This as-told-to story is based on an interview with Jake Rosmarin, an American travel influencer who is being quarantined after being on board the M/V Hondius cruise ship following a hantavirus outbreak. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
I’m a freelance content creator and photographer, and was on the cruise with the company to show people these remote places that they might not know about. I’m on day four of a 42-day incubation period in the national quarantine unit in Omaha, Nebraska, and as of this moment, I do not have any viral infection. Even though it doesn’t mean anything in the long run, I’m taking it as a win.
I’m stuck in a room all day. It’s a bit nicer than a hospital room, and I’m allowed to get packages and stuff. I was able to get a mattress cover, new pillows, and sheets. I’m supposed to get posters today, so I’m able to make this place feel like home.
I miss my fiancé and my family. I get to talk to them every day. But it’s the physical contact — I’m a big hugger, and I can’t wait to be able to hug people again.
I’ve been posting about what my days look like because I think it was just something that I needed to do for my mental headspace, because that’s all I know: creating content. Maybe it’ll feed some of the conspiracy theory people, but at the end of the day, you’re not going to change their minds for the most part, right?
I have mixed emotions
The increase in followers that I’ve gotten was a really emotional experience for me, especially when I hit the 50K mark.
I just cried a lot, because I really was so excited at some point to hit 50K followers on Instagram. I never wanted to get to where I am now because of a situation like this.
I got into freelance content creation and photography after quitting my job in TV advertising in 2021 and slowly made it my full-time job. I enjoy showing people about my life. I’m not just Jake the traveler — I’m Jake the marathon runner, and Jake the guy who likes to go on long walks and hikes, and go to Orange Theory, and try new foods and do new activities in Boston.
As a small travel influencer, I’m not paid by the company — I think that’s a misconception. A lot of the time, I’m being sent on a free trip, and I make money when I convince people to travel with a certain company through an affiliate link or promotional code. The amount of travel varies — I could take two to 10 trips a year. I also do some brand ambassador work for a travel company.
Looking to the future
No travel company has reached out to me, so I don’t know what this experience will mean for me in the long run. I also think it’s not really the right time for me to be doing any kind of partnership — I’m in a quarantine unit.
A company messaged me yesterday, and I said, “Thank you so much for the comment. Instead of sending me something, if you were able to donate something toward hantavirus research, I think that would be really amazing.”
I really don’t want to be receiving things from brands. If I knew that someone was sending me something because that’s what they really cared about, and didn’t care about a shout-out or anything like that, maybe I’d be open to it. But if a big company that has a lot of money can send something to me, why not donate to research instead?
The first step of getting through this is to come to terms with the realization that I’ll be here for a total of 42 days. Then it’s trying to look at the positives and appreciate the little things. Getting a Starbucks delivered to me brought me so much joy. I can either stay in this room for six weeks and sulk or try to enjoy my time as much as possible.
I think when this is over, I’m going to go back to what I was doing before the trip: integrating all aspects of my life into my content. I don’t want it to become my entire life. I’m not always going to be Jake, the guy who was in the hantavirus quarantine.
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