They were strangers before coronavirus. Shelter-at-home has them sharing a SLO County house
When Arul Teimouri booked a room at an Oceano home via Airbnb in late January, he signed up for a 10-day stay.
He’d have to extend his stay, he thought, but probably no longer than a couple of weeks while he waited to hear back about a few job opportunities.
Bonnie Ernst, who owns the house on Belridge Street where Teimouri applied to stay, didn’t mind the extension.
She thought she was heading to Utah for a dog sitting gig soon. Ernst would get her things in order and then go on a three-week trip, leaving the 1,300 square-foot, three-bedroom house to Teimouri’s care.
The pair’s paths would only cross for a bit, they both thought.
Three months later, Ernst and Teimouri have become unlikely housemates as they’ve bunkered down at Ernst’s home throughout local and statewide coronavirus shelter-at-home orders.
So what’s it like being stuck in the house with a virtual stranger?
Strangely easy, they both said.
“I can’t complain,” Teimouri said with a laugh, sitting across from Ernst in the backyard of the Oceano house.
“I felt lucky,” Ernst added. “I’ve had 400 or 500 different Airbnb people, and I can think of a few of them I would not want to be stuck with. Maybe more than a few that I would maybe not want to be stuck with for a couple of months.”
Oceano, beach brings strangers together
Teimouri and Ernst’s easy camaraderie is thanks to a few chance similarities that make being stuck in the same house relatively drama free, they said.
“We are the introverts,” which gave them an automatic kinship, Ernst said. “And we like it.”
There are other factors. Both are vegetarians. Both are self-described Mac people. They share similar political views. And they don’t like to blare music.
“She keeps looking for things for us to fight about,” Teimouri joked as Ernst rattled off the list of their similarities. “There’s nothing to fight about.”
The biggest thing they share is a love of the ocean. Ernst’s home is just a few steps away from the beach, and both like to spend time walking its sandy shores each day.
“It’s just like I’m on a different planet,” said Teimouri, who last lived in Washington, D.C. “I never imagined I’d be so secluded on a beach in California — or anywhere. I never thought it was possible. But it is.”
Ernst said her home’s location in Oceano has actually made sheltering at home easier.
“We’re so lucky we have (the beach) as a refuge, and a place of relaxation,” she said. “You just walk out the door and 10 minutes that way, it’s there. You walk in the other direction, you can get fresh vegetables and fruits still at the stand. There’s only one guy there.”
“Food isn’t a problem. Shelter isn’t a problem. Exercise isn’t a problem,” she added. “We’re very lucky.
How Airbnb guest, host shelter at SLO County home
The pair’s routine is pretty straight forward, too.
Ernst works for a private contractor with San Luis Obispo County and does much of her job at home, editing and producing videos. Teimouri often babysits for his brother, who lives in Arroyo Grande.
Sometimes they watch movies together. Early on, they binge watched movies selected for the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival, as well as some DVDs Teimouri has.
Ernst and Teimouri haven’t started doing board games or puzzles yet, they acknowledged with a laugh — but Ernst did attempt to teach Teimouri how to tango. (It didn’t take.)
Some days they may not talk to each other for more than two minutes, Ernst said, but there is an easy companionship between the two.
“I’m thankful,” Ernst said. “If I had to be sheltered at home by myself I’d be just a little crazy. I don’t think I’d want somebody in my face all the time, but to have somebody here, coming and going occasionally.”
For Teimouri, his appreciation for Ernst can be summed up with one simple act: She always leaves the light on for him.
“That’s very significant for me,” he said, glancing over at Ernst. “That makes me feel good. I don’t think I ever told you that.”
“Just like Motel 6,” Enrst laughed. “I am a superhost after all.”
What comes next?
Like the rest of San Luis Obispo County, Ernst and Teimouri are now waiting out the local shelter-at-home order.
Teimouri, who said he was in a transition point in his life, isn’t positive what is coming next.
He’s waiting for his license to teach special education to arrive, and applying for schools. He’s also considering joining the Peace Corps, what originally drew him away from Washington, D.C., but the agency has temporarily suspended volunteer operations.
If he got the right job offer, Teimouri said he’d like to stay in the area.
In the meantime, he and Ernst will keep following their daily routines at the little Oceano home with a palm tree out front, taking walks on the beach and watching films.
“Sorry we aren’t more dramatic — we’re not coming to blows,” Ernst said with a grin.
Teimouri jumped in with his own quip: “No reality TV show drama here.”
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