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Pandemic Template
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April 7, 2020
Chris Samano IndivProject#2
a look at the life of chris samano during the early stages of the pandemic -
July 17, 2020
#wearamask #cooperstown #nationalbaseballhalloffame
#wearamask #cooperstown #nationalbaseballhalloffame https://instagr.am/p/CCw4BjVJAIQ/ -
2020-06-17
The New NormalS F
Love in the Time of Covid-19. A great video by Shania Fagan, titled The New Normal. Will our lives go back to normal anytime soon? -
July 27, 2020
A Covid Summer in NYC
A Covid Summer in NYC -
2020-06-17
A Case of a Different Perspective
Youth, Students, Perspective -
June 20, 2020
pandemic continues staten island
Screenshot of various photos in Staten Island during Covid19 from the CSI Public History Coronavirus Chronicle Facebook page -
June 28, 2020
The Strand
Screenshot of two people looking through books from the CSI Public History Coronavirus Chronicle Facebook page -
2020-07-05
Wear a Mask
Screenshot of a wear a mask shirt from the CSI Public History Coronavirus Chronicle Facebook page -
April 10, 2020
2020 Grocery Store Fashion
“This morning’s grocery store fashion,” I wrote on April 10, 2020 when I posted this photo to Instagram. I tagged #socialdistancing #maskedcrusader and #newyorktough. This was the first time I wore a mask when I left the house and it was one of only a few times I’d gone farther than my backyard or front stoop since lockdown began the month prior. I had been listening to public health officials who advised wearing “face coverings” to help “flatten the curve” (reduce the number of new infections to prevent overcrowding in hospitals). I also followed their advice to opt for cloth and save the real masks for health care workers on the “front lines” of the pandemic who were facing a shortage of “PPE - personal protective equipment.” So many new words and phrases had entered the lexicon and I was struggling to keep up. Masking felt like a way I could protect myself and family and contribute to the effort to squash Covid-19. I found a video tutorial for how to make a “no sew” mask using a bandana folded over hair ties for ear loops. I added a coffee filter in the middle of the folds for good measure. I used this type of mask into the summer of 2020 when I realized masks weren’t going away anytime soon and started wearing more fitted cloth versions. I remember masking felt strange and changed the way I interacted with people I passed who couldn’t see my customary polite smile of acknowledgment. I started nodding slightly and learned to squint my eyes to indicate a smile when I passed people to make up for this impediment. Masking made it difficult to be heard and understood especially through other precautionary barriers like plexiglass shields at checkout counters. These days when I encounter people I first met when masking was more widespread, I sometimes don’t recognize them because I’ve never seen the bottom half of their face. It’s a bizarre set of circumstances. Now I usually only mask if I have respiratory symptoms or if I am around someone particularly vulnerable to COVID-19. When I do mask, I choose an N-95 respirator which is readily available and more effective than my cloth mask and coffee filter creation of April 2020. -
2020-10-20
How covid affected NYC?
Covid has affected everyone by the way you live your everyday life. Covid has affected New york city in many different ways , For example covid affected business to close down months including schools . Schools having to go remote . Another way New york city has been affected by the transit , The transit systems like the trains ,buses and commuter rail and ferries as a result to this the transportation has plummeted . For the subways in New York City it went down 90 percent and the buses went down 75 percent. The reason for this happening is people in quarantine and not going to work since some are working from home . Covid has affected health care workers. For example health care workers like doctors and nurses are around people who have it so they are more prone to get it. .This pandemic caused a lot of changes in the world. It caused everyone to be less social and not go out as much as it caused us to wear masks everywhere. It also caused a lot of people mental and emotional health to go down. For example there’s been a lot of social isolation which caused families to not be able to see each other as often. COVID-19 has impacted social mobility on child care cost and for families school dropout rate has increased due to fear of getting Covid. COVID-19 especially affected families due to not having jobs or working from home or being put on unemployment there’s been a big impact of Covid on families and family relationships creating a lot of tension and feeling depressed or not being united together. These pandemic parts of the population in different situations continue to affect people living in poverty situations with older people and disabilities. A lot of people have been put on unemployment and not being able to pay the rent. Covid has caused a lot of deaths and people could not be able to bury their loved ones. During The beginning of the year when the Pandemic was occurring depending on the situation of others some people were probably affected mentally Health care was provided to those who really needed it due to people not being able to pay for it and The state of new york lost money as well , It affected relationships and people got help by going therapy and staying connected to people . This pandemic affected many people personally. Covid has affected everyone's plan including travel because there's been travel bans and going to the airport has a lot of restrictions. A Lot of businesses are closing down to this pandemic by not giving income . Due to health care a lot of pregnant women had very high dress levels that affected their pregnancy . Which caused health care workers to be very aware of what was going on . Their risking their own lives to help us and young teens and kids were not able to fully able to enjoy the success of completing in graduating either high school such as prom or etc.it affected everyone's life and still is . This has caused a lot of stress and tension but has allowed people to be stronger in a sense and to appreciate the little things in life . Covid 19 has caused many hardships including loss of jobs . Some questions that still remain on this subject would be , When are things going back to normal ?, When is the vaccine coming out to prevent this ? When will this end ?. A message of hope i would say is everything will get better with time. The productivity has been slow due to employment going down ,People losing jobs . my personal experience with covid has become a learning experience . For example this pandemic has showed me to not take things for granted . -
2020-04-08
Impressive experience
When the Covid-19 outbreak first started in New York, it was unfortunate that all of my family was positive. In March 2020, after someone in New York was diagnosed positive, my family did not want me to go out and during that time I was in high school and working part-time. My family including most relatives also started not to work and quarantined at home. One day, one of my aunts came to my house with a cold and a cough, but we didn't think much of it because she just got the flu shot so we figured it might be the aftermath of the shot. After two or three days, we started to have different symptoms. I remember I started with a sore throat, a headache, a fever, and then lost my sense of taste and smell. My relatives also showed different degrees of symptoms, and my grandma had the most severe symptoms. She first had a sore throat, a cold, and a low-grade fever, and then she kept having diarrhea and couldn't eat which caused her to lose almost 10 pounds in just one week. During that time, one of my aunts came to take care of my grandma. Throughout the duration of my grandma being ill my aunt was running on only a few hours of sleep per day since she had to keep an eye over my grandma. I remember that the hospitals in New York were full at that time, many patients died without receiving treatment, and refrigerated trucks were parked outside the hospital to store the dead bodies of patients. The TV news also showed that many people were protesting against the announcement of masks being mandatory when going out. None of them believed that Covid-19 would be serious enough to kill people, and this frustrated me, making me feel the urge to express my feelings towards how serious this virus is. I saw that my grandma's condition was getting worse and worse. We also thought about calling an ambulance to take her to the hospital, but we were afraid that we would not get treatment and we would not be able to visit the hospital. We felt very hopeless. We were on the last straw, thus we were all discussing that if grandma didn't show any signs of improvement the next day, our last resort is to have my grandma sent to the hospital. As a result, the following day, my grandma started to eat and did not continue to have a fever, and her condition began to improve. Overall, Covid-19 has brought my family a lot of distress and I am glad that Covid-19 has started to settle and everything is slowly getting back to normal again. -
