The Beginning
Hello everyone!
March is a great month in Malawi – lots
going on, beautiful settings at the tail end of rainy season, pushing towards
the end of our academic year. None of this I can experience in 2020.
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| Last time outside for a while! |
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| Internet picture of Malawi building a quarantine/testing centre |
This is the first diary entry of my time in quarantine due to coronavirus (which I didn’t have). Quite liking the job I have at the moment, it only lightly touches on school decisions and policies so that I don’t write something which can be used against me. This first blog will focus on the days leading up to self-quarantine, and my feelings during them.
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| A WhatsApp screen grab of the Malawian situation as we left |
To those who haven’t seen previous blog
entries, this story starts in The Hague, where I was leading a Model United
Nations (MUN) trip for the secondary school…
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| Brr... |
Day
-2 (Sunday, 8th March)
Our final day at the HagaMUN conference.
More pertinently to this tale, this was the day when, at 1:20pm in The Hague,
we received an email from the director of our school. This message explained
that the school’s ski trip, which had been in France, had been met by a government
delegation at Kamuzu International Airport in Lilongwe that morning. They had
been taken aside and told that they had to quarantine for 14 days. Due to a
combination of this and anxiety among other school parents, the decision had
been taken that those on the MUN trip would also have to self-isolate upon our
return on Tuesday.
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| The school is in a building which is old enough to have survived many a virus |
At this time there had been about 300 or so
cases in The Netherlands, and 2 deaths. Further research revealed that only 2
cases had been in or around the area of The Hague. In spite of this, I accepted
the consistency of the school on the matter – if the government had stepped in,
they had to follow their procedure.
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| The global response is clearly visible around The Hague |
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| I wonder how their business is going right now... |
After making contact, both our director and heads of school both offered supportive messages. The key was to reassure the children – they are all children – that everything was going to be fine. This is in spite of the fact that both teachers on the trip had dozens of questions whizzing through our brains, from living arrangements to teaching. I wanted them to bask in the glow of their personal successes at the MUN conference for a bit, and we all went out for food before returning to the hotel, where I sat them down and explained the situation.
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| The Food Hall was cashless, which I guess helps reduce germ spread |
The conversation was a tough one – a few
tears were shed, questions were asked which I often couldn’t answer. The
important facts I stressed time and time again over the next 36 hours were that
we were allowed to go home, and that we were allowed to be at home.
Main feelings: acceptance, nervousness
Day
-1 (Monday, 9th March)
Quarantine from coronavirus involves
staying at home for 14 days, with no option to enjoy the outside world. Our
final day in The Netherlands was thus a final chance to walk freely, to roam
and savour an ever-changing environment.
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| A stroll along Scheveningen Pier |
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| The Sun briefly showed itself, though it was still pretty cold |
The students spent the morning shopping – I
spent it being swept up by consumerism I can’t experience in Malawi. I also
spent it stressed. Very stressed. So many questions.
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| Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeese |
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| These got me through one WhatsApp call |
What would happen with Hannah? With Mini?
Had a cover teacher been organised? Would we even be let into the country?
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| As I mentioned in a previous blog, I wasn't allowed to use my reusable cup due to new rules linked to coronavirus |
Lots of this was assessed and animatedly
discussed over cross-continental WhatsApp calls and from constant checking of
governmental advice and so on. It was also happening when strolling along
Scheveningen Pier for a final time, before travelling to Schiphol Airport to
begin our journey back to Malawi. This part is usually the most stressful time
for a trip leader. With this on top, I felt like I was going to spontaneously
combust. Though that may have been that fourth cup of coffee…
Main feelings: anxiety
Day
1 (Tuesday, 10th March)
Should it be day zero? I was technically in
quarantine for over half of this day so I’m counting it as day 1. Anyway, we
arrived at the airport fully expecting to be whisked off by government
officials, have our temperatures taken and locked into our houses.
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| We had to complete this form on the plane, with the main question being whether we had been to China recently |
None of this happened. The airport had put
out chlorinated water in big buckets, which we were to use to wash our hands.
Entering the airport and proceeding to the first checkpoint, we were asked
where we had come from.
‘The Netherlands’
Had we been anywhere else?
‘No’
On you go, she says. Same at immigration.
I’m wondering when this medical task force will storm in in their masks and
white coats, demanding our contingent stay two metres away from anyone else.
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| Part of a leaflet handed out at immigration at the airport |
It never happens. Nothing is mentioned.
Nothing happens. Parents meet children, the bus drops us home, the trip is
over.
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| Part of a leaflet handed out at immigration at the airport |
And the house arrest is beginning.
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| My home and where I will be for quite a long time... |
Love
you all,
Matt
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