Quarantine!

No freaking out, guys (Mom, that means you).

It looks like all the hype about swine flu and taking our temperatures isn't just for show - they actually follow through for the smallest indication of illness.

Last night (Friday), two of my fellow orientees (a girl who had a fever and sore throat, and her unlucky roommate, who was feeling fine) were placed under quarantine in their room. This morning (Saturday) they were taken to the hospital, where they are apparently under quarantine for 5 days. I'm not sure whether they will be able to complete the orientation/training or not.

Then, about five minutes ago (it's just past lunchtime on Saturday here), another girl departed lunch wearing a breathing mask, and was taken away in an ambulance. We've been assured by the program staff that there's no need to worry, and that all of this is just precautionary procedure. I'm inclined to believe them, since my impression so far has been that they are taking regular cold symptoms (stuffed up nose, slight fever, sore throat) just a little too seriously. After all, all of us are jet-lagged, slightly dehydrated (in the case of most of my classmates), and overall under a lot of bodily stress. It's natural that we might be feeling a bit under the weather for a few days, especially as we adjust to the hot and humid summer climate.

Most of my dorm mates, however, are working themselves into a tizzy over it. I'm glad I have a high stress threshold. One of my fellow teachers-to-be gave me a link to a blog that was written by a group of English teachers in Korea in May 2009, who were apparently exposed to swine flu by one of their fellow orientees and sent to quarantine for an extended period of time: click here if you'd like to read the blog.

Whereas the first few days in the country, I had a fair amount of time to myself, "alone time" has proved nonexistent these past few days. I share a room, have classes with my peers from 8 am til 9 pm every day, and usually have barely enough time to update my internetz in the common area (the only place internetz is available) and maybe do a little street exploring with the other orientees (I'm a little too skittish to venture out on my own yet) before heading to bed to prepare for another early morning. In a way, the rigorous schedule is nice: it has rather quickly regularized my sleeping schedule, and has prevented me from the self-isolation that I otherwise might have tended towards. I'm trying not to get too stressed out by the lack of alone time (which I generally use to process things), and am reminding myself that in about a week, when I get my own apartment, I will have as much time to myself as I want.