Once we arrived in New Zealand, we had to complete 10 days in Managed Isolation and Quarantine (MIQ).
The New Zealand government has converted several hotels into MIQ
facilities, where people entering the country are placed in isolation
and tested for COVID. I will receive 4 total COVID tests during my time
here, on days 2, 4, 6, and 9.
Some of Cohort 4 went to the Distinction Hotel, but I ended up with the majority of folks at the Commodore. And I've got to say, I really think we lucked out. My hotel room is so nice (with a fancy tub! and a balcony overlooking a beautiful garden with trees!).
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| Commodore hotel room with a HUGE tub. The glass window next to the tub has an automatic shade you can raise/lower. So fancy!! |
I've kept the balcony door open 90% of the time I've been here. The fresh air feels so good, and the temperature here has been a comfortable 65-70°F during the day.
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| View from my balcony. I am loving listening to the birds singing! |
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| Here's the view from sitting on the couch. A lot of birds like hanging out in this tree. |
We arrived at the hotel around lunch on Nov 15. I spent the first day unpacking, taking a much-needed shower after my extended time on an airplane, and catching up on sleep. The second day, the nurses stopped by all of our rooms to give us a COVID test. Once the first test came back negative, the nurses would give us a blue wristband so we could enjoy outdoor time. Unfortunately, they forgot about me, so I didn't get outdoor time until day 4 😔.
I ordered some snacks from the grocery store on day 2. I desperately wanted some fresh fruit after the Albany/airplane meals, so I got the necessities: 1 kg of apples and 2 kg of clementines. Maybe just a little overkill (especially because the food at the Commodore is AMAZING!).
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| Snacks from the grocery store. Fruit, chocolate, and a heck ton of tea. Plus some fantastic trail mix that does NOT skimp on the walnuts. |
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| The grocery store also gave me bonus legos???? These adorable legos that look like groceries! Plus a grocery store checkout counter! How cool is that??!! |
I have not eaten too many of my snacks because the food at the Commodore is truly phenomenal. Every meal is 5-star restaurant quality. I am not exaggerating; it is SO GOOD!! Here are some of my favorites so far:
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| Salad and pakoras with mint yogurt sauce and mango chutney, plus 2 coconut cookies. |
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| Roll with veggies, cheese, and tomato jam, plus a salad and banana bread. Plenty of fresh veggies here! |
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| Couscous salad with cucumber, cranberries, and other veg, lamb marinated in harissa paste, and mint yogurt sauce. Plus 2 shortbread cookies. |
The first few days were jam-packed with zoom training from USAP (the United States Antarctic Program). This included:
- Waste training (all of the waste created in McMurdo gets shipped back to California to be disposed of correctly)
- Fire safety and fire extinguisher training (very important, but over zoom seemed like a strange decision)
- Alcohol awareness training (which basically boiled down to: don't be an idiot, and don't be a jerk)
- And so much more!! I was thoroughly zoomed out by the end of training.
After training was over, I was on my own! Giving me free time to set up this blog 😊. I'll have another post about the rest of my time in the Commodore soon!
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