Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be stuck in a coffin? Locked underground, no possibility of fresh air, stuck in the dark, sweating, no way out. That's what quarantine feels like, even if the space is, I admit, a little bigger. South Korea requires a quarantine after setting foot on its territory. This means that for 7 days, we'll be alone in a room, with no possibility of setting foot outside except to do two PCR tests. So, I advise you to be patient and get your nose ready. The idea of quarantine, of having to spend a week in a hotel room alone, isn't necessarily what we're most looking forward to. After 14 hours on the plane, we finally set foot on Korean soil. It's 5 p.m. and the first orders are received: Visa, passport, negative PCR, confirmation of quarantine reservation... All lined up in single file, we take our temperature to be able to pass the first checks. It's been three hours since we arrived, and we've just passed through the airport gate! At last! Loaded up like mules, we take a cab to the quarantine.
There's a window in the bedroom, but it's so small that daylight can barely get through. So the artificial light is on every day from 10 am onwards. I often stand in front of this microscopic window in the evening, trying as best I can to understand and see Seoul bustling with activity, the lights coming on, people running and walking. You can feel the energy of the city. Here we go for 7 days, locked up, with our pencils and notebooks, now we have to find something to do. The days go by and the sleep doesn't get any better.
The jet lag is there, and it won't leave us alone. At 1 a.m., the convenience store opposite the hotel is still open. It's Thursday, and Korean students are huddled together in front of this convenience store. I watch through the window as the party begins to settle in the middle of this light-filled neighborhood as night falls. We've tried to keep ourselves busy over the past few days, either on the phone with our loved ones or FaceTime together to try out the famous water-jet toilets. It's been a long time, a very long time, I'd say, but it's enabled us to get back into a decent sleep rhythm so that we can make the most of this new life that's opened up to us! Two days before regaining our freedom, we put our noses outside to do our last PCR test. Naturally, we got lost in this unfamiliar city. Before I leave you, I'd like to tell you about the meals. Without exception, they were all provided by the hotel. On the menu: Kimchi, chicken, rice and more rice. The food's okay, but it's always the same thing, and for 1 week that's a long time... Our leftovers don't go into a garbage can, because we have to keep the same garbage cans for a week, so we cut everything up with a pair of scissors and flush it down the toilet! So, how does it sound? I promise, after these 7 days, it's absolute bliss!