New middle school student Alex has shared his experience of going through quarantine. His account of this very unusual two weeks is an amazing document of the strange times we are living though. We are very happy that Alex and his family are now here and part of our community and are enjoying the space and freedom of the Prem campus.

Our thanks to Alex for his resilience and for sharing his reflections.

“Clover Asok Hotel is the place that I spent my first 2 weeks in Thailand, the experience was… well lets just say very unusual. Never before have I been trapped in a hotel, it was a confusing concept to me at first but also at the same time it completely made sense to make sure that we don’t have COVID-19. I wouldn’t say that I’d want to do it again but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. We were not allowed outside of our room for the first six days.  I woke up at 8:00am (around the time that breakfast came) I had breakfast which was often waffles. Then I played on my trusty Nintendo switch until lunch (1:00pm) then I spent my time reading my book, exercising (the hotel supplied us with a yoga mat and yoga ball) and watching TV until dinner time (7:00pm)  Afterwards I would watch a movie with my dad (he was always working, so the evening was the only time i got to do any thing with him). Rinse and repeat.  After a week, online school began which helped the days go more quickly!

We had a Covid test on day 3 which came back negative so on day six we could meet up with my mom and sister on the roof top of the hotel. We still had to keep our distance, but it felt great to see my mom and sister and chat to them face to face (or should that be mask to mask). We could spend 45 minutes a day together. 

We had a final Covid test on day 13, which also came back negative. I started to get really excited about the prospect of leaving the hotel and finally being able to go out into Thailand. When I arrived at Prem I felt bewildered as it did not feel like I was really here! I am now enjoying making new friends and being at school at last!!”

Alex Waterman