Items
Subject is exactly
Travel
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2020-07-17
Going away to Paradise
Going away to Paradise during the Pandemic was the most beautiful moment for me and my family. Connecting with nature and seeing the big blue sea of the Caribbean and its beautiful white sand beach. After all the hectic moments of surviving COVID and saying thanks to mother nature for its amazing glory. Thank you, God, and thank you to the great family that I have. #REL10 -
2021-04-28
I thought COVID mandates were over
Living in Arizona life has been “normal” for months. I got rid of all the masks in my house, I stopped obsessively sanitizing my hands (I still use it from time to time) and life has kind of just continued. We’ve found this new normal that most are good with, I randomly see people wearing masks but they are definitely not the majority. I thought COVID mandates were a thing of the past, until I went to California. I grew up in the LA area and had seen how different the two states are when I moved. Nothing has made that difference more notable than COVID though. It’s a different world here in California. The first day here I had to buy masks for my family and I. My daughters thankfully reverted to “COVID mode” quite quickly. I see how life has continued in Arizona and wonder how and when California will make that transition. -
2022-04-27
Life of COVID in Japan
When COVID first started and until now I have been living in Japan. When it first started to break out things immediately began to lock down and the restrictions of what can and can’t be done began to pop off instantly. Japan is a lot stricter that what at least Arizona has been. I haven’t been to other states so I am unable to express what it is like. Now Japan ever since COVID began locked down their borders and leaving the country or traveling from where I live in Okinawa which is a small island, was extremely difficult. I work in the military and the fight against COVID was to make everyone get vaccinated and if not you were to be separated. Many people began to argue that their religion did not allow it but pretty much 99% of the claims for religion was denied. So once everyone either got the vaccination or was separated things began to get a little bit better. Restaurant began to open up but it would continue to fluctuate between if only outdoor seating was allowed or indoor and outdoor. Travel between prefectures of Japan started to open but only if vaccinated. Although COVID tests were mandatory for travel to happen. Although the US didn’t have their borders locked down, we were still unable to travel to US to see family no matter the reason except a funeral because we had to get back into Japan afterwards. By the time Japan finally opened their borders I finally was able to go home to spend time with family and be around for the holidays for first time in over two years. I think because of this, many people in the military don’t want to stay in no more because the ability to do many things aren’t able to be done. The military has to work with the country of Japan to make sure all is well between each other so the government’s power and military’s power restricted everyone from being able to do the many fun things Japan has to offer. Although, now in 2022, things are beginning to open up and things are going back to more normal barring another variant forces Japan to go into a state of emergency. -
2020-09-24
Cabin pressure
A comic strip about Covid-19 -
2020-04-20
Lima airport
Before boarding the plane from Dallas, TX to Lima, Peru we had to demonstrate that we had two masks. On arriving in Peru, we were advised that we'd have to wear two masks. When we got to Peru, a lot of people were double-masked, but no one seemed to be checking or enforcing the rule. The airport in Lima is full of social distancing and hygiene measures such as markers on the floor while waiting to pass through security, signs reminding people to wear masks and wash their hands, and plastic sneeze guards in-between seats outside airport gates. Even when connecting to the WIFI at the airport, you'll see an image of a llama wearing a face mask. -
2022-04-20
'More fearful than I was': At-risk immunocompromised Americans decry lifting of travel mask mandate
This is a news story from USA Today by Ella Lee. This is about pushback against the lifting of the mask mandate, as it has made immunocompromised people afraid. "Being immunocompromised, it's already a huge risk getting on a plane with everybody masked," said Derek Schmitz, 17, of Oxford, Alabama, who takes immune-suppressing arthritis medication and has to fly for work as a disability advocate. "Now, knowing that I most likely will be one of the only people on a plane with a mask is petrifying." After the lift of the mandate for planes and other public transportation was voided, ride share companies like Uber and Lyft have followed suit in removing their own mandates. "I was angry and felt hopeless," said Erin Masengale, 33, who has multiple autoimmune diseases treated by immunosuppressants. "I just want people to realize that when they cheer for the ending of protections, they’re cheering for the ending of access to everything for people like me." Under the strict definition of immunocompromised, only about 3% of Americans fit that definition. Though, the author mentions that disabled and chronically ill people, a much larger population, also face risk with the lifted mandates. The question I have for people that read this is: is it worth it to keep the mandate even though it caters to a relatively small population? Would it be wiser for people already with these ailments to mask on their own instead of mandating it for everyone else, especially if overall cases and hospitalizations are lower? These are the questions I have after reading this article. I am not against people masking when they see fit, but it is clear that these mandates have worn many people out. -
