Journey to Korea II

 If nothing else, this has definitely been an adventure!

Flying into Incheon

It's Monday morning, at Sea-Tac and although the plan was for me to  depart a week ago, I made it. We arrive to the airport SEVERAL hours early upon my insistence, and because the last time I went to Korea, I was so late I almost missed the plane, and I wasn't going through that again!  

 I was first in the check in line and they ask for my passport, visa, ticket info and Covid test. I have it all ready to hand them. We're paying extra for my double stuffed baggage since I'm officially moving for at least a year, and I feel guilty about the whole cost of it. As they’re going over my Covid test I see the lady getting frantic, making a call, and hearing her say, "없어요" -There isn’t any. 

It’s a negative reading, but long story short, they’re saying I have THE WRONG COVID TEST! 

 She pulls up on her phone and shows me buried somewhere in all the fine print where I'm supposed to have a specific test, and mine wasn't the right one. I’m looking at the very small letters, where it tells me about the correct test I’m supposed to have… okay well that doesn’t help me three weeks ago when I didn’t see it, with all the places were refusing to see me anyway.

I was supposed to get the PCR test, which isn't even offered where I went. 

Side note, apparently a couple military guys were there experiencing the same thing. They end up going through the same rigmarole as I do.

They’re pulling my bags down handing them back and I’m told if I go upstairs, they will test me, and maybe by tomorrow I’ll have results and they could reschedule me for Wednesday. Sometimes they get them same day, so maybe if I hurry and get back before 9:30 I could get on the flight. It's just before 8:00am now.

 I get upstairs and they tell me, we just got this test that comes back in an hour if you give us all your money, It might be ready in time for what you need.

$350.00 and 45 minutes later I am tying not to cry as I grab my paper that once again shows I don’t have COVID-19 and we haul all my crap back down to the check in counter, they tell me how happy they are that I was able to get the testing done in time for the flight, and I won't have to reschedule. They get me through check in which…. I gotta share this fun thing. I forgot my little knife in my purse, I have a ton of them. A gentleman asks me about it, and I admitted I forgot to take it out told him I know the rules, do what you gotta. He slides it back in my purse when I’m not looking, and I don’t find it again until I’m back in my room. It’s been a lifesaver to be honest!

As we board the airplane, the women who checked me in are signing my ticket and helping me onto the plane, they tell me again how happy they are I made it. I just smile, and nod ready to be done.
I board the plane that’s mostly empty. I've never been on a plane that's was so quiet. It was strange. I hear two messages that sounds like they're omitting the meal services for the flight. I was surprised when they bring us food.

 I am SO thirsty when they finally hand me water, I tried not to guzzle it, and make it last. I know it’s going to be cold upon arrival, and having already over packed, I’m in layers... and I mean LAYERS.

 Once we arrived. I am drenched in sweat from all my layers and dehydrated. Every plane I've ever been on has been freezing, but not this time! I am EXHAUSTED. I didn’t really sleep on the plane since it wasn't very comfortable, and I'm SO thirsty. All the fountains are turned off because of Covid. There's nowhere to get water.

My friend messages me and asks if I'm still at the airport

I send her this picture. I’m in line for another hour waiting for immigration.

They take your temperature and apparently, I had a low-grade fever. At that point I begged the woman for water, and she told me to ask the next woman I’d have to talk to, who is annoyed at me for guzzling the whole bottle while she was trying to take my temperature- after I told her I'm dehydrated. 

HAVE SOME SYMPATHY! 

 They took my temperature every 5 minutes for 20 minutes, (which although my temp went down) they decided to keep me because it was still low grade I guess …? I don’t know. They didn't tell me anything. Which will be the running theme here.

They took my passport and I’m placed on a bench and told to wait.  They move me down the bench and told I’ll be given a COVID-19 test and told I'll be kept there until the test results come back, She tells me probably I'll probably be detained until 1:00am it’s just after 3:00pm at that time. I'm not all that worried about having Covid because I just spent $350.00 on a test that said I don't have it about 11 hours ago!

WHAT IS HAPPENING?!

They move us to a partitioned section, give us back our passports and have us fill out papers and download our quarantine app, that monitors you after arrival, as well as have us answer questions about contacts and where we will be staying. 

Later we are taken for a Covid test. Later they move us to another section before being told we are going to be put on a bus, and moved to another facility. 

I say we, there were 5 of us altogether 4 other women and a man, I'm pretty sure all students. I know three of the women came from France, we talked, later. 

Where they kept us

I don’t know about the other two, we didn’t talk much. Around 7:00 pm They brought us to some facility handed me a thing of food that I was too exhausted and stressed to eat, and NO WATER.

 No one talked to us after we were placed in the facility. At one point I was asked how I was to get to where I’ll be quarantined. 

After that I only saw people in gear walk by once, and not again. I went to the bathroom a couple times, but I never saw anyone. We weren’t supposed to walk around, we were to keep our mask on the whole time.

 On the paper they have you look at before they take you they warn you, that if you have claustrophobia, let them know, there's no amenities, don't expect much. 

We weren't told much else.

This is the part where I break down.

 I miss my DOOOOGS!!!

