Quarantine in Apollo Bay

Three weeks turned to 3 months. A new visa application. Global pandemic. Quarantine. From shared room bunk beds to a private queen and all the fridge shelves we could want for our food.

I shouldn’t even be in Australia anymore. I had plans to go to the US Virgin Islands, to New Zealand, to Vietnam (okay, plans might be the wrong word...I was still figuring out my options...). My visa expired at the end of April which took me through a spiral - do I join the panic travel and try to get back to the United States? Do I stay in Australia and apply for the Pandemic Visa? Am I even eligible for that? After weeks of going down the internet blackhole, I eventually called a migration agent and applied for a new visitor visa. It felt like the safest option for now.

I have a safe (and free!) place to stay in Apollo Bay. I have people here in Australia as my support system. I have a way to stay lawful in the country.

But, what do I do with my time? After over a year of travel - always planning the next destination, working odd jobs, meeting and getting to know people - suddenly I’m in a small town with only 5 other people at the hostel and no mode of transportation. I followed the trends in watching Tiger King, Zoom happy hours, baking banana bread. We actually played full games of Monopoly and enjoyed them with nothing but available time. I read two entire series by an author and the local librarian knows me by name. I applied, qualified, and began to teach English online. I have my walking routes, along the beach in the morning and along the cow pastures for sunset.

Still, there are days where I struggle to get out of bed, to find my purpose. I’m transported back to a time where I wasn’t confident in myself and my ability to be independent - eating chips in bed and watching Netflix episode after episode. I suffer “Zoom fatigue” where it’s hard to get the energy to have a video call with friends that are across the world. I feel like a “waste of space.” Not my favourite version of myself.

I can pull myself back out. Those days aren’t the majority. I’m happy to get back out exploring - with a day adventure down the coast with a friend from uni or a nighttime hike at a nearby lake to see the glowworms. I’ve started journaling again and listening to podcasts that help me focus in on my passions or discover memos I tell myself. I’ve started writing in this blog again. Designing for both new and old clients. Researching what social media management and strategy looks like. Organising my digital folders and photo albums.

I hope I remember this time through all the books and shows and movies I consumed. The events I got to be a part of virtually, from Passover dinner to weekly Jeopardy games and graduations. But, I also hope I remember the down days and more importantly, what I did to lift myself back up. Or what others did through phone calls and messages. Everyone has had their struggles, their wins, their losses during this time. This has been my quarnatine.