2020-03-06
The Two Week Break
My Junior year at Midwood High School took an expected turn as a national emergency was declared on March 13, 2020. I remember watching the news with my mother, excited to see I would have two weeks off from school. My mother and I would both be home as all non-essential businesses moved to remote or closed down indefinitely. I immediately messaged my friends about the two week break, planning to play video games all day long. We spent those two weeks staying up late as if it was an extended spring break. Little did I know that those two weeks would turn into months of isolation, living in fear of going into the outside world. I feared for my father as he was a registered nurse at Woodhull Hospital. Not only did he have to go outside everyday for work, but he would be face to face with patients, many sick and dying from this new virus that took the world by surprise. There was no vaccine for almost an entire year, so all he could rely on were masks, gloves, face shields and hair nets. My father and many other medical workers were needed overtime to deal with the immense amount of patients coming in everyday. As he came home from work my mother would bring his clothes and leave them by our front door. I worried for him at work as I feared he could get this virus that we were still learning about. Thankfully he never got sick with Covid-19 during the early pandemic, and with the new vaccines in development many of our fears were put to rest. After almost two months of not having any classes we were introduced to remote learning through zoom and google classroom. It was a very new experience for my fellow classmates and I, but it was nice not having to leave your bed to go to class for a while. However that relief of not waking up early to go to class turned into yearning to go to school and seeing my friends. Waking up every morning to see a screen filled with blank profile pictures with names made me feel very lonesome. I would never imagine missing going to school, but it was something that I had taken for granted. In my senior year of high school there was the option for hybrid learning which I was very excited about, but I'd later find out that there would only be rows of desks set up in my school gyms we used for physical education. It wouldn't be the everyday schedule of switching classes and seeing my friends in the hallways and library. I ended up doing another year of remote learning which was very draining but I managed to do well in all my classes with nothing else to do. Unfortunately I did not have a prom or senior trip, but I was very lucky to have an in person graduation and see all of the people I once saw everyday again. This story of the pandemic is very significant to me as it taught me to never take things for granted as everything can change in a moments notice. The things I'd known as my everyday routine of school and hanging out became a distant memory for a long time until numbers and fears of the virus fell. Being able to go to campus now and have a regular life again is something I will now cherish forever. It is still somewhat hard to socialize again after being isolated for so long, but I have made some friends along the way and I look forward to all the memories that await me in the future. -
2020-03-13
In the Blink of An Eye
Maybe if quarantine lasts three weeks, we’ll have spring break before we go back to class, I wistfully think to myself. It’s already March 13th of 2020, but the air is still nippy and my mom still makes me wear that atrocious parka. She’s been hearing all these reports about the coronavirus, and I think it’s releasing her inner germaphobe. My school day finishes off like any other, except I have to stay behind for AP Biology review, like who has review two months before an exam? Following an hour full of practice problems, workbooks, and texting my friends under my desk, it’s finally time to go home. The talk of the school is if Xaverian plans on closing for quarantine, following the footsteps of nearly every other Catholic school in the city. But I don’t even take two steps out of my desk before my iPad pings with an email. One by one, we all find out that Xaverian will be closed for the foreseeable future, and that online learning will commence on Monday. I picture using this new interface, Zoom, for class. A feeling of exhilaration grows in my chest. I can already picture it: no uniforms, and no restrictions—just a newfound capacity for freedom. Our group parades towards the lockers, gossiping while packing up our books and putting on our coats. The moment doesn’t feel real; it feels like I’m floating, suspended in the joyful innocence of being a high school senior. With our navy and khaki skirts swishing around our legs, knees exposed to the frigid air, my three friends and I begin the trek home through Bay Ridge, blissfully ignorant to the fact that it would be the very last time we ever put those uniforms back on, or that it would be three months before we saw each other next. How naïve we were walking home that day, discussing how fun and convenient online learning would be. We chat about prom dress shopping, boys, and how funny it would be to take AP exams online—not realizing that prom would be canceled, and that we would take those exams online. It was my last day of normal, the last day before everything changed for good. Three months later, I graduated high school from my porch, wistfully smiling as I was handed a trophy for becoming the Salutatorian of Xaverian High School’s Class of 2020. The following week in June, I stand on those same steps in funeral clothes, wondering how everything changed in the blink of an eye. Not even seven days after graduation, my grandma passes away alone at Staten Island University Hospital, unable to be accompanied by her family because of COVID-19. It comes out of the blue; she feels fatigued and lethargic, but refuses to get medical attention until the very last moment because of possible exposure to the virus. By the time she arrives at the hospital, they admit her in stable condition, but she never makes it through the night. As of June 20th, 2020, 176,066 Americans are dead from the coronavirus. My grandma didn’t have it, but I can’t help counting her as the 176,067th life taken away by this disease. Because of COVID-19, she skipped her doctor’s appointments, and lived in complete isolation to avoid contracting the virus. Yet in the end, it is the virus that indirectly takes her away, preventing any of her loved ones from being present in her final moments. Nearly three years later since that last day of high school, on February 21st, 2023, I can reflect on how much my life has changed. COVID-19 went on to rob me of my first two years at Brooklyn College–I spent them cooped up in my bedroom on Zoom, not meeting my newfound friends until my junior year of college. COVID-19 influenced me in my choice to be a Health and Nutrition Science major, as I hope to learn more about preventing disease and use my knowledge to make me a better physician in the future. Millions have now died from COVID-19, and my version of “normal” has forever changed. Three years ago, the future seemed bleak and dire. I still wear a mask on the train, but now I see hope in the future because of our vaccine development and how normalized it’s become to talk about public health. I can only hope that as time goes on, humanity works together to regain a sense of normalcy. -
2020-04-20
Trapped in paradise
I was stationed in Oahu when Covid restrictions went into place. The entire island shut down and, at first, it was fantastic not having to go to work and just hanging out on a tropical island. As time went on, people started to go stir crazy, when the local government closed the beaches and other activities that made island life bearable. When Covid reached its worst point, the Army stopped allowing people to move, so even plans that were months out were canceled. Having joined those who went stir crazy, the prospect of being stuck in Hawaii any longer than necessary held little appeal to my family and I. When restrictions eased a little, military moves were only possible if the place you were coming from and going to were having drops in cases. We didn’t know for sure that we could move until a few days before it happened. We were so excited to be getting out of Hawaii, we forgot about how disappointed we were that my next duty assignment would be taking us to Denver. I’ve been to Denver before and didn’t like it, but when we got off that plane, after being trapped on an island for the last year, it was exciting. Most of my children weren’t old enough to remember snow, so they were immediately excited about the change. I was happy to see real mountains again, but forgot about changing seasons. It took me a while to realize that I can’t wear shorts in December any more. Colorado, for being so liberal didn’t have much in the way of covid restrictions. It was refreshing, considering that in Hawaii everyone was still wearing masks for everything. -