2022-04-20
Travel and masks in Lima
we just arrived to Peru This morning. Before we got on the plane we were told that we would have to show two masks because in lima we would need to double mask while walking around no one seems to be checking if you have one mask or two masks but everyone is wearing a mask. This is a photo of the free breakfast the airport hotel provided this morning after waking up. You’ll notice the sign that says Masks are obligatory. We’re staying at the Wyndham Costa Del sol hotel. -
2020-10-09
Traveling During The Pandemic For Top Surgery
I traveled from Virginia to Texas for my top surgery. We drove all the way there and stopped in Tennessee on the way there and on the way back. I hadn't gotten the vaccine yet for COVID-19 and I was going to be going to a hospital in a different state that I had never been to. This is was the crazy decision I had ever made, but it was so worth it. -
2022-04-18
Canceled
How many experiences were altered/lost due to the pandemic and why they mattered. -
2020-07-13
Covida
A comic strip about Covid-19 -
2022-02-17
Elon Musk Compares Justin Trudeau To Hitler In Bizarre Response To Canadian Trucker Protests
This is a news story from Your Tango by Isaac Serna-Diez. This is about a Twitter rant, where Elon Musk, owner of Tesla, compares Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to Adolf Hitler over the Canadian Trucker Protests. In January, both the United States and Canada imposed vaccine mandates. According to the American Trucking Association, only 50-60% of all truckers are vaccinated. The truckers have created a convoy that blocks traffic across the US-Canada border in response to the mandates. Trudeau's response to this was to invoke the Emergencies Act, which has't been used since 1988. The Emergencies Act allows for freezing of bank accounts and funds in order to take money away from those protesting. These freezes would also impact things like GoFundMe and the ability to raise funds from that site. It also allows for military involvement, but Trudeau says that he has no plans of doing so. Musk's response to what Trudeau imposed economically on protesters prompted him to promote cryptocurrency more. -
2020-12-31
No More Travel
One of the main benefits of being in the military is the opportunity to travel overseas and experience other places, cultures, and people. I was stationed in Germany and had lost of ideas of where I was going to travel all across Europe during the summer and winter months, unfortunately, Europe locked down hard in the spring of 2020. I wanted to travel during the summer months and go to the beaches across the Mediterranean and see England when it wasn’t raining. During winter I had looked forward to seeing the famous German Christmas Markets and traveling to Switzerland to see the Alps covered in snow. Due to lockdowns none of this happened. For many the pandemic made if feel as if our lives were on hold. Not only were we missing out on small events here and there but also large chunks of our lifetime. I feel as if I was stuck waiting to live life, not able to really enjoy what was around me. -
2020-12-22
First Christmas not with Family
This is a picture of the first Christmas tree that my brother and I bought to set up in our apartment. It is a small tree because I figured we did not need a big one since we had a small number of ornaments to hang up. This tree also represents Christmas 2020, the year of COVID-19 and the first year we did not spend Christmas Eve with our parents. My Mom has an auto-immune disease and she could not go out much in 2020. However, at some point, she either went out or COVID was brought home. She ended up in the hospital a day or two before Christmas and tested positive for COVID. Therefore, it was for the best for my brother and I to not go home on Christmas Eve. I was disappointed we couldn't go see them. However, my brother and I decided to order Shari's, a diner restaurant local to Washington and Oregon, for dinner. We didn't see them that day, but we were able to go over the next day to open presents and not much else. Not the best Christmas, but I suppose it could have been worse. -
2022-03-24
Attending a COVID Wedding
