushing, stood behind the door and tried to calm me down. And then it was over, the test samples were taken. I gave a mean grunt and came out of the room. The rest of the process was pretty neat. Then we came out of the airport, and were taken to the quarantine palace in a bus.
Looking out of the window, I thought about the discipline the Chinese followed at the airport (and more in the near future). There were people with the hazmat suits just about everywhere we looked at- from our plane to the hotel. They had thought of every unimaginable thing- from our hotel room’s floor material to the process which they conducted to get us to the quarantine centre. I had never seen such discipline before.
Things were so different in China, it almost felt like the rest of the world and China were two different planets. I could see from the windows everyone was going around without a mask. Except, the quarantine palace had a different scene from the roads, nobody wanted to meet us.
We were in our 2nd day, it is evening, our Indian food came in for the night. The hotel people told us that they would give us an Indian meal for dinner and something Chinese-ish for lunch. My father first saw the images of¬ the food on the WeChat group. Everybody there said, the food is excellent and their friends had a much harder time and blah blah blah. When I went to pick it up at the door, (they kept it on a table outside the door, palace protocols) it was just some boiled vegetables with a roti. I was surprised.
They just gave us some boiled vegetables and a roti for each person. That was not Indian food, it didn’t even have any spice! We were totally confused- how could they have given us a different meal from the others?! Sometime later, we heard some big noise outside our room. A man next door was churning out his anger on the people who delivered us the food. That person was given the same food as us, too. He seemed like a middle-aged South Indian guy. His Chinese was as impeccable as a native. After a few good minutes of explosion of his anger, he managed to get some new meal and also helped us solve the problem. The man had solved our problem for the day and there was no more reason to worry about food.
The same evening, we were waiting for the results of our covid test. We had already seen the news that some people were positive for the virus in our flight. I was in a class when we heard an ambulance. For a moment, I thought that it was here for us, for me- they were going to take me to the hospital because I had the bloody virus. My heart started pumping hard, I heard it as a background noise over the ambulance. I got so afraid that my hands started sweating despite the cool room temperature. I suddenly got up from my chair and looked outside the window. The ambulance was near our hotel, on the main road. When I saw the red and blue, I almost fainted. The thought that they were here for me was my only thought.
My grandparents called us every day, worrying that something might go wrong. One of the most frequent questions they asked was if I was okay. That was because after being in India for 8 months, and then suddenly coming to China, wasn’t the best exercise for my mind. I still call them every day, and ask about how they are doing.
I got back to my laptop and unsuccessfully attempted to concentrate. But nothing could get my mind off the noise. It hovered around my body like a ghost trying to hunt me down and beat up every single cell out of my body. After what seemed like an eternity, some magic happened and killed the ghost. We didn’t have the virus after all. And the ambulance wasn’t there for us either.
Quarantine is supposed to be boring, so we came prepared for it. I had a lot of classes- English, Maths, Science, Computer and more from the school. And of course, I had car games to play. When I had nothing else to do, and boredom was taking over, I used to look out the window. What did I see there? Well- more cars! I would just look at the parking lot below and try to make out for every single little detail. It was fun for me to do, and I never got bored doing it.
On the seventh day-
We got a news that if you tested negative for the virus, then we can go home after 8 days. None of us had the virus. So, we thought they were going to release us. We were all happy and more than ready to leave.
When the medical guys came around for the temperature check, we asked them about it. They said that it only implies to new arrivals! Do we count as new arrivals? No.
14 days after our flight had arrived-
We were allowed to go home! Out of the quarantine palace as I would like to call it. We had booked a car from Ningbo to Changzhou. It was a few hours’ drive. When we arrived, we still had to stay at home for another 14 days before we could start our normal life. But we could go out for the essentials.
Even after the quarantine in the hotel, things were not as I would have liked. The local provincial rules said I should stay home for 14 more days. And then I would be safe to come back to school.
Now a days, the virus is a complete foreign thing here. It was as if the virus was never here! The testing frequency is so strict, that not the virus but it’s shadow and its dead body will all be taken care of.
Me and my friends had a meeting scheduled a few days after we came to Changzhou, and then a rule popped up- if you come in contact with someone who has returned from a foreign country in the last 14 days, you will have to report. Technically, we came to China more than 14 days ago, but we still had to cancel our meeting for safety reasons. It’s difficult, it’s not so pleasant but it is for everybody’s safety.
After having missed the school for 8 months, and my favourite event- the annual sports day. I am eagerly waiting to go back to school.
The Quarantine Palace(AHUBE)
The Quarantine Palace
The sticks went deep into my mouth and the throat. Then they were drilling my nose out- I didn’t understand what there was to drill, there was already enough of a hole there! They used 2 sticks 1 for each nostril, 4 in total. It hurt. I screamed so loud that my mother, a few doors away, heard me clearly. My father came rushing, stood behind the door and tried to calm me down. And then it was over, the test samples were taken. I gave a mean grunt and came out of the room. The rest of the process was pretty neat. Then we came out of the airport, and were taken to the quarantine palace in a bus.
