Almost 3 years after the pandemic (Covid-19) has started, China has finally opened his borders to International Students. But come to China in 2022, is not as easy as it was before. Not to mention the journey, which is still as long as tiring as before. You also have to be prepared for 10~30 days of quarantine. My bad luck, I had to do the longest stay, 30 days. And in today's post, I would want to share my experience with you. Thank you for joining me.
Why 30 days?
Actually, when we're preparing for the visa and stuff. School told us that we have to make just 7 days quarantine. 3 if you entered China by another city than Beijing, and 4 at Beijing. But because of some new cases, it's became to 10 + 7 days. 10 days at hotel if you entered China by Beijing or any other city and 7 days' observation at home. But I don't know why, our school decided that the returning international students will have to be in quarantine for a total of 34 days. If you entered China by a different city than Beijing. 10 + 14 + 10. By the time I wanted to buy my ticket, the flights which directly arrived in Beijing were rare and also really expensive. So I just took the cheapest (but not that cheapest) option.
10+2 days in Xi'an
I landed in Xi'an on October 12 (two days before my birthday). From the airport, they took us directly to the hotel where we were supposed to do the first 7 days. When we arrived, I was so surprised by the protocol. In my country and in many other ones people don't even wear mask, but here it is something else. I felt like I landed on another planet. After registration, they give me a thermometer to take my temperature every day. Then I went to my room. Thinking back then, these days were the easiest one. Cos' I spend all my day sleeping and chatting with friends and family. I was living according to the Burkina Faso time zone, so that I'll not wake up and have no one to talk to.
After the first week, they moved us to another hotel (also in Xi'an) for the last 3 days. This is when things started to get hard for me. This hotel was not as nice as the first one. The room was cold, we lacked hot water in the bathroom, even the food was not that good. But I told myself "Girl, it's just for 3 days, and 3 days can go very fast". But! On the second day, they told us that we will not be able to leave on October 22 as expected. The reason: Someone who passed by the hotel has been tested positive. I didn't sleep that night. I was so disappointed. I even did a panic attack. Just the day before, I was wondering, 25 more days like this? How will I survive? And today they add +5 days to it. Bruh. But I had no choice but to be resilient. I started recording everything I was doing. At first, it was just to keep memories and distract myself. But at the end of the day, it helped me a lot. Thank God, they decided we could leave earlier, so instead of leaving on October 27, we were allowed to leave on October 24. So without no hesitation, I took my train ticket to Beijing.
+ Tips: When arriving at the hotel for the quarantine, if you have a special diet, tell it to the staff. And don't forget to do it in every hotel. Otherwise, they will bring you food you can't eat, and spending all the day in the room while you're hungry is not an ideal.
7+7 days in Beijing
I arrived in Beijing on the evening of October 24. The school sent a taxi to pick me up at the train station and drop me at the hotel. When I got there, I didn't have enough cash to pay for the fees, so I asked them whether they have an ATM inside there. But (unfortunately for them lol), and fortunately for me there was no ATM inside the hotel. So one of the receptionist took me outside, and we walked maybe 15 minutes to the bank. I really enjoyed the walk, it was so refreshing. One difference between this hotel and the others I've been in Xi'an is that we had to order our food by ourselves. At the first, I thought will be a bit annoying.
But finally, even though it was a little more expensive, it was great. Cos I least we could order the food we really wanted to. During these days, I started adjusting my sleep schedule because arriving in Beijing add me more pressure. And also because I had some homework and projects to do. Still, I was sleeping late. But, I would not sleep and stay in bed all the day like I was used to do in Xi'an. I also try to take care of my physical health using this video one friend sent me. Just 2 minutes before going to the bathroom was enough. As I told you previously; we were supposed to do 14 days in this hotel before going to the school for the last 10 days.
But on Day 7, my teacher told me that instead of 14 days, it will now be 7 days. I therefore left the following day for another hotel not far from the school. Where I had to spend 7 days. After what, I'll just have to make the 3 last days on school campus. During these days, I just did what I was using to do since I arrived in Beijing. Study, reading, writing, recording and calling friends and family.
3 days on campus.
These 3 days were the hardest part for me. Even if I was glad the quarantine finally was coming to its end, I was also scared. Scared of being free lol. But mostly scared of having to face all my responsibilities. Going to class with native speakers, the exams and so on. But there are no roses without thorns. And better be free than being in lockdown. At least if I'm down, I can have a walk near the lake or going outside to refresh myself. Unfortunately, the day after my quarantine ended, school has imposed us new restrictions. But at least, I'm not forced to stay in the room.
I had so much plans for this quarantine. Before it started, I told myself I will not waste this time. I will use it to focus on myself, to improve my skills, to make up my courses, to read and write. But finally.. Maybe I have done less than 50% of all was planning to. Is it a lack of willingness? Maybe yes, maybe no. But what I do know is that you can not be very productive when your mood and feelings are down. It's true that I'm an introverted and sometimes I prefer staying by myself. But trust me, there is a huge difference between choosing to stay alone and be forced to stay alone lol.
See:
This post is not really a sort of list of all you can do during quarantine. The only advice I can give is to take care of your health. Both mental and physical. Don't turn inward. Surround yourself with the good people. When you're in quarantine, understand that life still follows its course out there. People may not be available all the time. But they will always find time for you. I'm really glad I had my family and friends' support, even if I'd never told them how hard it was for me. A special thank to you.. <3. I will keep your name private, but if you pass by there, know that I'm really grateful. Thanks everyone for reading. May God bless you, take care.
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