My sister got engaged in October of 2019. At the time, we believed everything would go smoothly. My sister and her then fiancé planned for a wedding on October 10, 2020. It was a good thing it was that far in advance, as some people I knew that were planning for weddings in March or April of 2020 had to either reschedule their weddings or have a much smaller one than anticipated. One element of the wedding that made it unique for me outside of it being during COVID was that I had to travel across the country to get there, as the wedding was in Ohio, and I live in Arizona. At least I wasn't a bridesmaid, so there were less things I needed to really worry about. One thing that did bother me a lot was the plane ride there. I am not a fan of masks, as they give me lots of sensory issues and make it harder for me to understand what people are saying. I had to wear a mask for over three hours in the airport traveling to and from there. It was very uncomfortable too, given that planes themselves don't typically give you enough room to really feel like you can stretch out or lay down. I absolutely dreaded the plane ride even more because of the masks, but luckily the airlines were not bothered if I wore a cloth mask that I felt like I could breathe easier in. At least that was one mercy I got from all of this. Getting to the airport itself in Michigan before having to use a rental car to drive to where the wedding was, it made me sad to see so many shops and restaurants in the airport that were closed. For how many were shut down, I thought it was the opposite of helping, as it made it so people would crowd in the few places that were open for business, in addition to keeping people out of work that could have really used the money. When I got to the rental home my family was staying at for the wedding, it started to feel a bit more normal again. People were talking with each other without masks and for a moment, it made me feel like I was human again. The wedding felt the same way. Masks and hand sanitizer were still abundant for those that wanted them, but overall, people were acting like it was before the virus even happened. I was happy that the cases were low enough in Ohio for my sister to have a (mostly) normal wedding given the circumstances. Others were not nearly as lucky. Overall, it was a great time seeing family I didn't get to see as often, in addition to enjoying lots of dancing and good food. Unlike my wedding that happened in 2019, my sister wasn't able to go to the honeymoon destination she wanted until nearly a year after the wedding happened. She was also busy in school, so she couldn't afford to take time off for that at the moment anyway. If you were to look at the picture I posted for the wedding of my sister, you would assume that it wasn't during COVID. I'm glad my sister and my brother-in-law didn't wear masks for the wedding pictures because it's more fun to see people's faces, especially for an event like that. I am mostly just grateful that despite less than optimal circumstances to have a wedding, my sister was able to have a celebration she could look back on fondly. -
2022-03-18
Explore the archive assignment for ASU HST580 interns week 1
These are the assignment instructions given to the Spring 2022 graduate student interns at ASU. This assignment asked them to explore the archive and then submit something that reflects represents their geographic location. -
2022-03-16
COVID Surge in American Samoa
American Samoa, a small U.S territory located in the South Pacific, was the last place to experience the surging numbers of covid cases. When the coronavirus was declared a pandemic at the beginning of 2020, American Samoa was the only place on earth not to have any cases of COVID. To combat the disease, the government of American Samoa barred incoming flights for a whole year from the United States and their neighboring island of Western Samoa. Although the island did not have any COVID cases, the government promoted and maintained the restrictions throughout the island. However, after opening the borders for inbound flights after a year, American Samoa did not report its first Covid case until September 2021. Since then, travel restrictions and quarantine for travelers were enforced, but eventually, a big surge of cases began to be seen in mid-February of this year. The opening of borders to inbound flights brought the disease into the island. Coronavirus cases jumped from only a hundred to 555. It is still considered relatively low worldwide, but it is high for a small island. Fortunately, no fatalities are reported, with more than 80 percent of the population vaccinated. The attached image is data reported weekly by the American Samoa Department of Health to the public to show how many cases are positive in each village and totaled in American Samoa. The people were worried that the disease might cause some fatalities, the government was quick to impose a lockdown restriction called "CODE RED," which barred social gatherings, schools, traveling, and work on February 22. Although the public panicked with the news of coronavirus cases on the island, the government worked to assure the safety of the people by making sure people were aware of the number of cases and the situation with live news updates and weekly data by the Department of Health. I was also worried when I first heard of the surging number of COVID cases at home. Although I moved to the states for school, I made sure I am kept up to date with what is happening back at home. With the fatalities I saw here in the states with Covid, I was also worried for my parents. But it was comforting to see the live updates by the government on social media which kept me closer to home. -
2022-02-01
Indeterminate
Stress is associated with the past two years. This incident was one of my most stressful contact with Covid-19 testing. You'd win the bet if you guessed there is a happy ending. -
