Back to Beijing

The first requirement for the journey was that all 120 of us passengers had to get a covid test in DC.We then departed several days later, and it was a long trip back to Beijing, about 48 hours total. The DC to Guam charter flight was great because we were put in 1st class. Not sure why, maybe because my last name begins with a B. After waiting hours at Guam Airport in the middle of the night, we then boarded a converted medical plane, photo below. As you can see there were no windows, overhead compartments, entertainment screens, etc. Catching some zzzzzzzs during the flight from Guam to China. 

We landed in Tianjin, a port city not far from Beijing, then all 120 of us were tested a second time for covid. We then had to wait there for about 7 hours until we had confirmation that all of us had tested negative. Anyone testing positive would have to return to the US on that same medical plane. 

A convoy of buses then transported us from Tianjin to Beijing, about a two hour trip. The highway was closed off to other vehicles so even though it was rush hour there was no traffic. Below you can see people from our housing unit waiting to greet us, some wearing hazmat suits. 

So now we're in strict 14 day quarantine, and we're not supposed to even go out on our back porch. Once in awhile we see a housing complex worker walk by, making sure we don't go outside. Sometimes another worker comes by and sprays disinfectant around outside our house just for good measure. So far quarantine isn't bad at all. We do yoga, cook, clean, study, etc. Due to jet lag, my siesta has been stretching from around noon to 3 pm. As for food, we order it, then after it's placed outside on our front porch we have to wait 3 minutes before we open the door to get it. 

Each day there are various quarantine classes on the Internet. Dawn watched the towel art class yesterday and created the monkey. 

Back again to DC next month so we also keep busy organizing our belongings in preparation for the move. 

As of today, 5 days down and 9 more to go. Today's quarantine video: Oodles of noodles.