I missed the pets, and the “I-don’t-want-to-do-this-anymore” hits me, and I just want to go home. I am crying, and  I mean bawling like a little bitch. I trying to be quiet while crying hoping no one hears me, as I watch my tears hit the floor and I sniffle like a little kid. It was around 9:00 pm at this point. I wanted to know what was happening

           It’s 10:00 at night and a migraine was setting in and I haven’t had water since 3 pm, and it's becoming a serious problem because I arrive already dehydrated. On the upside I had some excedrine migraine and a sickly sweet drink that I sipped on, but couldn't palate. I think the guys at the airport had given it to us before we left, which was nice of them

A couple of conversations while detained 

I just want the fuck out!  I wanted to day to end about 6 hours ago I still don’t know what’s going on no one is telling us anything. I haven’t even sat down because the chair is the kind that hurts me… I finally give in and sit long enough that I pass out. Another hour slips by and it’s quiet.   

After 2:00am someone comes and tells us we’re all Covid negative and we can go.  I talk with the French girls for a few moments and we're all kinda irked about the lack of water given to us over the course of 12 hours at this point. Sounds like there here to to a study abroad experience. I hope they have a good time, especially after all this.  

We’re told too meet at the elevator. I have everything ready, but I don’t know where they mean by elevator, up or down so I grab my stuff and head for it when a guy snaps at me, “There’s a line.” Well, he’s standing in the corner, another literally has all his stuff blocking a door way, there’s no fucking line! I tell him, “They said meet at the elevator and nothing else. I don’t know if that’s upstairs or down, all I know is I‘m going to the elevator.”  He quit talking after that. 

 However, he did proceed to act like a petulant child by tapping his foot making repeated sighing noises and whining about what’s taking so long to the poor kid who was stuck babysitting us. The kid looked like he was getting fed up with him.

2:49 AM

I put my head phones in and waited further instructions.

I was trying my damnedest not to pass out from low blood sugar and utilizing deep breathing while this old man acted like a little brat.  

 Sir, I get it you’re tired, and want to go home, SO DO WE!

We were taken back to the airport, and taxi drivers waited to take us to our designated location. Small acts of kindness matter after the long day and my driver gave me a heated hand pack and turned the heater for my seat on. 

He was so kind he even helped drag my bag to the elevator and told me where to go once I was in.

HOME-ish

It was about 4:00am when I got to the room I’m staying in now (I have to move when the quarantine is over). I wish I could say I immediately fell into a deep sleep on my soft bed… but no. I stayed up probably another 5 or so hours while the adrenaline wore off from everything, and I calmed down. My sleep schedule is still really off. One reason this has taken so long to get done is because I haven’t slept more than two hours at a time since I got here, except once, and I’m pretty sure my body just gave up, and the bed is more like a concrete slab, so it's been pretty painful. I am uber super double mega grateful for my friend who was kind enough to come to my room and make the bed for me. She’d been getting a play by play of the day and felt pretty bad. She even got me some REALLY GOOD Kimbap, so that I had something yummy upon arrival

We still can’t meet in person, but she’s very sweet about putting food and things outside my door for me. At the moment I’m pretty reliant on friends to help me out. Apparently, I can’t order anything with my card, because for some reason my computer is locked down super tight, and it just won’t trust any site. So, I guess that’s good in some ways… not in others.  I hate asking for help. Over the last couple days, I’ve been incredibly grateful for my friends making sure I have food and blankets. I’m am SO lucky to have good friends here. 

Fresh fruit and veggies were purchased & ordered for me, so I have something other than the ramen & spam that the local health department gave me. 

I'm SOOOO GRATEFUL 

 

Things are getting better, and I’m REALLY excited to start work.

 

Please stay safe everyone!

 

 

Quick response to a few questions

The Covid situation in South Korea: 

COvid is taken VERY seriously here. Covid is monitored and tracked here. While I'm in quarantine, I have to check in twice a day (which my bad I thought was once) and give a temperature reading and report symptoms. I am to be quarantined upon arrival for 14 days, on the day before I'm to be set free, I'll go to the local health building, conveniently located across the street in my case, and do whatever needs to be done.  There are places to get tested easily and often, I believe it doesn't cost, or at minimal cost, because they don't want you to spread it. There are sites all over to get tested. There are sites on your phone that give you up to date information and even warnings that pop up on your phone and loudly tell you what you should or shouldn't be doing.

 I was given a kit to monitor myself with a thermometer, and a ton of sanitizer, some masks, and nuts... I'm guessing to sustain me until I got more food?

While in quarantine you're given some food by the health department, but none of it's really healthy. I can honestly say I'm happy I'm not 100% relying on the local health department for my quarantine. It was about 2 days before I got food, and when I did get food...

 Rice a, a lot of Ramen, spam, Tuna 1 whole bottle of water (you can't drink the tap water without boiling it first) some kim,  some soup and pork. The only downside is, it's a lot of fat and salt. The other soup I made me kinda sick because of how much salt was in it. I tend to go easy on most of these foods (besides the tuna) due to my PCOS. 

 Like I said, I'm very grateful to have friends who have been willing to help me. I don't know what I'd do without them. 

Okay, I love you guys! 

Be safe! I'll update soon ^_^