The Guangzhou Quarantine Experience—What is It Like?

While the idea of returning (or even arriving for the first time) to Guangzhou may spark joy in the hearts of many displaced members of the AISG community, the mandatory 14-day quarantine upon arrival tends to induce quite the opposite reaction. But what is the quarantine experience like, truthfully? To find out, we interviewed fellow students that have already been through the process.

Junior Alex K. returned from Seoul, South Korea, on September 24. Prepared for a torturous two weeks of self-isolated quarantine in a run-down hotel, he was astonished to enter his hotel room and find a perfectly adequate living space. On top of that, he was allocated a room with his parents, meaning that he wouldn’t be completely deprived of social interaction for the entire quarantine duration.

“I was pleasantly surprised, honestly,” he said. “It really isn’t that bad at all. Not being able to go outside is a struggle, but other than that, it really is just life as normal.”

With a similar opinion on the experience, Sophomore Jae Hyeok C., who also returned from Seoul on September 28, described the quarantine period as “peaceful.”

“It left me with a lot of free time on my hands, and that allowed me to get my work done much faster. There wasn’t really anything else to do, and time kind of stretched out, and somehow I ended up with more time to complete assignments,” Jae said.

So, after all, the quarantine upon return doesn’t seem that bad. Out of all the people who have returned, the one recurring theme in their interviews seems to be complaints about boredom, but it is a long way away from the endless limbo that we all seem to imagine when we hear the term “quarantine” coined. After all, it is a worthy trade-off to get back into the in-person AISG community.