Luckily I wasn’t as affected as others, because I was in Thailand and Cambodia for about seven weeks during the most difficult time in China. But as China began to win the battle, I headed back in case the students were asked to return to university. Cambodia had less than 100 cases at the time, so I was confident I would not be a danger to others. 

I booked a flight for March 26. However, this flight was cancelled, so I booked another for the following day. The price was higher than usual, with a one-way flight costing 1600RMB. However, as more and more flights were being cancelled the price rose to over 9000rmb, so I was very happy with my very cheap ticket! I was very worried this flight would also be cancelled, or that I wouldn’t be allowed on to the plane. However, everything was fine. But I was told that instead of changing flights in Xiamen to return to Nanjing, I would need to quarantine for 14 days in Xiamen. They were very honest and clear about what will happen, and said I could stay in Cambodia if I preferred. But I wanted to come back, so was willing to accept whatever was required. 

The flight landed at 4pm in Xiamen. The airport was empty, so everything was done quickly. There were temperature checks, and a DNA sample was taken, and there were many forms to fill in detailing information such as where I had come from to the seat number on the flight. I and the other passengers were then driven to a hotel near the airport, and our health codes were checked. We were then told which hotels we would stay in for the next 14 days, and I would have to pay by myself . That was more than I thought it would be, but I had no choice. 

And so the 14 day quarantine began. To be honest, it wasn’t a bad experience. I had online classes to teach to students I still have never met. But I enjoyed the experience and the classes are still going well. Luckily the hotel allowed me to order food from outside. I would order enough food for 2 days. The hotel didn’t want to help me reheat the food when I needed it, so I got creative, took the lid off the kettle, and steamed the food in coffee cups! It worked very well, and I had hot food whenever I wanted it. 

The 14 days passed pretty quickly, but the last 2 days were the longest, as I was getting excited about being free again. The only thing I had seen of Xiamen was the view of an apartment building and a construction site from my window. I was told I could leave at 9pm on Friday April 10th, and I left exactly on time. Everything went smoothly and was very fast. I paid for the room, and received my green code of freedom. I stayed in Xiamen for 4 more days just to taste the sea air and have at least a few days of going outside. I didn’t know if I would have to quarantine again in Nanjing when I arrived. 

But I arrived in Nanjing this evening, Tuesday April the 14th, and to my surprise, after the flight attendant helped me to put my information onto Alipay, and I received another green code, I walked out of the airport without any more checks. Now I’m back in my apartment and after cooking myself a meal for the first time in two months, I’m enjoying a bottle of red wine.

I’m worried about my mother in England, as there has been a slow response to the pandemic there. I call her very often, but she is doing really well, and keeping to the rules. I think my experience in China helped her become confident that there was little danger as long as you are considerate and follow the rules. I just wish everyone else would realize this is the only way to win this war. If country the size of China can do it, I think everyone can do it.

于我而言幸运的是，我并没有像其他人那样受到那么大的影响，因为当病毒在中国最为肆虐的时候，我在泰国和柬埔寨待了约莫七个星期。随着中国渐渐在这场没有硝烟的“战役”中取得上风，我想学生们随时有可能重返校园，便决定返回中国。当时在我所身处的柬埔寨只有不到一百个感染病例，因此我坚信自己不会对他人构成威胁。

（作者所在的柬埔寨机场）

最开始，我订了三月二十六日的机票，可遭遇了航班取消，于是我只能寄希望于第二天的班次。机票的价格比往常高些，单程的票价已达到了1600元人民币。然而随着越来越多的航班被取消，票价也水涨船高，升值到了超过9000元人民币！因此我十分庆幸自己买到了非常划算的机票。我非常担心此次航班也会被取消，或是我会被禁止乘坐。所幸一切安好——除了我被告知需要在厦门进行为期14天的隔离，而不是原计划的直接在厦门转机回南京。工作人员十分诚实地向我明确了接下来将会发生什么，并告诉我如果我愿意的话可以继续留在柬埔寨。但是我想是时候回来了，所以愿意接受一切要求

（作者本人）

我乘坐的航班于下午4点抵达了厦门。机场空空荡荡，所以一切手续都飞速完成了，其中包含体温检测，DNA样本采集，以及很多关于详细信息的表格填写（例如飞机上的座位号等等）。紧接着，我和其他旅客就被一起送到机场附近的一家酒店，在那里工作人员还检查了我们的健康码。之后我们被告知在接下来的14天里会入住哪些酒店，并且每人需要承担自己的费用。这比我想象的要多，但我已别无选择。

就这样，我开始了14天的隔离生活。老实说，这经历也不算糟糕。我还要给那些从开学至今仍未见面的学生上网课，不过我很享受这个过程，课程也很顺利。而且幸运的是，酒店允许我点外卖，所以我会一次订购两天的食物。不过他们不会帮我加热食物，于是我想了个好点子，把热水壶的盖子取下，把食物装到咖啡杯里，然后用蒸汽把它加热。这个方法很好用，接下来，我时刻都能享受到热腾腾的食物了。

（作者所在的隔离酒店）

14天过得很快，但最后2天其实是最漫长的，因为我太渴望重获自由了！透过酒店窗户，我唯一能看到的景色只有一栋公寓楼和一个建筑工地。工作人员告诉我，到了周五，也就是4月10日晚上9点，隔离就结束了。于是，我在九点整的时候离开了酒店！一切都进行得很顺利，我付了房费，收到了绿色健康码。我又在厦门呆了四天，为了感受一下海边的空气，然后在周遭逛一逛。我也不知道等我回到南京之后，是否要再次接受隔离。但当我今晚（4月14日星期二）到达南京后，令我惊讶的是，空姐帮我把信息更新到支付宝，我又收到了另一个健康码，随后便可以畅通无阻地离开机场了。此刻，我回到了自己的住处，做了两个月以来的第一顿饭，打开了一瓶红酒安静享受。

我又不禁担心我远在英国的母亲，政府对防疫的举措还不够完善。我经常给她打电话，还好她一直无恙，她也遵守特殊时期的一些规则。我觉得自己在中国的经历给她带来了一些安慰，只要注意自我保护，响应相关的指导，那么病毒就没有那么危险。我也希望其他人能意识到这么做才是赢得这场战争唯一的办法。如果像中国这样大的国家都能做到如此，那我想每个人也都可以做到。

(责任编辑：黄思纯 实习编辑：刘泽一)

(作者：南广学院国际学院教师、原英国文化教育协会雅思考官 戴维.莫里（英国） 翻译：吴杨、朱怡雯（南广国际学)