Looking out of the window, I thought about the discipline the Chinese followed at the airport (and more in the near future). There were people with the hazmat suits just about everywhere we looked at- from our plane to the hotel. They had thought of every unimaginable thing- from our hotel room’s floor material to the process which they conducted to get us to the quarantine centre. I had never seen such discipline before.
Things were so different in China, it almost felt like the rest of the world and China were two different planets. I could see from the windows everyone was going around without a mask. Except, the quarantine palace had a different scene from the roads, nobody wanted to meet us.
We were in our 2nd day, it is evening, our Indian food came in for the night. The hotel people told us that they would give us an Indian meal for dinner and something Chinese-ish for lunch. My father first saw the images of¬ the food on the WeChat group. Everybody there said, the food is excellent and their friends had a much harder time and blah blah blah. When I went to pick it up at the door, (they kept it on a table outside the door, palace protocols) it was just some boiled vegetables with a roti. I was surprised.
They just gave us some boiled vegetables and a roti for each person. That was not Indian food, it didn’t even have any spice! We were totally confused- how could they have given us a different meal from the others?! Sometime later, we heard some big noise outside our room. A man next door was churning out his anger on the people who delivered us the food. That person was given the same food as us, too. He seemed like a middle-aged South Indian guy. His Chinese was as impeccable as a native. After a few good minutes of explosion of his anger, he managed to get some new meal and also helped us solve the problem. The man had solved our problem for the day and there was no more reason to worry about food.
The same evening, we were waiting for the results of our covid test. We had already seen the news that some people were positive for the virus in our flight. I was in a class when we heard an ambulance. For a moment, I thought that it was here for us, for me- they were going to take me to the hospital because I had the bloody virus. My heart started pumping hard, I heard it as a background noise over the ambulance. I got so afraid that my hands started sweating despite the cool room temperature. I suddenly got up from my chair and looked outside the window. The ambulance was near our hotel, on the main road. When I saw the red and blue, I almost fainted. The thought that they were here for me was my only thought.
My grandparents called us every day, worrying that something might go wrong. One of the most frequent questions they asked was if I was okay. That was because after being in India for 8 months, and then suddenly coming to China, wasn’t the best exercise for my mind. I still call them every day, and ask about how they are doing.
I got back to my laptop and unsuccessfully attempted to concentrate. But nothing could get my mind off the noise. It hovered around my body like a ghost trying to hunt me down and beat up every single cell out of my body. After what seemed like an eternity, some magic happened and killed the ghost. We didn’t have the virus after all. And the ambulance wasn’t there for us either.
Quarantine is supposed to be boring, so we came prepared for it. I had a lot of classes- English, Maths, Science, Computer and more from the school. And of course, I had car games to play. When I had nothing else to do, and boredom was taking over, I used to look out the window. What did I see there? Well- more cars! I would just look at the parking lot below and try to make out for every single little detail. It was fun for me to do, and I never got bored doing it.
On the seventh day-
We got a news that if you tested negative for the virus, then we can go home after 8 days. None of us had the virus. So, we thought they were going to release us. We were all happy and more than ready to leave.
When the medical guys came around for the temperature check, we asked them about it. They said that it only implies to new arrivals! Do we count as new arrivals? No.
14 days after our flight had arrived-
We were allowed to go home! Out of the quarantine palace as I would like to call it. We had booked a car from Ningbo to Changzhou. It was a few hours’ drive. When we arrived, we still had to stay at home for another 14 days before we could start our normal life. But we could go out for the essentials.
Even after the quarantine in the hotel, things were not as I would have liked. The local provincial rules said I should stay home for 14 more days. And then I would be safe to come back to school.
Now a days, the virus is a complete foreign thing here. It was as if the virus was never here! The testing frequency is so strict, that not the virus but it’s shadow and its dead body will all be taken care of.
Me and my friends had a meeting scheduled a few days after we came to Changzhou, and then a rule popped up- if you come in contact with someone who has returned from a foreign country in the last 14 days, you will have to report. Technically, we came to China more than 14 days ago, but we still had to cancel our meeting for safety reasons. It’s difficult, it’s not so pleasant but it is for everybody’s safety.
After having missed the school for 8 months, and my favourite event- the annual sports day. I am eagerly waiting to go back to school.
JD
09/30/2020Hi Ahube, Welcome to Storystar. Thanks for sharing your 'Quarantine Palace' experience with us. You really had to go through a lot just to be able to take a trip. But I guess it is better safe than sorry when Covid is still lurking around. You said that things are pretty much back to normal there now, though.... are you starting school again soon? Also, you say you are from India, but in your story it seems like you just visited India and then went back to China.... so do you live in China now? Which country do you prefer... China or India, and why?
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