Rating MIQ YouTube Videos, Part 2
Emmy Hucker - There are moments of really brutal emotional honesty in this video from a young 18 year old Kiwi who was travelling alone. There are also some painfully shaky parts to watch, but overall this is a fun, yet not terribly informative, video. 6/10
Reddot Diaries - This was all about the food at Rydges Auckland. The filming was a bit shaky and and hard to watch at times. The repetitive music (again) became a bit much, too. I also wish that he had given more commentary on whether or not the food was any good, not just what it was. 5/10.
In the Wander Years - This Kiwi-American couple got sent to Hamilton upon arrival from Australia and is vegan, so if you’re vegan, this will give you an idea of the food you can expect. I appreciate their humour and the filming wasn’t half bad. My favorite part? The “club” they set up in their room, complete with mixing board. 7/10
Arna Alayne spent her quarantine in the BayPlaza hotel in Wellington where the hotel rooms were small and dated but with a good view of the harbour. The video quality and editing is one of the best I’ve seen so far so it was an easy video to watch. What I liked the most was her compelling perspective on why it is important that the government is covering costs of MIQ for citizens returning to live. On the downside, I feel sorry for the neighbors, especially if they had young kids with naptimes that were disrupted by the French horn. 9/10
Becca Loveless’s video is the first one I’ve seen that includes managed isolation with a kid. Finally! She gives a good description of what happened in the airport before they arrived at the Rydges hotel, and at this point I thought she was very jaded about the whole experience. By the end of the video, I realized the initial attitude was probably just jetlag because she was leaning into the whole experience by then, and was understanding about how they had to stay in their room until the return of a day 6 test when they found out a person sitting near them on the plane tested positive. I enjoyed seeing the toys and books they got to play with and the real life situation of how messy a room gets with a baby in it. And OMG another French horn player! I hope they had understanding neighbours. 7/10
I was curious to see what Becca’s second week in MIQ looked like, so I watched her Week 2 vlog, too. It was much the same, but I loved her reaction to the New Zealand health system and how easy it was to get care when needed. Best of luck to her! 7/10