2021-08-30
2021 Traveling
I uploaded a photograph of a stadium taken Athens, Greece while performers & staff were setting up the equipment during our visit. -
2020-01-04
A pot, some water, eucalyptus oil, and a towel....breathe
My brother and I went to visit our parents in Florida for Christmas in 2019. We flew out of Clarksburg, WV on December 23rd and arrived in Florida a few hours later. Christmas in Florida with our parents was great, but eventually we learned it came at a cost. We returned to the Orlando airport to leave December 30th and our flight was delayed for three hours with no real explanation as to why. We roamed the Airport and kept ourselves occupied before we were finally able to board the plane. We landed safely back in WV a few hours later. However, a day or two after returning I started to feel sick which got progressively worse. I had trouble breathing and my body ached so much that I could barely sleep. I didn’t have the strength to really do anything, and I hardly ate because I couldn’t taste or smell. I called my mom at some point and told her how sick I was, and she told me that my brother was extremely sick too. She pleaded with me to go to the doctor, but I told her it was probably just the flu and I’d be ok. My mother knew I wasn’t going to go to the doctor any time soon, so she told me to use some Eucalyptus oil to help with my congestion and respiratory issues. I grabbed a large pot and boiled some water. After the water had boiled, I added drops of eucalyptus essential oil. With a towel over my head, I began to take in the vapors, and slowly I started to feel like I could breathe once again. This became my ritual for the next week or so. I was probably doing this 3-4 times a day when I had the strength to leave my bed. I believe I was sick for nearly two weeks. The day before I finally started to feel better, I almost went to the hospital because I legitimately thought I was dying. Anyways, after news of the pandemic started ramping up, I later found out that Florida had their first Covid-19 cases in December 2019. I’m guessing that airport delay ultimately sealed our fates and that’s where my brother and I ended up getting Covid (our parents didn’t get sick). For my post I’ve included an audio file recreating my Covid ritual of boiling water and breathing in eucalyptus vapors. You can hear the water boiling, the glass bottle of eucalyptus oil being opened and then placed on the counter. You can hear a slight rustling from the towel and me taking in the vapors. -
2021-04-08
Cocomelon or Blippi
In the early stages of COVID, I was in Utah finishing up my Bachelor’s. Finally, after reuniting with my sister’s family in Washington, not only did I have a hard time adjusting to the noise, I had to deal with the 24/7 nonstop routine of my nieces and nephews watching either Cocomelon or Blippi. We can’t even have a movie night because the kids will end up crying to change the movie to Cocomelon or Blippi. Night and Day, my nieces and nephews would be singing to the nursery rhymes on Cocomelon or the opening song of Blippi. Although there were times when I would get annoyed or frustrated watching the same thing on the television, I am grateful for these moments. After spending many years on my own, I am thankful and blessed to be with my family during these times. In the end, it became a routine for me and my nieces and nephews to watch Cocomelon or Blippi in the evening. Not only do I get to see their sweet smiles, but I also get to hear their cute little chuckles and laughter while singing “The Wheels On The Bus” or spelling Blippi’s name. The noise that I once had a hard time adjusting to and the overbearing sound of the nursery rhymes from cocomelon or blippi's name did not matter as their sweet laughs and chuckles filled the house every evening making COVID quarantine bearable. -
2021-07
Traveling During Covid
In July of 2021, travel was open in the UK. My family immigrated to the United States in 1998 from England. My grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and Cousins all still reside in the UK. Covid has been a very hard time as I could not visit my family and they could not travel to the US. When travel opened back up we were thrilled. My mom and I planned to travel to England in July 2021. The day before we were set to leave we noticed that my passport had expired the month prior. Since my passport had not been used in over a year, we were not aware that it had expired. We tried everything to get a new one as soon as possible, but there was a delay on getting passports out because many people had the same problems. Fortunately I was able to get an emergency passport appointment in Buffalo. I got my passport at the end of July and my mom and I were set to travel in August. Traveling to the UK required many covid tests, forms and mask wearing. I had not been in an airport in over a year, and this new way of travel was very strange to me, but I was still happy to be able to travel. Traveling back to the US also required many tests and forms, the National Guards were even placed in US airports making sure travelers were filling out locator forms. It was an insane experience, and hopefully travel goes back to normal in the coming years. Although it is a different way of traveling it is still amazing that we are able to leave the US and visit other countries after a long time of not being able to do so. -
