by LEI Zixia, Olivia

A lot of things happened during the Covid-19 pandemic, but what I shall never forget is the 21-day quarantine I had to go through in January 2022. After finishing the second semester of the first year of study, I returned to the mainland from Hong Kong to reunite with my family. Due to the impact of the pandemic, customs clearance between Hong Kong and the mainland was affected, making mutual visits between the two places inconvenient. Many restrictions were in force, one of which being the quarantine policy.

When I first arrived at the quarantine hotel, I was upbeat and thought to myself it would only be 21 days for me to return to my familiar environment; soon I would be seeing my family and my puppy. I made a full plan enthusiastically for these 21 days, thinking, “I can sleep until whenever I want every day! Finally, there is no pressure from my studies! I can watch movies and TV series all day!” I was eager to start the 21 “easy” days. Within a few days, I realised how naïve I was. I felt that I didn’t know what else to do besides eating and sleeping. Sometimes I would be in a daze for a long time in the room, looking at the free world outside the window. The people outside were bathing in the sun, and the vehicles were passing one by one. I saw many people walking their dogs in the park, which made me miss my puppy, Honey even more. 

The glass of the hotel windows separated the room and the outside into two completely different worlds. This transparent wall reminded me that I was the one sitting quietly in an empty room, isolated, blocked, and put away. The other side of the glass wall was freedom. Then it dawned on me, were those people truly free out there? Or were they also trapped in a giant, invisible room?

I was consumed by negative thoughts, but fortunately, my grandma made video calls with me every day. It became the highlight of my day in the hotel. I thought to myself, as long as I could endure one more day, I would be one day closer to home. 

At the end of the last day of quarantine, my parents drove my lovely puppy to the hotel to pick me up. The moment I saw Honey running towards me, I suddenly felt that the long waiting days were worth it. 

The pandemic might have disrupted many people’s plans and different regions might have imposed different travel restrictions on people, but they will never stop the determination of people’s pursuit of happiness and their wish to be with their families. Our life under the pandemic continues, but I believe it will end soon . We deserve to live a normal life, and be bathed in the sunlight whenever we want. 
 

1. Editor’s note: the author wrote this piece in late 2022 when the Covid-19 pandemic was still ongoing.

Writer’s Bio:

LEI Zixia, Olivia
BA (Hons) in Marketing Management

I am a student of PolyU SPEED studying marketing management. I have benefited a lot from taking this course: LCS2333 “Storytelling for Understanding: Refugee Children in Hong Kong”. Looking back on the 13-week course, I no longer think that this is an elective course for credits to meet graduation requirements, but a great and meaningful thing in my lifetime. I put a lot of effort in the course, but I gained even more. I hope these children will still think of us when they read these stories and that they will all grow up happy, healthy and carefree in Hong Kong. I hope the children will always believe that “we are all unique”. I am really honoured to have experienced such a unique course.