2021-04-18
Edinburgh and Northumberland, "Post Pandemic" Historical Tourism
I had been dreaming of this trip since 1996 when I went to England on a high school theatre and literature trip and fell in love with the UK. Specifically, I fell in love with Scotland and its history, becoming a British History enthusiast. In August, 2021, I completed my BA in History at ASU, then changed careers from Film/tv costuming to a special education teaching position. During the peak age of Covid-19, I worked full time, completed full time undergraduate studies, interned in politics and not-for-profit law, and started over in a new career and life in a new state. All of 2020-2021 was a non-stop adrenaline rush of constantly moving, getting Covid, and burning out mentally along the way. In 2021, I was halfway through a teaching contract and gravely unhappy, longing to just... escape. I kept dreaming of one photo of Edinburgh that was on my vision board. The picture, from Pinterest, was of a narrow Close in Old Town, Edinburgh, the historic "original" city that squeezed so much history and magic in about a mile. Old Edinburgh held tens of thousands of people in one square mile with their Closes serving as narrow alleyways between buildings of both stone and wood, both affluent and poor societal classes. After creating this vision board, I started working a ridiculous amount of overtime in the school's residences for special needs students and saving money. I was used to already working over 60 hours a week, so I didn't see the problem yet. The short staffing crisis of special education staff provided the opportunity to earn $40/ hour plus $1000 monthly bonus for anyone willing to work and be okay with less support for challenging behavior or emergency resources. I was willing to work hard to be free for just a short time over the Easter/Passover School break. Flight and accommodation prices were incredibly low at the start of 2021, encouraging tourists to travel. British Airways and other airlines offered incredible fares! These discounts still enabled me to book more affordable fare into 2023. My flight from Boston to Edinburgh was just over $400, with 7 nights stay in two 4 and 5 star hotels plus one castle for a total of less than $1000. My dream trip was planned to every detail and paid in advance or booked for free with historical memberships. The pandemic and rising popularity of Airbnb and Verbo created the perfect discounts for hotels and upgrades to better suites. Pre-pandemic, I got bed bugs from an Airbnb and had a nightmare of an experience, so it was out of the question for accomodation moving forward. While in planning stages, I booked historical tours and entry into sites like Edinburgh Castle, Mary Kings Close, Ghost Tours of the Vaults, Sterling Castle, then in England, Alnwick Castle and Chillingham Castle's paranormal investigation. I already had memberships to multiple British historical and public sites like the Alnwick Gardens (site of the famous Poison Garden) and Historical Scotland. From Edinburgh Castle to Chillingham Castle, I finally got to see the gallows, dungeons, and artifacts that were in my undergraduate classes. Finances and waiting for a travel companion to finally find "the time" to go held me back from going previously, but I was there, alone, at this particular time for a reason. I got to hold Witches Collars and touch an Iron Maiden that tortured so many innocent "witches". I sat in castle common areas alone with a glass of Whisky and venison sausage while hunting ghosts. Museum staff showed me witches charms and introduced me to folklore that secretly told tales of history in starkly lit archival research rooms. It was this trip that solidified by decision to continue onto graduate studies in history at ASU. It was this trip that made me question, "Why are we so fascinated by death and folklore?" It would be remiss to mention that during my historical tourism of Edinburgh and the Scottish-English Borderlands, the stories of historically significant pandemics and major moments of medical and scientific struggle or discovery were always present- It was..."everything, everywhere, all at once", if you will. The comparisons between Black Death to Cholera to Spanish Flu were ever-present while exploring Mary Kings Close, places of Surgical and Medical History interest, The Vaults, the Grass Market Gallows. I stepped into a cramped spaces that were once the homes of a families who all died of The Plague. White rags hung out the windows of these tourist destinations to remind visitors that it was the way leather beak masked Plague Doctors identified the infected and quarantined. "Haunted" Vaults served as reminders to modern tourists that the poor and disenfranchised once stayed here. If you want to go anywhere in the world to see a pandemic being held with an engrained fear and solemn respect for medical research, it's Scotland. In England, Chillingham Castle and Alnwick Castle allow visitors close proximity to places where prisoners carved each imprisoned day before their deaths into the walls. In Edinbugh, if it isn't a Harry Potter tour, it is a ghost tour. These ghosts are explored with light-hearted entertainment or found during paranormal investigations with high-tech gizmos and Ouiji Boards in this new age when we don't want to talk about how many people died of Covid-19 or a lack of health resources, but pre-modern history when people don't currently hold memory of the dead... One late morning, I went to a pub on the Royal Mile for a proper Scottish breakfast of sausages, haggis, bacon, eggs, tomato, and toast... and a pint. Bagpipes echoed in the air, passers-by spoke different languages and carried their cameras and I (Heart) Scotland t shirts and Whisky. As I sat outside, just taking everything in, a group of domestic tourists sat at my table. We laughed because we were all uncertain of "Mask? no Mask? What does 'optional Mask mean?' Were we bad people for NOT wearing a mask inside the pub to get another beer?" "Is it appropriate to sit so 'close'?" That particular day was the lifting of the Scottish masks in public places mandate. My mates-for-the-day spoke of their quarantines and experiences with Covid-19 and quarantine with both humor and sombre memories. The photo attached to this story was from this day where masks were no longer a must. It is also the same scene from my vision board. On my camera and iPhone camera reels, before this moment and after are dozens of photos of castle chambers, countryside fog, tourist photo ops of High Tea or plain ol Costa Coffee at [Insert Tourist Destination]. My photos are visited with gratitude and inspiration. Not only do I have a renewed desire to travel, but I have a spark of motivation to keep learning. I would never have been able to afford this trip at the level of luxury and privilege I experienced it without the Covid-19 pandemic's aftermath of needed promotional discounts. Misery was everywhere, yes, but joy and purpose were found for me. I hope there were others that experienced incredible change and revelation during this time. -
2021-08-11
Venturing to California Once LIve Concerts Resumed
As pandemic restrictions began to ease up, we decided to travel with our family from Arizona (where things had been less strict) to California (where things had been more strict) to see a concert. Many of the music artists we enjoy had only been performing via live stream for the prior year and a half, but now a band we enjoyed was having an outdoor concert at a large venue. After buying tickets though, we worried because we began to see information on the venue's website that indicated only California residents would be permitted. We tried calling, but there were no responses. We went on the trip, not knowing if we would be turned away. Luckily, the website for the event updates the day off and we were able to enter. It was an awkward feeling as masks were still required for an outdoor event, but the vast majority of participants didn't have them on. The picture is my son in outdoor seating wearing his mask despite everyone around us not. This was much less an act of social defiance or morally based compliance, and more of confusion about what was really expected and fear of stepping across unclear lines in a neighboring state. -
2021-04-27
The Masked Magic Kingdom