2020-08-02
Sensory Overload in Brussels
I was living in Germany when the COVID lockdown began in 2020. One of the big perks of living in Europe is the ease of travel and close proximity of many cultures to experience. Germany, and Europe as a whole, were strictly locked down from March to August 2020, they were not allowing border crossing and all tourist locations were shut down. In August of 2020, Europe opened back up for tourism. Three of my friends and I jumped in our car and drove six hours to Brussels, Belgium. Our goal for the trip was to do a city walking tour that included chocolate and beer tasting, the chocolate was in the early afternoon and the beer was in the evening. After being stuck in our homes in Germany for five months, experiencing the taste of fresh Belgian chocolate was almost a sensory overload. We walked up and down the main “candy shop” road, sampling every kind of chocolate and even world-famous macaroons. The smells of chocolate and bakeries almost punching our noses. Later in the evening we went to the Delirium Brewery and sampled seasonal beers that were only available on site. We all enjoyed the experience of fresh crisp taste of Belgian beer right from the keg that you cannot get from drinking out of a bottle or can. I never thought that the COVID lockdown would numb my taste and smell in a way that wasn't a symptom of the virus. Being stuck in one place eating and drinking the same things day in and day out really makes you long for something different. We were very lucky to be able to have the opportunity to venture out to such a historic and important city of Europe to experience fresh tastes and smells. -
04/06/2021
Rachel Bryan Oral History, 2021/04/26
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05/25/2020
Irene Lobo Hernández Oral History, 2020/05/25
En esta entrevista Irene Lobo Hernandez es entrevistada por Carmen Kordick Coury concerniente al covid-19 en Costa Rica. Irene es abogada, tiene 61 años y es de Heredia. Ella habla de la primera vez que oyo de la pandemia de covid. Habla de su trabajo como abogada y las precauciones que han puesto para ayudar la prevención del covid. Ella todavillatrabaja en una oficina, pero con muchas precauciones y también va al gimnasio. Irene habla de su mama y cómo hace lo máximo para cuidarla y guardar la distancia. Ella habla de lo difícil que es estar lejos de familia y no poder verlos por las preocupaciones que están en orden, pero también cuenta de las burbujas que ha formado. Habla de dos personas que han muerto (no de covid) y como se sintió no poder ir a un funeral ni a misa por restricciones. También habla de cosas nuevas que ha adoptado hacer en casa durante cuarentena. La entrevista termina con los asuntos del gobierno, la economía, y sus deseos para el futuro. -
05/20/2021
Javier Echeverria Hernández Oral History, 2021/05/20
En esta segunda entrevista de Javier Hernández Echeverria con Carmen Kordick Coury, hablan de todo lo que ha ocurrido ya que paso un año desde la primera entrevista que tuvieron. Javier habla de sus opiniones sobre el turismo y las personas que viajan para vacunarse, sus opiniones de la Ministra de Salud y el cuidado que han dado a la gente de Costa Rica, Javier también da su opinión de que pudo causar que el numero de muertos subieron tan rápido en el pais. También hablan del uso de mascarillas y de las personas que no creen el la pandemia y la falta de uso de las mascarillas. Hablan de la corrupción de la gente que se están provechando de la situación, el efecto de la vacuna, y la economía. Javier también habla de salidas a los restaurantes con su esposa y la cooperación con el distanciamiento. Habla de amigos y familiares que han muerto al resultado de la pandemia, las ideas que tiene sobre la información falsa que el ha visto. Esta entrevista termina con sus deseos del futuro y sus opiniones de donde y porque origino esta pandemia. -
12/11/2020
Wyatt Weisensel Oral History, 2022/11/10
Wyatt J. Weisensel was born and raised in Sun Prairie Wisconsin and now works as a software developer for the Orbis Corporation. In the interview, Wyatt discusses how COVID-19 has affected his life, especially his work. At the time the pandemic started in March, he was teaching English in Japan. He shares his views on how, after getting back to the U.S., he needed to find a job, which turned out to be quite a difficult process. He also touches on how politics has affected the U.S. response to the virus. -
2020-03-13
The Banquet
It was my junior year of high school and a Thursday night in March at DePaul College Prep. My bowling team boys and girls had gathered for our annual end of season banquet, a last hurrah. We had fun; ate pizza together, talked about memories made during the season and more. At the end we started to talk about how 50 kids had called out of school that day not including teachers and how crazy the flu was this year. It wasn't the flu, but we didn't know that it would be our last time at school for the year and seeing each other in general. My boyfriend who played baseball was talking to the bowling and baseball coach about the Nashville trip the team was going take over spring break the next week, the coach said it might get cancelled. This was due to the way COVID was effecting it people down there, we laughed it off and said whatever its just the flu, it wasn't the flu. He got the email it was cancelled that night and the following night we got the email school was shutting down for an extra week after spring break. Yay we said "an extra week of break" but it wasn't just a week its months and still going. -
