Last year, Taiwan experienced an outbreak of COVID-19. We had our classes online, and of course, stayed at home for quarantine. No one was vaxxed and there were few vaccines in Taiwan.

In addition to staying home, due to the international status of Taiwan, it was impossible for most people to get the vaccine in Taiwan over the summer. Therefore, my dad decided to send my grandma and me to San Francisco to get the vaccine.

On the plane

Sometimes, parents are overprotective when it comes to our health, especially during a pandemic.

My dad forced me to wear protective clothing and a raincoat that looked ridiculous for my flight. Moreover, he made me wear gloves, an N-95 mask, and a plastic mask, as if I am in the middle of a bio war.

After my dad dropped me off at the airport, I took off most of the madness he had made me bring. No matter how hard my grandma tried to convince me to keep it on, I said no because it looked silly and wasn’t actually doing that much to protect me.

Quarantine and getting vaxxed in the US

Since we didn’t know whether we had been infected, we volunteered to quarantine for 10 days.

Luckily my aunt lived near our quarantine hotel, so she brought us meals and daily necessities every day.

Since I couldn’t go anywhere during quarantine, I played tons and tons of video games, and watched Netflix from morning to night. It was fun, but my eyes got tired from staring at screens for so long.

Watching Netflix and playing all the video games I wanted was fun, but I still had classes online since the semester in Taiwan hadn’t ended. It was a disaster because my classes started in the afternoon and ended at midnight. Moreover, there was construction near our hotel, so I couldn’t sleep well in the morning.

A few days after I settled down in the hotel, my aunt took us to a pharmacy where we could get the injection. This was interesting because in Taiwan we usually get vaxxed in a hospital or clinic, or at school.

Fortunately, I didn’t suffer much from side effects. My arm hurt, but that was it. I got the Pfizer vaccine, which didn’t cause many side effects in the first shot. Compared to Taiwan, it is way easier for people to get vaxxed in the US because you don’t need to make any reservations. All you need to do is go directly to a vaccination site and you can get the shot!

Waiting for the next shot

After my 10-day quarantine, I moved to my cousin’s house and waited for another 21 days in order to get my second shot of Pfizer. Those days, I joined a tennis camp and rode a bike to nearby downtown San Francisco as often as I could. Besides that, I visited Stanford and some University of California schools, such as UC Berkeley and UC Davis on the weekends.

After about three weeks, I went to the pharmacy for my second shot of Pfizer. I was so nervous since my cousin told me the side effects would be more severe than the first one. Fortunately, I only got a fever for one day, and I was able to go to tennis the next day.

After the second shot

The flight back home was meaningful to me since it was my first time taking a flight alone. Without my dad and grandma telling me what to wear, I only wore a normal medical mask without any gloves or other protective clothing.

After landing in Taipei, the assigned taxi drove me to my quarantine hotel, and I started my 14-day quarantine by myself. For the next 14 days, I did my online classes. For the rest of the time, I played video games or watched Netflix, just like when I was in San Francisco.

There was one silly accident that happened. One day, my aunt brought me some fruit, which I had to cut. I was dumb and used the wrong side of the blade to cut a kiwi. Then I realized something went wrong; my finger had a cut down one side. It was bleeding so bad that I had to call my parents so that they could bring me band-aids and other medical supplies.

Getting vaxxed in the US was a positive experience

Throughout this trip, I learned to be independent and disciplined. This was my first time away from my parents for so long, and also my first time staying on my own. I had to do everything by myself. No one was waking me up in the morning, preparing my meals, or scolding me when I did something wrong.

In conclusion, this trip was meaningful to me, especially since it was in the middle of a pandemic. Though sometimes it was hard for me to live in a place I’m not familiar with, it was still fun, and I had a great time there.