This is a story about a family trying to experience the World of Disney in a post pandemic world. It shows that even at the end of a pandemic, a family can still make the most and be together and make memories to last a life time! -
2022-06-15
Preventing the Inevitable
When travel restrictions were lifted, my family and I did not travel right away. We waited about a year until we felt it was safer to travel. When that year arrived, we decided to take a pre-pandemic planned trip that was canceled due to Covid. We traveled to Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Chi Chen Itza, and Xcaret in Mexico. As you can see, we were anxious to travel the world. The main reason we decided to go to Mexico as our first trip during Covid was that it was economical for a family of ten. Additionally, Mexico was very lenient with Covid restrictions which made it easier for us to travel One of the most memorable memories was to have watched my kids have so much fun while learning and visiting a country they had never been. As for myself as a History teacher, one of the experiences I will never forget was visiting Chi Chen Itza as I was able to see History with my own eyes and learn more about the locals, community, and culture. With all these great memories that I had as much as we protected ourselves by wearing masks, maintaining social distancing, using hand sanitizer at all times, and all of us fully vaccinated. Half of the family ended up testing positive for Covid while in Mexico. The one thing we were avoiding the most ended up happening during our first trip since Covid began. While Mexico did not have restrictions to enter their country for tourism, the United States at that moment had a policy that all returning travelers must have a negative Covid test prior to boarding the plane. two days prior to our departure the restriction was lifted, and my family was able to return back to the US without having to wait out in Mexico and extend the trip. Since the family was so conscious of Covid we made sure we had KN95 masks at all times, did not share items, and reduced the amount of contact in order to not spread the virus which is what helped half of the family not get it. Overall, this was a trip that we will never forget. We had a blast and would love to visit the country another time. We would continue to be safe while traveling even if there are no restrictions. Covid has really changed how I live my life, especially during travel. What I have submitted is important to me because it will become a record in history in sharing my personal experience during the pandemic. It is also important to me to demonstrate that this area in Mexico is heavily dependent on tourism. While I was there, I met people from countries that had a lot of travel restrictions, and due to Mexico having almost none, it was a very popular traveling destination. -
2021-06-18
Tourism Story: Florida After Travel Restrictions
I graduated from my Bachelor's program in May 2021, after vaccine rollout and as travel restrictions were being lifted. To celebrate, my family organized a short trip to Florida in June, where we would visit the Universal Studios theme park for a couple days, which had always been a dream destination for my parents. This was a huge deal for us, because my family has never been able to afford a vacation like that, and we saved during the pandemic to be able to afford it once travel restrictions were lifted and we were all vaccinated. By the time we went, almost all travel restrictions had been lifted, and I remember the strange mix of relief and uneasiness I got from how "normal" everything seemed in Florida. I hardly saw anyone even wearing masks, and I was honestly glad for that not being a requirement in the theme park - I'm from Kentucky, and I hadn't been prepared for the intense Florida heat and humidity! I'll always treasure the memory of seeing the ocean for the first time and getting to spend time with my family, and even though I was still worried about the pandemic, it felt like such a relief to have a normal vacation after such a stressful and scary year. -
2021-02
Touring COVID Texas
When reflecting back to my traveling during the COVID-19 pandemic I think of constantly waiting. I was overseas when the pandemic started and was not worried at all about travel restrictions. I was not even concern about what might happen to me. All of a sudden traveling stop in the middle of March and I was supposed to leave in April. I felt the full effect of the restrictions of where I lived and I made sure I followed every restriction because I wanted to come home. Forward to three months later I was able to come home after travel was open back up but I immediately noticed a difference. We could not leave the plane during refueling. I quarantine before I left and again once I arrived. The world I left had change entirely. Mask were worn by almost everyone and lines were longer because of spacing. Sometimes there would not even be a line because stores and shops were closed down. Once I finally made it home my day to day routines became less adventurous. I used delivery apps on my phone to order the majority of what I needed. This was continuous until the end of 2020 leading into 2021. Restrictions to COVID were becoming social norms and less enforced, specifically where I lived, Mississippi. The first trip I took once restrictions of travel were lifted was to San Antonio. Touring in in Texas was thriving when I initially got there. However the very next week Texas had frozen over. We did not have electricity or water for almost a week. Texas was in a state of emergency. Traveling on the road was highly advised against. Getting resources to feed myself was difficult. I waited in line for two hours to gather groceries for myself because the line stretch around the store. Once I was able to leave Texas and return home I did. My time traveling to Texas set a precedent for me. I now travel with extra food and water no matter where I go. -
2021-07
My Grandpa and I’s Camping COVID Trip
After 2020, I was looking to travel and try to get back to normal. However, in 2021 I was supposed to go to Europe to see my sister but COVID canceled that trip so I was perplexed at what I could do for travel. Then it came to me, my grandpa is someone who has traveled almost everywhere in the US. With that, he loves to camp and one of his favorite spots that he always mentions is Mackinac Island. I thought this would be a great bonding trip. So for Christmas I told my grandpa that I would love to go on a camping trip with him up to Mackinac Island in Michigan. This would be the first time me and my grandpa would be going on a week-long vacation with just ourselves. What was funny is that everyone in the family warned me because my grandpa never stops talking and the music would be in his hands. The good thing about that is that I had lived with my grandparents the summer after I finished college so I was used to being around the constant conversations. Secondly, I am an old soul so I love 50s and 60s music. Therefore, I knew that this could be one of the best trips I might ever get to take with my grandfather. The trip began in July of 2021 as we left my hometown of Manteno, IL and traveled up to Michigan. We had a small popup camper that we were going to be sleeping in for this week's trip. There were so many favorite memories it is kind of hard to trim down. First off, traveling was so much fun, having deep conversations about my grandpa’s life and the different times that he had gone to Mackinac were so fascinating. My grandpa can talk to anyone so he is a very good storyteller. Another memory was setting up the camper because the second time we did set it up we forgot to stabilize the back so when I went to lay in bed the whole thing tipped over. The good part is that no one got hurt. On the second day when we arrived in Mackinac it was down pouring on us, thankfully my grandpa had ponchos ready to go. That night we started the tradition that would carry on for the night which was our card games. Every night we played either crazy eights or dirty spades. Those were some of the best times when we were just hanging out together. I cannot tell you how amazing those memories still are today. When we traveled to Mackinac Island on the third day it was amazing. Me and my grandpa walked all around the island taking in the nature, the history, and the culture on this small island. It lived up to the hype my grandpa had told me. After that day we traveled up to the Upper Peninsula with the UP-ers which was cool to see. That night we slept on the border of Canada, which we could see across the river in Sault Ste. Marie. We went on a couple water boat tours in the Great Lakes which were amazing. One of the last funny memories we had was that my grandpa finally let me drive on the second to last day. I am not kidding you when I say thirty minutes into driving one of the camper’s tires was gone. The best part was that neither of us noticed until a car passed us and pointed it out. This was such a funny memory because then we had to replace the tire and that is a story that me and my grandpa still joke about. Maybe my driving is bad but I don’t know, it could just be bad luck. The good thing about this entire trip was that the COVID restrictions were minimal. Since we were outside for the most part that was almost never an issue. A couple times when we went into restaurants we had to put our masks on, but it was nice because we were getting fresh air. Overall, the trip was a resounding success and one that I know holds a special place in my heart and my grandpa’s. I feel so fortunate to have had this experience with my grandpa and cannot wait for the next roadtrip we have together. -