2021-06-11
My trip back To India
I study in Chicago. I am originally from India, so when the second wave of covid hit India I was still in school. Fearing my family's safety I decided to go back to India. Over the summer I spent most of my time inside trying to find oxygen sources for people in need. At one point my phone was filled with numbers of oxygen suppliers many of them turned out to be a scam artists. I still cannot believe how at a time when it seemed like everyone was dying from Covid people somehow still found ways to make money illegally. -
2020-01-01
Travel
Before the pandemic, my family, friends and I were traveling and getting to see amazing sites! This photo here is from Africa. We were able to have the luxury of going on this trip right before covid. When covid hit, we couldn’t go anywhere. Places got shut down and people were to stay in their homes. During the summer when covid started to get better, we planned a trip to Spain. A few week later I receive a call from my parents telling me our trip has just been cancelled because covid could shut down the borders and we could get stuck. To this day it is still scary to travel. When I used to be able to go and see the world, now I can’t because of covid. -
2020-05-04
An Empty Street of Times Square
This photo was taken in Times Square during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic. As someone who lives near the always bustling square, it broke my heart to see it so depressing and empty. This pandemic has prompted the question of whether city life will be able to survive Covid-19. Seeing the city so lifeless made me realize how reliant on tourism New York City is. All of the iconic activities that New York is known for, going to restaurants, museums, broadway shows, all had been canceled. However, despite the difficulties, the city maintained a positive attitude, with motivational messages to frontline workers and medical professionals displayed throughout Times Square. -
05/05/2021
Jocelyn Penagos Oral History, 2021/05/05
Jocelyn Penagos was born and raised in Columbia until the age of eight when she finally followed her older brother's footsteps and moved with her family to Florida. Leaving Colombia was a callous but necessary thing that she felt she had to do. Upon arrival in America, she began watching a movie and listening to music to better learn English. After being fluent in both languages and graduating High School, Jocelyn joined the armed services and enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. She is still currently enrolled in the Marine Corps and is going on her ninth consecutive year. Jocelyn shares her experiences with covid from a military point of view. She offers great insight into what had changed or been created because of the lockdown and the virus. Jocelyn also shares with us her struggles to see her mother in Columbia because of fears that she could be the reason for her death. -
12/10/2020
Colleen Marchwick Oral History, 2020/12/10
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2021-11-01
From Every Part of the World! - St. Mary's International Students Map
This map shows how many international students St. Mary's University has in Fall 2021. This year St. Mary's received approximately 50 new international students which is only half of the total they were supposed to have in Fall 2021. In Spring 2022 they hope to receive more than 30 international students, making this map just bigger. The biggest amount of International Students St. Mary's has come from Peru and Honduras, with a total of 25 students. Mexico goes in second place with 24 students and in third place, Saudi Arabia with 18 students. -
05/06/2021
Liz Haynes, Oral History, 2021/04/21
Liz Haynes discusses her life pre-COVID and how she has been affected during COVID as a cancer survivor. She talks about her love of travel and hopefully future plans, politics (local and federal), and ends with positive outlook for the future. -
2020-01-05
The Beginning of the International Journey
During COVID-19 in 2020, some international students could not come to St. Mary’s due to closed embassies and lack of resources. In Spring 2021, international students came to continue their studies after studying online in their first semester. Days before coming to the U.S, international students received an email letting them know what they need to complete before arriving at the university. For some international students, this symbolizes the beginning of a new journey and the start of their experience at St. Mary’s University. -
2021-11-23
A new Director for a renewed office
Maria Del Mar Aponte Rodriguez is the new Director for the Center of International Programs at St. Mary’s University. After a semester of being in charge, Aponte tell us more about her experience as the new leader in the office and her future goals to make the CIP Office more open and warming for international students. As COVID has impacted several levels of the office, Aponte comments how she overcome these issues and how she is preparing a new plan of action for Fall 2022. -
