Hello,

So I am late this week, but I have a decent enough excuse. So I managed to pick up Covid somewhere while filming. Now I have a first hand experience as to how strange this disease is. For me it comes and goes in waves, apart of all the flu symptoms you would expect I also feel extremely drowsy, as if I was very very drunk, with no proper grasp on reality. World around me feels soft and even now writing this I feel like I have no energy to care whether sentences make sense.. and mind you, today is a better day. Yesterday I was just in some Alice in wonderland type of dream. It is a bit scary, as I described it to my friend last night, I felt like you could just put me somewhere, wherever and that’s where you would find me as I had zero will on anything. 

Honestly, I find it very very hard to write right now, so before I loose my grasp on what is real I better upload this.

Please stay safe! 

Love.

***

Monday. Today was a good day. We completed every scene on the call sheet and actually had fun doing it. The location was beautiful, an old Moroccan prison in the desert surrounded by mountains, which later was turned into a water reservoir. We had a bit of a water fight going between the colleagues, it added to the overall fun. There were few casualties today. Not sure if it was the heat or more of the upset stomachs they had, but well, the desert took them. Still counting my blessings that I have not been one of the fallen yet. Ah also there was a bit of a drama about this desert dog one of our actors rescued and wanted to take it back to the UK with him. Not sure if I talked about it in my last weeks diary, BUT in the end he sent the dog to the shelter in Marrakech. I am not sure I agree with that decision, because well the dog was stray, but living its live seemingly happily in the desert, it might not have had the longest live, but it would have been free and now it is in some shelter in the city. Yea.. think what you may.

Tuesday. Another good day. We started earlier because we needed the sunrise and it was beautiful. Also felt like we had way more time of daylight before it got too hot. We shot some emotional stuff and it was rather interesting. Some of those young actors have a really good range, I was rather impressed. Ah yes apparently international flights reopened in Morocco. Also because of our early start we had an earlier finish and had time to enjoy some sun and pool after work. I was practicing diving head first in the pool again and apart of loosing my swimsuit all the time it is actually a lot of fun. I miss scuba diving so much.. Might do some diving holiday research tonight. 

Wednesday. Good day at work. A lot of driving which is always fun. Had some nice chats with the cast. One of them was feeling a bit unwell. Could be another one with the heat stroke. The sun really is relentless. I was feeling rather good after work and went for a little diving practice and some sun followed by pilates in my room. Good day, but feeling super tired.

Thursday. So I woke up feeling a bit rough. Might have overdone on the sun I thought also left my air conditioner on during the night and slept with my hair wet and it’s the end of the week. Well fast forward few hours into our shooting day. The actor who was a bit unwell on Wednesday was still a bit unwell, this other actor who I get on with well was also feeling a bit low on energy. We all joked about Covid a bit and proceeded with our filming day. Just before the lunch was called we got news that in fact one of those actors tested positive for Covid. The shoot stopped for the day and we were all sent back to our hotels to get retested. Our medic knew that I wasn’t feeling very well so he came in to do a rapid test on me as well And well.. You might have guest it, this time I did not dodge the bullet and my test, which looks remarkably as a pregnancy test showed positive. I cried a little, but I am also feeling so so weak and vulnerable. Luckily I have best colleagues here who keep me company through the window, bring me food and just do general check ups. But yes Covid actually hurts.

Friday. So no filming today or in a foreseeable future. Not sure what will happen with our job really. Decisions have to be made, but before all the tests come back it’s all just speculation. I think at the moment we have 5 people with Covid, I know that the 2 of us have rather strong symptoms, not sure about the rest. I am a little worried about my asthma, but I was told if worst comes to worst the hospital has a ventilator available. I am trying not to overthink it to be hones. Also I am just so grateful that I have all those kind people around me (well not literally around, but you know what I mean) Life is interesting. I thought I will managed to dodge the Covid bullet, but it got me in the year 2 of the pandemic. Stay healthy and strong!

Saturday. I woke up feeling a bit better today. Actually much much better than what it was yesterday. My super sweet colleagues brought me food and coffee and even a little flower. I am so blessed to have them around I can’t even. The only downside is that I cannot hug them. OK, so after a rather nice morning and lunch the producer came to tell me that I will be moved from this hotel to a different hotel, where I will stay with all other people who tested positive for Covid. I understand the logic behind it, but honestly I cried when I was packing. I had such a nice set up with my friends here coming to see me at the window that it feels a bit stressful to change that. So I was moved to the new hotel in a very very bumpy ambulance ride. Also now I am even further away from the hospital in case of emergency, so not sure about that. The hotel is brand new though and still smells of paint. Unfortunately that means that there is no cold water in my shower, and other little bits and bobs don’t work. The manager is super nice and helpful though. 

Sunday. First morning in our new house. Feels like a reality tv show. We alternate between Love island, Big brother and too hot to handle. I was feeling rather ok today, so spent some time by the pool. The producer came to see us today and gave us a little pep talk. Overall experience in this weird new hotel is ok, mentally I feel so far away from work that it is crazy. Also at the moment of writing this I have fever so I feel kinda odd. In the evening we watched the Mummy and it was pretty cool, because we literally just filmed in some of those locations.

Highlights:

  • Having Covid is not necessarily a positive highlight, but it is definitely one hell of a trip. 
  • I miss my work and people. 

Cheers with a glass full of hallucinating elephant!