2021-03-06
Aruba 2021
This is a story that reflects positively on the implications of covid and how it effected the tourist experience. It is an honest, first hand account of travel to the island of Aruba without the mass tourism they have become so familiar with. It speaks to the erosion of personal nature and connection that coexists so easily with the superficiality of mass tourism. -
2021-04-12
21st Birthday Trip, Post-Pandemic
My twin sister and I turned 20 right after the beginning of the pandemic in April 2020. That birthday was a gigantic bummer, because all my friends had left my college campus and I was still there but couldn't visit home either due to Covid concerns (my parents are in their 60's and my sister has asthma). So, after a year of not traveling or doing very much else, my first post-covid trip was for my 21st birthday. Not yet ready to get back on airplanes but wanting to do something exciting, my mom, dad, sister, and I packed into the van for an 8-hour drive across Colorado to an Airbnb in Durango, near the southwest corner of the state. Durango is a cute little tourist town that's still sleepy from winter in April, and definitely non-traditional for a 21st birthday bash. We had two objectives for the trip: Mom and Dad were going to buy us our first (legal) alcoholic beverages, and we were going to take a ride on the narrow-gauge railroad that ran from Durango to the nearby tourist/old mining town of Silverton. The first goal was accomplished quickly upon our arrival; we located the old Strater hotel, built in 1887, complete with a bar where we immediately situated ourselves. The servers were dressed like flappers, all wearing masks, many matching the colorful fringes of their dresses. I ordered an old fashioned, was tipsy after half, and handed it off to my mom to finish. My dad had a great time shepherding us back to the van. The train ride the next day was the highlight of the trip. We bought tickets in advance, since only a limited number of seats could be filled in each car due to lingering covid precautions. Masks were also still required, except when eating and drinking (a full bar was available, as well as coffee and pastries). The train crept up into the mountains alongside a river, sometimes crossing over very tall trestle bridges, prompting my mom, who's afraid of heights, to pull her mask up over her eyes. Lunch, which was previously served on the train, was instead provided to us in pre-packaged boxes, to be eaten outside at picnic tables along the river where we were free to spread out and remove our masks. On the ride back to Durango, the full bar on the train was open, and most masks came off. My parents bought my sister and I our second drinks of being 21 (mimosas at 3:30pm, woo!) and we headed back to the Airbnb, stopping to pick up some Serious Texas Barbecue. While Covid ruined my plans for the 21st birthday party I thought I would have, it gave me a few years to slow down and to appreciate my family and small, meaningful, gatherings together, which I wouldn't trade for the wildest party in the world. -
2021-11
Masks Aren't Meant to Be Worn for 38 Hours Straight
My first trip post-Covid was greatly affected by Covid-19, from expensive tests to missing two national landmarks to a flight delayed by lack of crew to wearing a mask for nearly forty hours straight. I was finally able to travel again, but the signs of the pandemic were still everywhere. -
2020-08-04
Lonely at the Lake
My family has owned a small cabin by a lake in Northern Minnesota for over 60 years. This is my favorite place in the world and was our family vacation destination every year. As years went on my dad and I are one of the few who continue this tradition. After quarantining in April and May and businesses slowly reopening in June we decided in August 2020 that it would be safe enough to go up there. However, this trip ended up being much different than usual. While Minnesota was under a mask mandate the area we were in was much different than the suburbs of Chicago. At home more often than not people did adhere to the mask mandate and there was a mandate to self-quarantine when returning to the state after traveling. The area where are cabin is located is very densely wooded and not exactly populated. The small town has about four hundred people and the nearest large grocery store is a forty-five-minute drive away. While grocery shopping in town it was clear the mask mandate was not as strictly followed up here. Only about half of the customers in the store were wearing masks. The likelihood of adhering to the mandate dropped even further once we reached our township. Even though there were signs posted to “wear your mask” my dad and I were considered the odd ones out at the bait shop or lumber store, as I did not see a single person with a mask on in the ten days we were up there. All of our neighbors who live on the road that hugs the bay are all older. I have known most of them my entire life and some have even watched my parents grow up. Many of them live downstate near the Twin Cities, and some even live out of state, but very few of them live up there full time due to the harsh weather and isolation. It wasn’t until the last few years that the country started to plow our road in the winter. This ten-day vacation is normally packed with multiple dinners at neighbors' houses, tubing and fishing, parties and yard games, and finally ending the night around a fire with our neighbors, their kids, and often their grandkids. This trip, there was none of that. Windows and doors were boarded up because out-of-state neighbors never made the trip up to open their cabins. Jetskis and other water toys were locked up because most older neighbors did not risk leaving quarantine. As far as we could tell it was just my dad and myself. Fishing was just the two of us, the only people we had to argue with over card games were each other, and we both fell asleep more than once on the boat or dock while reading books because it was so quiet. It might have been much more lonely and quiet than normal, but it was still relaxing to be surrounded by nature and absorb its sounds uninterrupted. COVID-19 changed my vacation, but not necessarily in a bad way. I am lucky to have a lake house that was isolated enough that COVID did not seem to touch it. Although we missed our neighbors and have since seen everyone the loneliness allowed for a sense of stillness, the ability to fully emerse myself in nature and relax. -
2021-05-03
Business As Usual
I am a software engineer at a small, fairly conservative, company in PA. Because of its small company status it was never required for our employees to work from home, at least that was what they told us, and throughout the pandemic it was in fact a requirement that we work from the office. I wasn’t surprised when I was told I would be traveling to Washington state but I was apprehensive. A few of our employees were getting stick but I had so far been safe. On May 3rd 2021 I drove to the airport with a mask on my face and hand sanitizer in my hand. The airport was fairly empty as it was early but the few people that wandered the terminals were wearing masks. My flight was long but I got some sleep with the help of some Dramamine. That night my coworkers went out to eat but I decided to order in. The next morning I headed downstairs to head out for my first appointment. At the registration counter there were brown paper lunch bags sitting out in a neat row, the woman behind the desk asked me if I would like a breakfast bag to-go. As I walked over to pick up one of the bags she explained to me how due to Covid-19 they are not longer serving a hot buffet breakfast but are instead were providing this to-go bag options, I smiled from underneath my mask and thanked her. The bag had a banana, a granola bar, a yogurt and a bottle of water. I drove to the meeting site and headed inside, there were few people around but I noticed no one was wearing a mask, I felt like my light blue mask was a huge neon sign directing everyone’s attention to me. When I arrived at the designated meeting room I set up my computer and prepared the demo while I waited for others to arrive. One by one they walked in, greeted me, shook my hand and took a seat. Still no one was wearing a mask or if they were it was not secured properly, I felt embarrassed being the only one with a mask on. Once everyone arrived I stood up and looked at the room, everyone was looking right back at me, waiting. I took off my mask and began the meeting. The rest of the week was more of the same and the trip home was uneventful. A few days after getting home I tested positive for Covid-19 and was finally allowed to work from home, at least until I got better. -
