I Would Kill For Coffee

Maybe not kill for coffee but I’m pretty sure I would have given my left pinky toe to go outside a few days ago.

Our flights were uneventful, which is how all flights should be. We left SFO on the 24th, flew to LAX where we had a 5 hour layover and then on to Auckland. Our flights were both a little over half full. No empty rows but it looked like those who flew alone got their own row. All the middle seats were empty so my son and I shared a row and my daughter and hubs shared a row. Not too bad, but I had hoped it would have been more empty.

Upon landing in Auckland we were told we’d be going to Christchurch, which was met with a mixed review but personally, we were stoked since that was the end destination for us. When we landed in Christchurch we were told we’d be dispersed to one of three different hotels. We ended up at the Novotel Christchurch airport and so far, day 4, it’s been lovely. The drive to the hotel was literally 2 minutes. The time it takes to go around the roundabout between the two. Do we wish for other things to be available like a window to open? Sure. But have the staff (wellbeing team, nursing team, food and bev team, IT support, hotel staff and I don’t know what all else) been amazing and wonderful? Absolutely. Shout out to Josh and Emily!

The night we arrived, Thursday, we had our first covid tests. The arrival day is actually day 0 so that’s a bit misleading; 15 days in quarantine. We were grateful to be out of a plane and looking forward to a hot shower and checking in with family. We have two adjoining rooms, which I requested when we booked the MIQ spot, We were prepared if we didn’t get it, but we did and realize we are very fortunate. Four of us in one hotel room for 15 days might have lead to- something bad. We had dinner, watched the first half of Frozen 2 and called it a night.

Friday, Day 1, hubs worked, still on California time so was up at 4am, but we were all up at 4am, no big deal. We lazed around, breakfast delivered silently by the food ninjas in the now famous brown paper bags. I told the kids they needed to be responsible for an activity. E is our activity and fitness coordinator. S is our organization and cleaning leader. So, you know, we’ll see how that plays out. There is an electric kettle in our room with a smattering of instant beverages and tea. So, coffee for me, hot coco for the kids. There were small milks in the mini-fridge so that helped the morning. Yes, mini-fridge and kettle, but no microwave. I don’t know what I’d use it for anyway, there is no kitchen area and while the food is never piping hot, it’s fine. I can’t imagine what it’s like to prepare meals for an entire hotel of people, many certainly with food allergies like mine (tree nuts). We read, got the PS4 hooked up, talked with family, and then it was lunch. The food ninjas delivered again. I order a small delivery of the basic food groups from the local grocery store: fruit, chips, wine, and lactose free milk, and a few art supplies. More of the same while we waited for our covid test results that alas, would not arrive that day. We stared longingly out the window over the quiet airport. We could just see the snow-capped southern alps in the distance and what we thought might be the walking track, below us. Dinner delivered, wine drunk. We reveled in the joy of not cooking or cleaning up. We watched the second half of Frozen 2. Since it was my birthday we had a mini dance party (sorry downstairs neighbors) and destroyed the gorgeous dessert the food and bev people sent up. Thanks B!

Saturday, Day 2, we wake up to a cloudy cool day. It had rained the night before. The food ninjas arrive and a few hours later so do the nurses. We get our temps taken again and the negative results we had been longing for. And with those results come the coveted blue wristbands. Our first walk will be at 8pm that night. The kids are not as upset as I thought they’d be when I shared the that Ministry of Education was so thoughtful that they had entire PACKETS of materials for school-aged children to keep them busy while in MIQ. It’s actually been great. They spent less than an hour on a unit and we called it a day. Lest you be concerned, the kids aren’t entire screen vegetables. They also read, and we have some games we play and they talk to their family and friends but also these are crazy unusual circumstances so yes, they do get a lot of screen time. And it’s fine. They will be more than fine. We just need to get through this and there’s only so much available to us. Shoutout to Max in IT that enabled us to hook up the PS4 to the wifi so the kids could play with their friends back in Cali. Grocery order delivered. Chips nibbled. Paper bag stars were made and hung in the window. We had dinner and watched the War with Grandpa. It was like all of Rober DeNiro’s characters made a cameo in one movie. At 7:55 we were ready to go on that walk. You have never seen four people more ready to go for a walk. It was cold and misty and it was wonderful. We embraced it. We walked our little loop outside the hotel as many times as we could jam into the 50 minutes. And when we came back we were exhausted.

Sunday, Day 3, it’s still cool and cloudy and we can no longer see the alps. We started the day like we did yesterday. Messed around until 9 and E lead us in some exercises and then the kids did some schoolwork before screentime kicked in. I don’t want our entire days to be scheduled but I think it helps to have an idea of what is expected and needs to be done each day, at least for a few hours. We really looked forward to that 3pm walk. There’s a wall that looks like part of the lobby of the hotel where they have stuck up pictures of kids and dogs, presumably to amuse us as we pass. It works! Those dogs and cats are adorable. Thanks team. We talked to family and friends and ate and played and it feels like we have a bit of a routine now. Because of our negative covid tests we were able to rent a stationary bike for the room so we’ll see how that goes but so far, so good. It’s a funny feeling. It hit me more yesterday, we’re not in this hotel because we are visiting NZ. We are here because we are moving here. It’s not a 3 week visit. We are here. For some reason it hit me differently this day. I was hit hard with missing my family in California. We talked and laughed and it was so nice. If someone could get going and invent that human transporter technology that would be great.