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6 Reasons I’m Grateful For Lockdown
I arrived in California on 22 March, just as the stay at home orders were issued. I’d managed to secure one of the last flights out of Australia but I didn’t really trust that I’d make it into the States, given how quickly everything seemed to be changing.
Also, did I have a fever or was it just stress? Or was I stressed with a fever? I spent the entire 21 transit hours stressing about it (stressing about stress, yes, welcome to my brain).
After we finally landed at LAX, I strode through the surreal surrounds of the terminal. Empty gates, closed stores. I could sense the palpable tension of fellow travelers who had a connecting flight — had our delay meant they’d miss their last chance to make it to the eastern seaboard?
I was worried too— through the fiancé visa process I’d had constant reminders that there were no guarantees, and the immigration officer at the airport refuse my entry. Would I be shipped back to Australia amid a pandemic?
Finally, walking out into the arrivals hall I heaved a sigh of relief — and then my jaw dropped. It felt like a scene out of a science fiction movie. No one was there. Not a single person waiting to meet a loved one, no chauffeurs holding a sign with a name on it, no balloons, no teary reunions. No one. The stores were closed, the coffee place shuttered.
