After coming back from Spain, I had to quarantine myself for 14 days in case I was a carrier of the COVID 19 virus. Fortunately, I moved back in with my family, so I did not have to worry about arranging many accommodations for myself. Going into quarantine was strange, but the overall experience was fairly uneventful. I was staying in two rooms of our house adjoined by a bathroom, and spent most of my time reading, doing schoolwork, or watching tv. I also had to adjust to my new time zone, so I was mostly waking up around 5 or 6 in the morning.
Although quarantine didn’t seem like an exciting time since I was isolated inside of two rooms, it did offer the opportunity for me to reflect upon everything that had just happened in the last couple of weeks. Coming home seemed sudden and was surprising, as COVID 19 spread incredibly quickly in Spain and soon overwhelmed the country. When I learned that I needed to come home, I was back in United States within a few days; suddenly, my semester had been turned on its head. Through the respite and solitary nature of quarantine, I had some time to process coming home. After having been under constant stress for over a week, quarantine also offered some time for me to begin thinking about ways to redefine some of my study abroad goals and to move forward with my academic career.
Coming home from the Phoenix airport and entering quarantine, and my literature of choice during quarantine, The Art of Fermentation by Sandor Katz.