00:00I wake up to an incredible sunrise,
00:03I get to watch an incredible sunset.
00:07It looks different, it feels different, it smells different.
00:10It's a new scenery, a new change of pace.
00:14We've been on lockdown for so many months.
00:20My cabin fever is just through the roof.
00:23It's mentally exhausting.
00:26On top of just all of the hardships that COVID has brought,
00:32it's made these past few months really, really challenging.
00:35I am a supervising producer at Refinery29.
00:38I love my job.
00:40And now that we are working remotely,
00:43I'm doing everything from home.
00:46So I said to myself,
00:48why do I have to stay in these four walls
00:54in my little New York City apartment
00:57when I could be out on the beach doing it?
01:01I looked at my favorite place on the planet, Turks and Caicos,
01:05and I was like, I'm gonna go work there for a week.
01:11I'm gonna share with you guys
01:13what it was like traveling here during COVID,
01:17my experience navigating the airport,
01:20being on the plane,
01:22transporting to the hotel,
01:24being in what feels like a bubble.
01:28I have been traveling over the past few weeks.
01:31I've been to Chicago twice.
01:32I've been to Atlanta.
01:34Before I travel and take a COVID test,
01:36when I come back, I take a COVID test.
01:38My sister is actually a COVID nurse.
01:41She's never had it.
01:42Her children has never had it.
01:43Her husband has never had it.
01:45So when she gives me guidance or advice
01:48on how I need to handle and treat things,
01:51I like antennas go up.
01:53The expert has spoken.
01:54I'm listening.
01:54When I first started traveling,
01:56she did go out and buy me a few things
01:58that she felt I would be safe in.
02:00So she got me surgical masks, goggles, shield, sanitizer.
02:05And then she gave me like baggies of Clorox wipes.
02:09So her directive to me was to always keep my mask on,
02:14of course, and either wear the shield or wear the goggles.
02:19She tells me when I get on the plane
02:21to wipe down the seat with Clorox wipes.
02:25Wait 10 seconds for it before you sit down.
02:28I've been flying a lot with Delta and JetBlue.
02:32And they hand out things like Purell wipes and masks.
02:36And there's a lot less human to human interaction.
02:41And it doesn't affect the experience at all.
02:43It still feels the same.
02:45Turks and Caicos Borders opened on July 22nd, 2020.
02:50As a way for them to minimize risk,
02:54they require that you have a COVID test taken within five days of arrival.
03:02You also have to buy insurance, which is not expensive.
03:06I think I paid like 22 bucks for mine.
03:09That will allow you to be evacuated out of the country
03:13if you do come down with COVID.
03:17Where it got challenging for me is that in New York City,
03:21at some of the facilities,
03:23we're not getting our test results back within five days.
03:26The last time I took a COVID test, it took them 15 days to get me my test results.
03:33So I had to do a lot of work to find a lab that was one, either affordable or free.
03:40And two, would get me my test results back in that five-day timeframe.
03:47Luckily, the hospitals use a separate lab.
03:50And they actually gave me my test results back in 24 hours.
03:54Thank God it was negative.
03:56Once you have all your paperwork, Turks and Caicos has a special portal
04:00that you have to go and upload all of your documents to,
04:06so that their government can review it and then say,
04:10yes, you are approved to travel here.
04:12No, you are not approved to travel here.
04:14When you get to the airport,
04:16you have to present the information that says,
04:19I do have approval to travel to Turks and Caicos.
04:22The approval took about maybe 24 to 48 hours to come in.
04:27I remember it being fairly quick.
04:30Landing here in Turks and Caicos is a little bit different from the United States.
04:36Here, if you're in public, you need to wear a mask.
04:40Then when we get to the hotel, it felt like we were being greeted by family.
04:45I really was blown away.
04:46I wanted to stay at a hotel that could really feel like home for a week.
04:54One of the reasons why my friends and I chose Seven Stars is because they have this
04:58really cool promotion initiative where if you do an extended stay, they'll give you 50% off.
05:08What made it great is that I've been able to work everywhere.
05:12I can work at a cabana.
05:15I can work at the bar.
05:16I can work at the pool.
05:18The Wi-Fi is super strong.
05:21This is amazing.
05:24It's calm.
05:25It's chill.
05:26It's quiet.
05:29Creatively, I've been able to generate so much.
05:32I've had so many new revelations about self that I feel like I feel energized and ready
05:39to go back to New York City.
05:42It's really been like a reset for me especially with all the craziness that's occurring in the world.
