Before my trip began, I had heard stories of travelers being quarantined in China because a passenger on their plane had exhibited signs of a fever. My friends and family jokingly warned me not to appear sick when I arrived in Beijing. I even took some advil before we landed just in case… Unfortunately for me, and my fellow classmates on the same flight, there were three confirmed cases of swine flu on the plane.

We didn’t know this for two whole days, however, as we settled into our dorm rooms, explored the Tsinghua University campus, and began to meet our classmates. Two days later, we were tracked down, and whisked away in an ambulance to a hotel used solely for quarantine purposes.

It was an experience. The government officials running the operation always wore lab coats, face masks, and hair nets. Some, like our ambulance drivers, wore full body suits resembling something straight out of a bad sci-fi movie. Fortunately, my friends and I were not confined to our rooms, but we did have to wear masks when we ventured into public spaces. The staff, who were very polite, fed us three decent meals a day; we had access to television (too bad I couldn’t understand the Chinese channels), and Internet. Our temperatures were taken twice a day, to ensure that we had not contracted the virus. No one at the hotel was actually sick; otherwise they would have been taken directly to a hospital.

The other travelers being quarantined hailed from all over—Europe, Australia, USA, Tibet… Confined from the outside world, and with time to kill (five days, to be exact), it was easy to make friends and bond over this unique and ridiculous experience.

Although I was a bit upset that my stay in Beijing was cut shorter, I do think this experience has pushed me to make the most of the rest of my time here in China. Plus, it’s a hilarious story.

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