2021-11-22
Paula Ferradas Oral History, 2021/11/22
Paula Ferradas Hiraoka is an international student at St. Mary’s University from Lima, Peru. After applying last year to St. Mary’s, Ferradas has come to the U.S to start her dream to become a good professional. In this interview we ask her experience as a new international student and how the resources in the university have given her the possibility to grow. -
2020-06-30
Living on COVID
It is Summer 2020 and students nationally, and even internationally, are preparing themselves to live on campus. For some, it is their first time, and for others, they are returning to their home away from home. However, it is a new experience for both as they adjust to the new rules and regulations of living on campus. This email from the President of St. Mary's University was sent to all Rattlers and is symbolic of the changes students had to adapt to in order to live on campus. -
2021-11-01
Getting Funds to get Students Home due to COVID-19 Pandemic
When this series of emails was sent to St. Mary's Faculty and Staff it really hit hard and really touched me. I didn't realize that some students did not have any means of getting back home, students were not prepared for this at all and due to the pandemic all dorms and classes were cancelled, they were worried they would not make it home. So, St. Mary's sent an email out reaching out to everyone that was able to give funds and send students home. When this pandemic hit us no one was prepared for what was to come. -
2021-05
Financial vs. Public Health In Planning for Art Fairs
When Art Basel, Hong Kong did happen I remember the internal debate within the art advisory where I worked at the time of whether or not clients and members of the team could or would attend. New considerations arose for the businesses and people like me who worked in administration and logistics. There were major complications that none of us had previously faced in planning for art fair events, client dinners and logistics. For example, booking flights was complicated. In the case of Hong Kong, some people had no choice but to reroute in strange places due to restrictions of certain passport holders or location of origin. Another consideration, were the fancy client and networking dinners that are staples of the art fair culture and booked months in advance. Due to closure or half-capacity seating, many of the premier restaurants were no longer feasible to solidify reservations. -
2021-01-19
Australian State Border Closures: Permit System
Pictured here is my Victorian border entry permit, issued in January 2021. At this time, due to Australian state and territory border closures, all people entering the state of Victoria were required to hold a government-issued border entry permit. To be eligible for this permit, one had to have spent the previous fourteen days in a so-called ‘green zone’, that is, an area deemed by the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services to be of low COVID risk. Embodied then within this permit is the impact of COVID-19 on the daily lives of Australians. While once able to freely travel, government permission was now required for movement across state and territory borders. These restrictions placed immense financial and emotional strain on many Australians throughout 2020 and 2021, including myself. Note: For privacy reasons, personal information has been redacted from this document HIST30060 -
2021-01-02
A Journal from Mandatory Hotel Quarantine
This here is the journal entry I wrote on my first night in 14-day mandatory hotel quarantine at the Northern Territory’s Howard Springs Quarantine Facility in January 2021. At this time, in an effort to control the spread of covid, movement between many Australian states and territories required mandatory hotel quarantine upon arrival. For many, including myself, this process was filled with anxiety and uncertainty. Yet simultaneously, a sense of excitement and adventure. This journal entry gives insight into the complexities of emotions associated with the Australian Covid-19 Hotel Quarantine System. HIST30060 -
2020-11-17
"Art Basel in Hong Kong postponed to May as coronavirus throws 2021 art fairs into disarray"
Anny Shaw writes for The Art Newspaper about the postponement of the 2020 edition of Art Basel, Hong Kong. The art fair was previously cancelled in February one month ahead its standard date in mid-March. It was tentatively rescheduled for May 2021 in hopes of vaccination and improvement in daily numbers of contraction and death rates. -
2021-10-29
(HIST30060) Leaving Victoria
HIST30060. This meme highlights how many Victorians felt after enduring the longest duration of lockdowns in the world. Between March 2020 and October 2021, 254 days in total were spent in some form of lockdown in the pursuit of ‘elimination’ – the attempt eradicate COVID-19 from society completely. Whilst seemingly satirical, this meme alludes to a hidden truth. 43,000 Victorians left the state during the two-year pandemic according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Whilst seemingly small relative to Victoria’s 6.6million population, the amount of people that left Victoria was the equivalent of the entire City of Wodonga leaving the state. No other state or territory recorded a reduction in population, especially on this scale. -
