Juliana Andrew
Guest Writer
A week ago, I was conflicted on the severity of the COVID-19 outbreak and pushed it to the back of my mind while my boyfriend and I traveled to Greece. It should be noted that I always travel with Clorox wipes and extra hand sanitizer, so these extra precautions did
not seem out of the ordinary for me. Jared and I got back from Greece on March 8 after a really wonderful trip.
There were a few people wearing masks and several cautionary signs regarding COVID-19, but just about everything else was normal. Two or three days after we returned to Oslo, the Norwegian government issued a statement requiring anyone who entered Scandinavia after February 27 to self-quarantine (effective retroactively). So, Jared and I went on a big grocery run, bought lots of food and toilet paper, and prepared to bunker down in my tiny circular apartment for 14 days.
At this point, I had received a few emails from PLU regarding COVID-19 developments; all very reassuring, stating that PLU and the Wang Center were keeping a close eye on the situation and would update us if and when necessary. They even gave the option to return to the US early. The next morning, however, I received an email from PLU requiring all students studying in Europe to return to the United States, not optional unless we signed a waiver. Jared and I were faced with a predicament: finish our quarantine and try to leave 14 days later, potentially risking stricter travel restrictions into the US at that time, or break quarantine and risk potentially being turned away at the Oslo Airport, leaving us stranded with nowhere to stay not to mention exposing others if we did have the virus.
Another option was to ride it out in Norway, a country with free healthcare. Who knows, maybe everything would have returned to normal after just a few weeks. After a day of discussing options with each other and our families and calling every resource either of us could think of, we decided to book tickets home two weeks out and hope for the best.
The day after we booked our tickets, Norway announced it was closing its borders. I have since received word that Norway is allowing tourists to return home, but at the time, even airport workers told us that the Oslo Airport would be closing completely.
Regardless, in less than 24 hours, we packed, cleaned as much as we could, gave our leftover food to some friends who came early in the morning to say goodbye, and were on our way to the Oslo Airport. Unfortunately, someone from the apartment housing staff will have to clean what we couldn’t. I’m hoping that given the extenuating, and rather extreme, circumstances, they will find it in them to forgive me, preferably without fee. I have to say, wandering the streets, taking public transit, and entering public buildings while I was supposed to be in quarantine made me feel a little like a jail-breaking inmate. The whole experience was nerve-wracking. We didn’t know if the airport would let us check in, could they see our travel history when they swiped our passports? It didn’t help that the bag-check lady had to swipe said passports four times, resulting in an unpleasant beeping noise each time. I’ll never know what the noise meant, but we were able to check in, and once we made it through security, we each noticeably relaxed.
The relaxation was short-lived, however, as we weren’t sure if our flight would be canceled until we were seated and on the runway. There were definitely more people wearing masks and airports actually had announcements regarding COVID-19 precautions that came over the intercoms.
People are on edge, and I can’t say I’m too much better. I’m definitely bummed about leaving Norway before I’ve spent even half the time I was supposed to living there. I’ll miss having my own apartment, however tiny it may have been, decorated the way I liked, with the freedom to cook whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, and the view of a beautiful waterfall right under my window. Oslo transportation is so easy to navigate and makes me
feel like a better global citizen because I’m not driving.
On a similar note, the Norwegians really know how to recycle! Just by being there, I felt like I was lessening my own carbon footprint. Not to mention, Jared and I had some really incredible trips planned. I realize, however, that with the rapidly-changing nature of this pandemic and governments’ responses to it, everyone feels more at ease when there are fewer unknown variables (i.e. being home rather than in a relatively unfamiliar city). We also read online that Norway is now fining 20,000 NOK, roughly $2000, for breaking quarantine!
We were handed a symptom form while boarding our flight from Iceland to Seattle. When we landed in Seattle, we were asked to wait on the plane while we filled out an extra form, emergency contact paperwork. Immediately after deplaning, we were met by CDC officials armed with thermometers. We handed our previously completed symptom forms to the officials, who took our temperature, recorded it, and sent us on our way. I did see a few people who must not have passed the temperature screening being questioned on the side. After the CDC screening, we went through customs as usual.
Our flight to Anchorage was the fullest out of the three flights we took, the first time we had a third person in our row. I had a hard time falling asleep that night, which is odd because 18 hours of travel and horrible jet-lag should have been enough to knock me out. I woke up the next morning missing my teeny tiny, circular apartment, the waterfall, the bridge with changing colored lights, the covered market on the other side, and realized my difficulty sleeping could have been due to the fact that I’d grown accustomed to the noise of the water crashing outside my window. It’s very quiet here.
The decision to leave Norway was not an easy one. Given the uniqueness of the situation, PLU did the best they could. There’s no way to know whether or not coming home was the “right” decision. If, a month from now or more, coming home seems like an overreaction, I just need to remember that means our efforts paid off. As much as I loved my time in Norway and wish I could have stayed, I don’t know how much I would have enjoyed it under strict quarantine and I’m glad I have happy, healthy memories of Oslo to hold on to.
