We technically were not mandated by the government here in South Asia to quarantine. We simply thought it was a good idea and were encouraged to by others. It was our third quarantine, since we did one coming back into the States, we got Covid and therefore quarantined another time, and now here we are again.
Honestly, it has been a great way to:
- get over jetlag
- clean the dirt, maggots, moths, and everything else from our flat
- get back into rhythms and routines
- transition slowly to South Asian life
- depend on local friends for help with a few grocery runs
This week consisted of 8:30 am online language class instead of my usual 6:30 am slot I had to take in the States due to the time difference. Praises!! I’ll gladly take 8:30 any day.
I carefully inspected all my spices and threw out a plethora of chicken rubs from the States due to the clumps and strings hanging from the sides of the container.
I feel a renewed passion for studying the language and encouraged that I can speak more easily to local friends. I don’t find that I am straining for every single word in order to get out one thought. Our language teacher told us it actually helped for us to be in the States because we were able to focus on letting language seep in without the added stress that culture can sometimes bring.
This was the first week that we actually wanted to speak the language to each other in our house. I know, it has taken practically two years but we finally felt comfortable to work in the kitchen during lunch and converse in another language.
We got back into the rhythms of homemade (almost) everything, which we were both kind of excited about. Some things just taste better on this side of the world when made with whole ingredients and care.
- homemade italian bread crumbs
- homemade mozzarella sticks (which I don’t ever intentionally eat in the States but you never know what you’ll have an urge to make when you live overseas)
- homemade salad dressing
- homemade moringa latte
- homemade granola
- homemade marina sauce (with help from the South Asian Instant Pot)
- homemade whole wheat pizza dough (with help from the bread machine)
- homemade hamburger buns (with help from the bread machine)
- homemade crescent rolls (with help from the bread machine)
homemade butter chicken and garlic naan(definitely not homemade. ordered out for delivery and it was absolutely delicious)
Even though this quarantine hasn’t been bad, we are really looking forward to getting out in the community, meeting with our local friends, speaking more of the language, and jumping back on our bikes (aka: the motorcycle and scooty).