Quarantine in Jakarta - Day 4

Would you like to know how breakfast went on day 4? I’m sure, you can’t wait! I got it at 8, as requested (but still woke up at 7 when they knocked on everybody else’s door…). It was an omelette with… ham, 2 croissants and some fruit - in a plastic box! This is what we are sometimes also dealing with on the island. It takes years to train people here (even more in West Papua), and I admire Maya for her stamina to pull this through with our staff. We sometimes repeat the same things over and over again and almost despair if they don’t remember what we taught them.

By the way, the Indonesian word for ham is the same as in English: ham. I even used it the night before to order my breakfast, but it doesn’t seem to have helped. And as for lunch – I got rice, vegetables and… chicken! After I sent it back (explaining to the waiter in Indonesian that I don’t eat meat, only fish), I closed the door and burst out laughing. It’s hilarious and actually helped to make this quarantine a lot more fun. And that’s it with food stories for today.
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Day 4 was quiet, not much happening really. Not that anything exciting happened on the first three days, but I sort of got used to the quarantine routine by now. And even if I don’t enjoy this very much, it’s just something I have to do, and since there’s no way around it, why get stressed? I'm very thankful I don't have to do 10 or 14 days, as is required in other countries. My friends and family are sweet and send me messages of encouragement. I even get tips for fitness or yoga sites and what to do in Jakarta once I am allowed outside. Thank you so much, everyone, I appreciate this very much! It feels good to know that some of you follow this blog and care about how I’m doing.

I’m very proud of myself! I brought A LOT of chocolate for everyone on the island (and for myself...), but I haven’t opened any of it yet. It’s sitting in the fridge/minibar which was completely empty when I arrived. I don’t know why. Is it because they don’t want to disinfect any drinks or food that I might have touched and not used during my quarantine? Anyway, the fridge became the perfect place to store my chocolate to prevent it from melting. Every time I look at the fridge, I am tempted to open and eat some of its lovely looking content! There are perfectly sized little bars or little chocolate Easter eggs that I love so much, so I think it wouldn’t hurt to have one or two, would it? But I know myself – once I start, I take one every time I walk past the fridge, and soon there will be nothing left. No, I shall not surrender to temptation!

The event of the day was the second PCR test. Same procedure, same unpleasant nose and mouth swab (it doesn’t get any more pleasant the more often you do it…), but at least I got to make a few steps outside my room and see 3 new faces. Or at least as much as one can see with the mask covering most of it. I’ll get the test result on the 5th day in the evening only, so there’s a bit of a wait. As soon as I get the ok, I’ll book my flight to Sorong, because I want to be sure I’m able to fly before I book. But once this is done, I can really start looking forward to being back on the island very soon!

Apparently, it was a beautiful and warm weekend in Switzerland just now. I get very jealous when I look at the pictures my friends post on social media about their weekend trips to the mountains or along lakes and rivers while I still enjoy the same view on Jakarta from inside my hotel room. I know I shouldn’t scroll through my social media feed so often, but just you wait and see, guys! I will spam you with gorgeous island pictures as soon as I’m back on Pef!
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