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Collected Item: “Fewer planes and much less noise”

Give your story a title.

Fewer planes and much less noice

What sort of object is this: text story, photograph, video, audio interview, screenshot, drawing, meme, etc.?

audio

Tell us a story; share your experience. Describe what the object or story you've uploaded says about the pandemic, and/or why what you've submitted is important to you.

I was offered a job at Arizona State University at the last minute. How last minute? I had already started teaching on campus in my previous position when I got the official offer. We moved to Tempe, AZ in the off season. The rental market was full of pricey AirBnBs, but not a lot of homes for rent. I have two kids and a dog, so we set our sights on a house. I also wanted to be close to ASU, preferably walking distance, but I knew that was a big ask. We did, however, find a home. It’s walking distance to Rio Salado, downtown Tempe, and ASU. The catch is that it’s in the flight path for the Phoenix airport. When a plane flies overhead it sound like a long, dull roar. It’s so load you can’t hear yourself talk or talk to anyone around you (if you’re outside). Before COVID, the planes flew in and out of the airport like taxis. I counted how often they flew overhead, and it was about every 54 seconds for most of the day. Sometimes it felt so loud you didn’t want to sit outside. Post March, however, everything has slowed way down. There are fewer planes, and that means we sit outside a lot more and enjoy our outside space.

I recorded the sound of a plane passing overhead while I hung up laundry to dry. It gives a sense of how long the sound takes over the area.

Use one-word hashtags (separated by commas) to describe your story. For example: Where did it originate? How does this object make you feel? How does this object relate to the pandemic?

Arizona State University, soundscape, airplane, airport, Phoenix, Tempe

Who originally created this object? (If you created this object, such as photo, then put "self" here.)

Katy Kole de Peralta

Give this story a date.

2020-09-03
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