2021-06-11
The Official Cancelation of Our Flight
Each of the members of the flight to Guayaquil, Ecuador, was deeply connected with the purpose of traveling which was to be present with the neighbors in Ecuador. Some of us thought that the main purpose of the course, Empower: Ecuador, was to travel. To some extent it was, but after the trip cancelation, we realized there was also another greater purpose. The greater purpose was to grow in vulnerability, spirituality, and in self-reflection. To learn how to be vulnerable with others and share your journey in life and understand how God was working through all the messiness was really hard, but through this course, it happened. The trip cancelation was very sad but because of it, we learned how to be connected despite the distance. Letters were sent from us to each of the neighbors in Ecuador, zoom meetings were held with the team in different ways, and journals were written with our most inner thoughts and reflections. Additional to this, each of us got a voucher to travel for the rest of the year, which in my case I used to travel to see my loved ones in Puerto Rico and Arizona. Seeing my loved ones probably wouldn't have happened if it was not for this voucher and I was very grateful for it. Yes, it was bad that our trip was canceled but many blessings came out of this. During COVID-19 many bad things happened and are happening, however, many blessings and good things also happened and are happening. I think it is very important to also share those good things to motivate others and push each other up out of all the darkness. To express this story I am sharing a screenshot of an email that confirmed the trip cancelation and that also announced to us that we were going to have a voucher to travel. The email was from our leader Clare. -
2021-08-14
"Ways to Connect Despite Social Distance: Empower Ecuador"
When being part of the program Empower: Ecuador at my school, we were preparing ourselves to travel to Guayaquil, Ecuador to be present with the families in the community. The families in the community were called our neighbors. Prior to traveling and meeting families in person, each person from the class was given a bookmark with a picture of a neighbor and a brief description of who they were. We were supposed to pray for the person selected and have him/her in our hearts until we meet them in person. Due to COVID-19, we were never able to meet these people whom we felt very close to and it was very sad. Therefore, we were tasked with the beautiful idea of writing letters to them about our prayers and best wishes for them in times of trouble. After a couple of months, I received a message through Messenger, and to my surprise, it was the person I wrote the letter to. She was thanking me for the letter and for how happy she felt when she received it. Also, she shared the desire to get to know me more through social media. It was a beautiful moment and proof of how we could connect with each other despite the social distance. To express this story I am sharing a screenshot of a conversation through Facebook (messenger) with a neighbor from Guayaquil, Ecuador. She is telling me that she received the letter I sent and how grateful she is for it. -
2020-04-23
The Indonesian Nahdlatul Ulama Movement and the Pandemic
Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) is the world's largest Muslim organization. This article describes it's efforts to counter the COVID-19 pandemic. -
2020-03-15
Empower: Ecuador - Canceled (Personal Experience)
I was part of the group of student that was preparing themselves emotionally, spiritually, and physically to go to Ecuador and be present with a community in Guayaquil. During this class and for the entire semester we were in retreats together, reading, journaling, and sharing our hearts with each other. We built a community and were deeply connected with the mission of the program and the desire to go to Ecuador and meet the neighbors. However, exactly a couple of days before traveling the lockdown happened, and the plans were canceled. We did not know that the world was going to change so suddenly and immediately. I clearly remember the meeting we had to announce that the trip was canceled and how most of us were filled with sadness and crying. Afterward, we kept being in connection to Ecuador with our prayers and writings. We even wrote some letters to our neighbors in Ecuador. So, this story is to reflects how we can be in connection and engagement with others even during times of depression and distance and how in specific this program had to adapt through COVID-19. To express the story I chose the screenshot of an Instagram post from the Community Engagement Office at St. Mary's University. -
2020-03-15
Sounds of Silience
My story is about the absence of sound during the pandemic. -
2021-09-18
Biden Administration Sends More Agents to Texas Bridge to Move Haitian Migrants
It is utterly dismal that this is taking place, and being written about, as if it were compartmentalized from the crisis of mass death facing the entire planet. Face masks are required on all U.S. public transit and on all flights, yet migrants seeking asylum are treated without regard for even their bare minimum safety.