Although we were supposed to be in China on July 25th, 2020, COVID played its hand. Months of working twice a day (about 6pm-midnight and then 7am-1pm) left me haggard, out of routine, and stressed. We got our visas but the next available flight was a month out. Finally, our date arrived. But just two weeks before we left, the Chinese government changed the rules. A COVID test (not a rapid one) had to be administered within two days of flying as did an antigen/antibody test. Both had to have results back to us and sent to the Chinese embassy for approval, and back in our hands BEFORE flying.
It was a mad couple of days. Sarah called probably 50 service providers and none could ensure that the results would be back in time, not to mention the fact that the embassy was keeping reduced hours. We drove clear across the state to Hazel Park for our test. While there, we were told by the doctor that the clinic we were off to next for the antibody test did not do the correct test. We were sent to Farmington Hills for our bloodwork. 90 min later, we had our results: none of us had had COVID before. One down. We drove all the way home and waited for the PCR test. On Thursday night, we got them, all negative. Our paperwork was sent to the embassy and within 1 hour we were approved to fly. The next morning we headed to the airport with 8 full bags containing everything we would need for the year and many new clothes (our shipment would not arrive from India for many months).
From Grand Rapids to Minneapolis and on to LA we flew, masks on, seats spaced out. In LA we had to collect the 400+ lbs of luggage and go from domestic to international, no small feat. A line of 300 people deep awaited, where our paperwork was checked for approval and we checked in. We could not all sit together (something that would factor in later) and we pushed on through security. No restaurants were open so we made do with our first real meal of the day after 11 hours of travel by sitting on the floor and eating $20 tacos. As we boarded, more than a few passengers opened their luggage and put on full-body haz-mat suits!
Our flight was uneventful but notable was that we were scanned twice for temps during the flight and all snacks were pre-packaged in a giant bag on our seat at the start. 14+ hours later we landed in Guangzhou. Shockingly (uncharacteristically for China), no one moved on arrival. They all stayed seated. We sat on the plane for about 40 min before an announcement approved all to get off the plane. 15 min later we were walking off the plane for a temperature check. A few feet further down the jetway, another check. As we reached the terminal we were given a sheet of paper, all instructions in Chinese, with a number on it and put into a corral to wait. Though we could not understand the announcements, we found we were being called in groups of 15 to go to the next phase. Our number was 418. After about an hour we proceeded to the processing. Every worker had on a full white suit, mask, and face shield. We had to fill out an app on our phones and then scan the code at a computer terminal. We were temp checked again and passports scanned. We then went down a jetway into another part of the airport for testing. A very aggressive nose swab was conducted (pause here to describe the COVID test for those who haven't had one: A q-tip on a long, wooden rod is placed up your nose, all the way up, and twirled. It is left in there for a moment, then shoved into your brain and spun again just to be sure. It is very unpleasant and if you are really lucky, you get one in each nostril.). We then headed on to immigration and baggage claim. Once there we headed out and into another line hundreds deep.
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| Survived the plane ride and waiting for testing |
After waiting for about an hour in this line, we arrived at the front. You are scanned again (passports have a QR code on them that has all your details so you can be processed quickly). We stepped outside and pushed our carts to the bus. It was a free-for-all to load the bags under the bus; people shoved bags there and walked away with no organization or care for others. I barely got our bags on there, but was left dripping in sweat. We boarded the bus and rode about an hour into downtown (each bus goes to a different hotel and you have no idea which hotel you will end up at nor how far it will be from the city) with a temperature check along the way.
Once at the hotel, we were taken off the bus and sprayed down with disinfectant, along with our bags. Each one of us was sprayed down: arms, legs, and bottom of feet with a bleach-solution, as were our suitcases. We then went into the hotel lobby and went step by step through filling out many confusing forms in Chinese all asking pretty much the same info (name, address, exposure history to the virus). We then checked in. Again, every person was wearing the full antivirus outfit; few spoke any English. Once cleared, we carted all our luggage up to our rooms; Taelyn and I in one room, Kaelia and Sarah in another. We were told to stay in the room and never to leave it for two weeks. We ordered lunch from the hotel and were treated to our first Chinese meal: lots of rice, some peppers with fried pork soaked in oil, some green-stemmed vegetable, and chicken, on the bone, skin on, fatty. It was our first and last hotel meal for the duration.
Let's take a moment to describe the room. At first glance, it's dated, but not unusable: two small beds, a loveseat, a bathroom with a shower, and even a flat-screen tv. But that's where the fun ends. Everything is gold. It is disgustingly dirty and smells like a port-a-pottie. It also smells strongly of smoke, but that is just set into all the furniture. The real fun is when the cigarette smoke blows in through the vents. We have to run the aircon 24/7 to be able to breathe. The wallpaper is peeling off the walls, the carpet is stained and covered in both long and short black hairs. The couch comes straight from the basement on That 70s Show and has some questionable stains on it. Black mold haunts the shower and bugs crawl over the door.
Here is a Smilebox Slideshow of our time.
However, even though we all started at the same place, Sarah and Kaelia were moved the next morning. Someone on the plane near them tested positive for COVID. They were told to pack up and get downstairs immediately. They did, were yelled at for leaving their room, and went back up to the room for 5 hours before being picked up (Sarah had canceled her classes in panic and then sat there all day). However, even after being moved an hour away to a more restrictive hotel, they came out on top. Their room was nice, clean, and three times the size as the old one. The food was better and they could order ala carte or delivery. Bonus: we all still got out on the same day.
A typical day might look like this: Rise around 7am (4am in the beginning with jet lag). Answer emails. Run in place for an hour. Core for 15 min. Stretch, shower, and snack. Temp check. A few work calls. Break for a game of Mario Bros w/ T. Do some UC apps. Lunch. Work some more. Read more apps. Temp check. Watch a movie. Dinner. Play Zelda. Bed. Repeat. Oh, did I mention I had to plunge out the toilet every other day as it was constantly stopped up?
Breakfast was items we brought with us, like granola bars or oatmeal, though we ran out of them before the end. Lunch and dinner were ordered in. It may sound fun bouncing from dumplings and egg-fried rice to steak, tacos, and pizza, but it gets seriously old. To order, we have to contact help at school. They send us a menu in Chinese. We can't read it so ask for something and she tries her best to find something close. We have no idea when it will arrive, and when it does, it is cold (the hotel checks everything and holds it and does a mass delivery to the rooms several times a day). They drop it off outside their door, ring the bell, and run away in their haz-mat suits!
The mountain of plastic we accumulated from delivery food and water bottles was enough to make any outdoor enthusiast weep. Taelyn and I made the most of it, doing as much work as we could and then playing games together. We beat Zelda: BOTW and Super Mario Bros Delux on Switch from start to finish, watched some movies and survived.
On the 15th day, we were called at 9am and left our room for the first time in more than 2 weeks. At the elevator, we watched it go from floor 1 to 12 or 10 or 13 over and over. Each time it stopped on 9, it was full of people checking out. We waited more than 20 min before it finally arrived empty, and we hauled all of our bags into a left the size of a single shower. Check-out was uneventful compared to check it - we basically walked right outside the door. The next few days we did many procedural tasks, going to IKEA to shop, checking in with the police, and conducting the bizarre, unfathomable health clinic visit. I wouldn't wish it on anyone.
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| Taelyn stamps the final day! |
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| My Smilebox Creation |