2020-10-05
Water Slides in the Days of Covid
My family resided in Columbus, Georgia during the Covid-19 pandemic. In October 2020 my sister-in-law’s family came to visit us from Arizona. We decided to take our families to Great Wolf Lodge in LaGrange, Georgia, just 45 minutes from my home, for a two-day vacation. This was my first experience traveling after travel restrictions were lifted. Great Wolf Lodge houses an indoor water park, restaurants, and family entertainment attractions, as well as hotel accommodations all in one building. My family had visited before the pandemic, so we were familiar with the resort and procedures. This made changes in policies and behavior more evident than they may have been otherwise. Safety protocol set in place at Great Wolf Lodge included mandatory mask wearing in the hallways and open areas of the resort. Masks were not required in the waterpark; however, signs were posted throughout detailing mandatory social distancing protocol. Individuals were to remain at least six feet apart from each other in all areas, especially when waiting in lines. The guidelines were a nice idea, but large swarms of children eager to get onto a waterslide cared little for waiting in lines any distance apart. The adults seemed to feel the same way too. There was no personal space while waiting in lines, much less six feet social distance. In normal times, Great Wolf hosts bedtime dance parties and stories in their main lobby for the kids. Due to Covid restrictions, however, these dance parties were canceled and instead were broadcast on a set TV channel that could be viewed from guests' rooms. Our families arrived around 1:00 in the afternoon on day one. One person went in to do the checking in and then we headed to our rooms to change and head to the park. Everyone played for at least three hours. A few of the older kids tired out earlier and headed back to the rooms. The rest of us headed back to the rooms for dinner with the plan to meet up again afterward and play until the park shut down. Over the next hour, almost all of my kids started coughing. We started to wonder if they were having a reaction to the chlorine. Then the runny noses started and even the most excited kids said they were too tired to go back that night. After talking to my sister-in-law, the same thing was happening in her family. We decided to call it a night and check back in the morning. By morning, we had to call it. Even mild cold symptoms were enough in those days to get you thrown out of public places and we had to be cautious with even the smallest symptom that might indicate Covid-19. We knew the only responsible thing was to pack it up and head home. We had a great three hour vacation the day before, but the rest of it just wasn’t going to happen. It was the most expensive three hour vacation I think I’ll ever have. We felt like criminals smuggling our tightly masked children through the halls that morning and begging them to hold in their sneezes or coughs until we got outside. We were so glad we had chosen to vacation only 45 minutes from home that time. The colds passed, and eventually we returned to Great Wolf Lodge to enjoy a full vacation. We still laugh, though, about our attempt at a “normal” vacation in the midst of Covid-19. -
2020-12
Hawaii - December 2020
In March of 2020 my family and I were supposed to go to Hawaii for our spring break. When I was at work around St. Patrick's day, the school administration announced that all sports were postponed because of covid-19. A couple of days later I found out that we would be moving to virtual learning until spring break. During this time I remained hopeful that we would be back in the classroom after the break and that I would still be able to visit Hawaii. As the weeks went on it became clear that this was not the case. Eventually we moved to permanent virtual learning and the airlines canceled and refunded my ticket for Hawaii. As 2020 continued on I became more and more frustrated over the impact of covid, especially as what seemed like 3 weeks at home, turned in to several months without travel and in person interaction. In December of 2020, after completing a semester of half virtual, half in person learning I was in need of a break and a change of scenery. On Christmas my family and I found really cheap flights to Hawaii, however these flights were leaving the next day. Since I was a teacher on Christmas Break I had the time off, the only issue was that we needed to get a negative covid test before landing in Maui. We quickly booked the flights and scrambled to find a place we could get a covid test. In order to get off of the plane in Hawaii we needed to take a covid test 12 hours before arrival and our results needed to be negative. We did not have enough time before our flight to have a test shipped to our house nor did we have enough time to wait 2-3 days for results. Luckily we found a place 45 minutes from where we lived that had an opening for four rapid tests. After acquiring our test, 18 hours before our flight we eagerly awaited the results. All four of us had a negative test and we were able to board our flight to Hawaii. When we landed in Hawaii, in order to get off of the plane we had to show our negative test results. If someone did not have test results they had to remain on the plane and wait for it to return to the mainland. After showing our tests, we had our temperatures taken again and and our visit, including our accommodations, had to registered. The remainder of our trip to Hawaii was relaxing. Although it was weird to walk on the beach with a mask and sit far away from other guests, it was nice to get away. While we were in Hawaii I remember talking to a waitress we had that explained that from March to July residents were not allowed to enjoy the beaches. She described how lonely and isolated she felt stuck in her small apartment by herself. Even though it was difficult to get to Hawaii during covid, we needed a getaway and the hospitality workers in Hawaii were glad to see things slowly picking up again. -
2021-06-06
My Reverse Homecoming
The first trip my wife and I took after the COVID travel restrictions were lifted was a doozy. Our first flight in over a year was a three-hop journey from our small Montana town to Alaska for an old friend’s wedding. With a six-month-old. On our laps. The whole time. My wife and I had our first round of vaccines but worried about our daughter, who was still far too young to have a dose. After much risk assessment and consultation with our pediatrician, we decided to go for it. Mask wear was strictly enforced on the airplane and in most of the public places we found ourselves, and there was a profound and somewhat discomforting sense that we and our fellow travelers were searching for a way to exist comfortably in this new not-yet-maybe-never-post-COVID world. The thing I remember most, though, was how incredibly freeing it felt to be somewhere new again. So much time spent at home, however necessary, had inflicted an unhealthy solitude on much of society, and my first time solidly stepping away from that felt energizing. I’ve always loved to travel and doing so after the darkest days of the pandemic felt like a happy return to form. A reverse homecoming, if you will. -
2021-03-12
No Mask, No Garden
The Desert Botanical Garden is a fixture of Phoenix area tourism. A botanical garden of arid lands, it's unique and draws thousands of visitors every year. Their social media emphasized the importance of masking during the pandemic, with the catchy phrase "Let's not get prickly about safety." -
2020-05
Staying Active
San Diego has always been known for its beautiful beaches, especially during the spring and summer seasons. Normally beaches would be crowded with people laying about and basking in the sun. But this photo shows the opposite. During the lockdowns in Spring 2020, outdoor activity was encouraged for anyone who wanted to stay active. The beach was no exception. However, we could not just go to the beach to relax; we had to stay walking and moving around. There was more enforcement at the beach to make sure everyone was moving and had their masks on. Due to the lack of travel, the beach crowd was smaller than normal. Parts of the beach were even blocked off to discourage people from going too far and breaking rules. Distancing rules were enforced pretty much everywhere. -
2020-07-06
Mask or shield, Ms. Rachael?
