Ladies and gents, tomorrow morning we wrap our quarantine in South Korea! We’ve officially been in Korea for 14 days, and we’ve endured and conquered 14 days of quarantine, 4 COVID tests, unbearable barracks beds, little (read: no) separation from one another, very little freedom of movement, tons of screen time, minimal exercise, a trip to the ER at Camp Humphreys, an overflowed toilet, and more.
This experience has been less than ideal, and I won’t lie; it’s been really hard. We’ve struggled, though people will say we did so with grace (that’s just because you didn’t see the tears or hear the raised voices). We’ve been frustrated with each other, reached our respective limits more than once, endured some pretty gnarly DFAC food, and learned to cope with very little freedom.
The side effects have been as sweet as this quarantine in South Korea has been salty though. We had the best people in this family quarantine facility at Camp Humphreys. We’ve snuck in alcohol like teenagers, stole empty rooms’ chairs to congregate and let the littles watch movies projected onto the walls, stretched our “yard time” as far as humanly possible, and adapted every chance we got.
Ryan and I have been lucky because, being vaccinated, we could enjoy a “working quarantine” where we’re free to move about on post. These kiddos haven’t seen anything beyond these walls and the yard in 14 days (except Spencer, who got to go to the ER). I can’t wait to see what a little freedom does for them! Some of you’ve been asking what it’s like here in South Korea, and I can honestly say that I don’t know yet – but we’re about to find out!
We’re heading into Army lodging tomorrow morning for the next week or so as we work to secure a place to live off post because, yes, we were approved! Check that box because our quarantine in South Korea is officially complete. Let our Korean adventures begin!
