Quarantine Diaries from Shanghai
2020 has been a whirlwind. I started the year with a month long trip to Australia, hiking incredible trails by the ocean and having plenty of Shiraz. I was savoring every moment of this once-in-a-lifetime trip when the news broke about coronavirus. Reading articles about the outbreak in China while very far away was both confusing and nerve-wracking. After all, Shanghai has been my home for the past 3 years. Like many, I had exciting travel plans lined up for 2020 (Bangkok, Tbilisi, Tokyo and more) until COVID-19 came along. As the virus paralyzed China during Chinese New Year and eventually the rest of the world, I wanted to take this time to reflect on the past 3 months. I’ve had many international friends ask after my well-being so I hope this post can show what life under quarantine (‘strict social distancing’ if you’d prefer) was like in Shanghai. Note: As I arrived in Shanghai early February, it was quite different from how international travel procedures are now. Things are much stricter in China as …