I have been a theatre educator for almost 10 years, in particular, children's theatre. I have seen, experienced, and done all that there can be done in a field such as this. Before the official lockdown, we were in the middle of rehearsing 5 different productions. Then, the world shut down and everything stopped. Once it was finally deemed "safe" to be back around one another, rehearsals started again and picked up where we left off. The kids were now older, they had memorized this script forward and back while being stuck at home, and they were eager to get back to work and finish their show. We social distanced, always fever checked, washed hands around the clock, and packed every safety measure we could. Before they begun to sing, they asked me which would be okay to use - the mask or their shield. I took this photo at the end of their dance, when the boundaries of social distancing did not apply. I remember when they leaned in to one another, hovering over someone else, I audibly gasped because I had not seen them that close together in so long. This photo will always remind me of how nervous I was to transition back to post lockdown. -
2020-05
Pandemic In Ohio
During the pandemic it was certainly a struggle for all of us. In my rather large town called Hilliard, many didn't take the pandemic seriously. People straight up just did not care about what was going on, and were even convinced it wasn't real. Even students were denying to wear masks in school. When in came to the point of complete isolation people were surprised, as if they didn't see it possibly happening. I want people to know that this is pandemic is 100% real and it cannot be taken lightly. -
2021-09
Rising Profits
HIST30060: This is a screenshot of a whatsapp group chat for the workplace I was in during the sixth COVID lockdown in Melbourne. Despite restrictions being at its highest at this point, the profits for my workplace broke new records this week, similar as to how other major companies raked in major profits during the lockdown era. I remember working that Wednesday night, me and the few coworkers I was with were inundated mostly by online delivery orders but there was still a steady stream of customers coming in (quite often without masks) to order in person. There was little reward for our efforts, but at the very least I was afforded some peace and quiet on the commute home with the lockdowns in place. -
2020-12-01
Carpark Run
To return to New Zealand in late 2020 I had to complete 14 days of hotel quarantine. Luckily, my hotel had a fenced off area of the carpark that we were able to use for exercise for an hour each day. This strava activity shows a run I did around the very small carpark (one of six during the two weeks), which involved running in my mask and staying a few meters from the other people in the space. Without these bursts of activity, two weeks in a hotel room would have been much less bearable. -
2022-10-31
Reflecting on COVID19 as a student who started and ended her degree in the midst of the global pandemic. (HIST30060)
I’ve selected 5 different photos which give a little insight into being a tertiary student during the COVID19 pandemic. I started my Bachelor of Art degree in March of 2020, fresh out of high school. I was so incredibly excited and had a great first few weeks (I think one or two) and O-Week. I was lucky enough to go on a first year Arts student camp in February, where I made a handful of friends that I am still close with today; it was this small social interaction that really served as the bulk of my Uni social life for my degree because ‘going online’ severely stunted my ability to connect with new people. In the screenshot of a Zoom conference call, I am having a zoom call with some of the people I meet on this camp, a kind of ‘reunion’ during the first lockdown in 2020. Reflecting on some of the other limitations on the social life of a young student who is very social, I have included a screenshot of an Instagram post I did in April of 2020. It was my 19th birthday, and my ‘obligatory’ birthday post for the year looked a lot different to other years. Rather than being out celebrating with friends in real life, we did a group zoom call where we sang Happy Birthday and my friends watched me cut my cake through a screen. Some people got dressed up, donning dresses and a full face of makeup, to just wash it off when you clicked the camera off for the night. It was lovely to connect but looking back at these pictures now just leaves me with a strange, eerie feeling. I have included a picture of my university set up, a table in our garden and my dog, Margot. I found it really hard to study in my house all the time, so I would often try to move around to different study zones in my house. I really focused on my study during lockdown, it felt like it was a productive use of time and something I could channel my thinking into. However, thinking so much about University, and always having it in my home (it was not like I was moving between a ‘home space’ and a ‘study space’) was really tiring and draining. Every day just felt the same. I have decided to take a gap year next year rather than moving straight into post-graduate study because I don’t want to feel that same kind of burn-out again. Finally, I have two pictures which encapsulate some pass times during lockdown. One is my sister painting my bedroom walls; we did a lot of home improvement and beautification, giving ourselves little tasks and jobs that we could complete and feel satisfied with. The other picture is my sister and dog on the beach during a winter’s eve walk. I included this picture because her mask is visible. This picture was taken when there were restrictions about the quantity of family members you could walk with, the time you could leave your house, the necessity of wearing a mask and how far you could go from home. When this picture was taken, we had a curfew in place in Victoria (I think you had to be home before 10pm), you could only walk with household members, but only in groups of two at a time, you could not go further than 5km away from your home and you had to wear a face mask even when just walking your dog to a quiet beach. Reflecting on these harsh rules and the feelings I had at the time makes me feel quite sad as I feel like I missed out on so many experiences that I was promised with my university degree. My experience as a Bachelor student was so far from what it should have been; so while I am extremely proud to be graduating in a few weeks, proud that I loved what I studied, felt empowered by what I learnt and feel like my academic skills have improved so much, I feel sad that I missed out on social connection, a sense of belonging to a school community, meeting people who are outside my regular circles, experiences with clubs and teams, not being able to use campus facilities and spaces. I am so lucky that I was extremely privileged in the lockdown, my family was all healthy, safe, we had minimal arguments, and they made me smile despite the circumstances; my friends were beyond wonderful, and I had a safe place to live and access to my university and learning online. But when I think back to the lockdowns and the impact of them, I still can’t help but get emotional. More than anything, I always find myself shocked about what we all went through and how unique it was. -
2020-08-07
HIST30060: Food Relief Centre Queue
This is a photograph taken of a queue to enter a food relief centre in South Melbourne in August 2020. The queue was several hundred metres long. As lockdowns began to ravage Melbourne, most businesses were forced to close, resulting in many people losing their jobs. Where this food relief centre had services around 100 people at the start of 2020, this number swelled to over 2000 by the height of the pandemic. Among the most vulnerable demographics affected by the pandemic restrictions were international casual workers and students. Where citizens were eligible to apply for various emergency relief payments, such as Job Keeper or Job Seeker, migrants did not have access to these resources. This food bank only required a form of identification to register the recipients. Several pandemic related restrictions are shown in this picture. The recipients are socially distanced, standing on makeshift markings spaced 1.5 metres apart by government restriction. They wear masks; a government requirement both indoors and outdoors at the height of the pandemic in Victoria. The food bank volunteers wear neon orange high-visibility vests and hold QR codes for the recipients to register on their own devices. I have volunteered at the food relief centre since 2020, performing the same role as the volunteers in the photograph. Where mainstream historical narratives and media may focus on how the lockdowns affected citizens, it is important to remember how migrants too were affected by the pandemic and had little to know support from the Australian government. -
2020-03-26
The Sound of Sewing
I moved back in with my parents right before lockdown during the Covid-19 pandemic never imagining how long it would go on for. Since my mother is a teacher she was at home with my younger sister and me during the entire lockdown. My father still went to work because he works for a city and was part of the emergency response to the pandemic. I remember going to the grocery store with my sister and seeing the empty shelves unsure of when they would be restocked. I remember the panic of needing face masks and not being able to find any. That is when my mother decided she would make face masks for us, our extended family and to donate. She pulled out the sewing machine, which originally was for when my grandmother would come visit, and set it on the dining table. My grandmother used to sew all the time when she would visit us and make my sister and I dresses and even matching dresses for our dolls. It was always a sound I had associated with her. I helped my mother in ordering and looking up information on which materials were recommended by health officials, then she set to work, making hundreds of face masks. Every morning I would wake up to the sound of the sewing machine and my first thought would be of my grandmother. As time went on I associated the sound with the pandemic, more specifically lockdown. My mother enjoys doing different craft projects and she really enjoyed making the face masks. It was a fun activity that I also enjoyed helping her with. She made face masks for my dad’s work which were donated to the fire and police departments. We also mailed masks to our extended family in New Mexico, California, and Mexico. We wore the masks ourselves if we had to go anywhere during lockdown. The sound of the sewing machine became a regular occurrence during those early weeks of quarantine. The sewing machine, especially the sound, used to only represent my grandmother making gifts for us. In Mexico, where my grandmother still lives, she used to have a small business making and selling clothing as a way to earn extra much needed money. It wasn’t just a hobby at that time, but a necessity for her and her family. The sound of the sewing machine, became something I not only associated of my grandmother but of the beginning of quarantine and the importance of knowing certain basic skills. Knowing how to sew, and even being able to use a sewing machine, may seem like an unimportant skill nowadays, which was something I used to think. However, that skill helped my grandmother and decades later is still helping the rest of our family. -
2020-11
Free drinks?
