Quarantined Three Times
By: Shiela Cancino
Tags: Shiela Cancino, Quarantine, Asian Women, Asian Expats Women, Covid 19

Quarantine is defined as, “a state, period, or place of isolation in which people or animals that have arrived from elsewhere or been exposed to infectious or contagious disease are placed.” (dictionary.com)

I recently experienced quarantine in the Philippines, in Singapore, and in Hong Kong.

Philippines (January 26 — February 3)

For some reason, my life stopped at the beginning of the year: public speaking, life coaching, chess, and especially my rewarding career. I lived my life is as if I had Covid-19. I locked myself up by not doing anything.

My loved ones showed their support, but I was paralyzed — I didn’t feel anything until Uncle Rey approached me on February 3. He said, “Shiela, I’m asking God why He allowed this to happen to you. My children and many families would not have experienced good lives if not for your help.” He was referring to the scholarship foundation I set-up in the Philippines. He continued, “Shiela, we don’t know the answer now, but I believe that everything happens for a reason. There’s a reason why He chose you.”

Afterwards, he said a prayer for me. With God’s grace, my outlook changed, and my transformation began. The usual me started planning for the next steps: to have a break for three months, to spend the holy week in the Philippines, and to visit my relatives in the suburbs.

I was free from my self-imposed quarantine, and as a reward I bought a ticket to Singapore. My flight was to depart on February 27, and I was supposed to return on March 16.

Singapore (February 27 — April 26)

My purpose was to visit my friend, but since I was already in town, I met recruiters. I was taking my time looking for job opportunities, knowing that I will only start working in May.

It was on March 12, when the Philippines government announced the community quarantine from March 15. My intuition told me that if I went back home, it wouldn’t be easy to exit again, due to the rising Covid-19 cases. Since I’m a permanent resident in Hong Kong, I immediately cancelled my flight to the Philippines and booked a trip to Hong Kong instead.

While I had avoided being trapped in the Philippines, I now became trapped in Singapore. And the pressure of finding a job suddenly became higher.

My experience from my self-imposed quarantine in the Philippines helped me. During my lockdown days in Singapore I chose to do something: I resumed life coaching, wrote lyrics, produced songs, started writing a book, and organized weekly educational webinars for our scholars in the Philippines.

Hong Kong (April 26 — May 10)

Even if I had wanted to stay longer in Singapore, I could only stay for up to sixty days. So on

April 26, my sixtieth day in Singapore, I flew to Hong Kong.

I had been so virus-vigilant in Singapore. During the 60 days I was there I could count the times I left my home on one hand. So you might imagine how afraid I was to catch the virus during my flight.

As required by the Hong Kong Department of Health, I underwent a deep-throat saliva test and quarantine for fourteen days. They even put a wristband on me for monitoring. If I didn’t oblige, I would be liable to a fine of HK$5000 and six months imprisonment.

I realized that my experiences in the Philippines and Singapore were preparations for the real quarantine in Hong Kong. Once one can survive self-imposed quarantine, it’s easier to survive quarantine imposed by others.

So how did I spend my quarantine days in Hong Kong?

I continued life coaching, writing more lyrics, producing songs, writing chapters of my book, and organizing the weekly educational webinars.

Whether you are in quarantine imposed by you or others, remember that you have options: stay down or get up. Which one will you choose?

Everything Happens for a Reason — I wrote this after I survived my 1st Quarantine. I’d like to give hope to those who are afraid of covid19.

https://soundcloud.com/shiela-cancino/everything-happens-for-a-reason-feat-tennessee-flores