I was working at Target in Fullerton, CA while I was going to school for my bachelors degree, as the first year of covid-19 was winding down to its end. On my lunch break, I would usually grab a drink from the Starbucks located inside the store at the front. Usually working there would be a young woman around the same age as myself. Around this time of year I would get myself an iced peppermint mocha, and the first time that I got one there, I asked how much it would be, but the barista smiled behind her mask and said there was no charge. I thought this was a nice perk of the job and thought nothing of it. This became a regular thing until one day I ordered a drink with a different barista working behind the counter. He took my order and then expectantly told me how much my drink would be. I expressed my confusion, but he insisted, and I did not argue. I paid for my drink and went back to the break room. I told some of my coworkers how the barista had made me pay for my drink, and I was met with a confused "yeah... we all pay for our drinks." I probed a little more, and they all assured me that it was not a part of our job to get free drinks at the Starbucks. I smiled as I thought of the usual barista and how special she had made me feel. I was the only one who did not have to pay for my drink while she was working. Maybe that meant that she had feelings for me, or maybe she just decided to express a subtle act of kindness to me in particular. Either way, I felt deeply appreciated in a way that almost no one else made me feel during that year. In a time when strangers could almost have no meaningful interactions, with their faces almost entirely obscured by masks, this person that I didn't even know made me feel more seen than any stranger had in previous years. That peppermint mocha tasted sweeter than any of the others had because of her, even though it was the only one that hadn't been made by her. I still remember the sensation of it. -
2020-03-05
The Sounds of a Casino
Living in Las Vegas and working in a hotel and casino, I got used to a few things; the sounds of the slot machines and the (albeit unpleasant) aroma of cigarettes and cigars. After being brought back to work after the shutdown, what I immediately noticed was how much quieter the casino floor was with all of the restrictions in place. There was a limit to how many guests we could have in, and social distancing meant only every other machine could be used. While wearing a mask and having plexiglass in front of my station, I had to get used to projecting my voice so that guests could hear me while I was trying to help them. Even now, I still wear a mask and have to actively make an effort to be heard. -
2022-08-22
Sensory Roadblock: Unexpected Detriments and Benefits of Mask-wearing in Gathering Food and Information
During the pandemic, I opted to order all of my groceries online to be delivered. I have never been much of a take-out person and mostly cook at home, so I really love to pick my ingredients when grocery shopping. Missing the in-store grocery shopping experience over the past few years, I sometimes go out to gather my fresh foods, especially after the normalizing of social distancing and mask regulations. Though I still prefer to wear a mask, even when regulations are occasionally loosened, a sensory occurrence that I did not expect to miss or lack as a consequence of mask-wearing is the importance of smell in my food-gathering habits. Being able to check the ingredients for both flavor and freshness qualities by smelling them is such a natural instinct that most lifeforms use to find their food. I never considered myself someone who actively smells things very often, so this sensory roadblock surprised me, as I initially chose to go to the store to get better foods than those that had been delivered to me. I have often come home and found that the asparagus or meat that I had just bought had that unpleasant odor of food past its prime, even though its appearance and texture seemed just perfect. I also miss being able to smell the full intensity of the fresh-cut flower bouquets that proclaim the seasons when going out grocery shopping. This temporary lessening of sense-of-smell from wearing a mask has been a bit of a hinderance in such ways, but it has been beneficial in many others. For example, I have dust allergies and used to become very stuffy after visiting my library due to the book dust—especially since, as a history and art history graduate student, all the books that I want or need to check out are usually the oldest or dustiest ones! Not being able to smell or breathe-in these things has helped me dramatically in my experience of information gathering. I can now spend hours looking over books that I wouldn’t have thought of opening before and have found some wonderful sources for my research. Though of course many historical texts are fully available in online formats and an invaluable resource, I often feel the same way about visiting my library as I do visiting my grocery store—I hope to find something myself that might work even better for my own project, either culinarily or academically. -
2021-01-15
The Smell of Venetian Canals
In January of 2021 my husband and I traveled to Venice Italy for a quick weekend getaway to meet up with my brother & his family. My husband and I had visited Venice before, but not since COVID, let alone during a time when regulations in Italy were quite strict; vaccine documentation had to be shown everywhere we went, masks needed to be worn at all times, etc. Upon arrival to the city, there were several things that instantly struck both my husband and I in regard to the changes we were now witnessing. A far different Venice than the one we experienced a few years before. Not only FAR less crowds, all the masked faces, empty plazas once the sun set, the clear waters of the canals, but the SMELL of Venice was different. Even though I love Venice as a city, I vividly remember the unpleasant smell of the canals when we visited a few years prior, in the height of the summer. Remebering that as we took a gondola ride through the canals, I couldn't help but notice the unpleasant aroma coming from the canal waters. But now that we have found ourselves in a COVID world Venice, the smell was noticably gone, and you could actually see the bottom of the shallow canals as you walked over the bridges throughout the city. I was previously unable to notice how truly shallow the canals were until this COVID world allowed for less polluted waters of Venice, and therefore a better smelling Venice as well. -
2021-06-15
COVID-19, Masks, and Bleach at a Preschool
During the COVID-19 pandemic I worked at a preschool where I taught primarily 12-to-18-month-old children until they were ready to move onto the next class. The use of a face mask and rigorous cleaning methods were a constant part of my day for the entire time I worked there. Now, the memory of that time stands out to me the most through the feel of the mask on my face and the smell of the bleach that seemed to stay with me for days. The kids I taught were too young to wear masks (that was reserved for the two-year-old and up classes), but they did not seem bothered that the adults surrounding them wore pieces of fabric over their mouths and noses. For eight hours a day I felt the pull on my ears, the scratchy material against my nose, and the frustration of the mask muffling my voice when trying to get the attention of ten children in the classroom. Pointing out facial features like a nose or certain facial expressions like being happy or sad with a mask on became normal. More often than not, I would feel a small hand reach up and attempt (or succeed) at pulling my mask down which I proceeded to pull back on as quickly as possible while ignoring how good the fresh air on my face felt. Aside from the masks, the administration required routinely cleaning all toys used everyday with a high concentration of bleach. During nap time, the smell of the bleach filled the room as we cleaned all toys used that day, regardless of the duration of the activity. Even with a mask on, the smell lingered in my nose, on my clothes, and in the classroom to the point that I always felt that I smelled of bleach. When COVID-19 infection numbers were up in the local area or we had case in our school, the bleach concentration, as expected, went up and so did the smell. While I supported all efforts made at the preschool to reduce possible COVID-19 infections, these sensory descriptions illustrate the mental and emotional draining portion of the pandemic history. -
2022-06-26
Flying with Disease
Flying home from a tournament, where my team suffered defeat after defeat, I was not aware of much outside of my muscle aches, my mental and emotional exhaustion, and the bitter taste of failure in my mouth. The first twenty minutes of the flight was uneventful, just the occasional cry of a child, the subtle rock of the plane in turbulence, the dim light by which I read my book. Soon, as the turbulence died down, and the child fell asleep in the arms of its mother, every single person on the plane became distinctly aware of the continuous coughing of a lady wearing her mask. I had forgotten to grab one for the flight home, despite every intention of wearing one, and nobody else on the flight had one. Conversations noticeably died down as the coughing continued, and even seemed to get more frequent and intense. I put down my book, donned my headphones, and tried to watch a movie to drown out the noise. People shot furtive glances at the lady in question, all of us wondering from the sound of her cough, if she had Covid. The more I heard it, the angrier I felt, and the more afraid I got. I am an athlete and young, so would likely be fine if I caught Covid. However, my girlfriend and little sister are both high risk, and I did not want to risk exposing them. I managed to calm myself as to not make a scene, worthless at this point tens of thousands of feet in the air. I could not know the situation of the lady, whether she had a choice to be on this flight, or had to return home, attend a funeral, or whatever other reasons she may have had to go on a flight, sick, while there was a global pandemic. All I can tell you is that from the sounds of uncomfortable shifting in seats, the murmurs pointed at the lady, and the otherwise silence of the formerly talkative plane, nobody felt entirely safe or comfortable. I ended up catching Covid-19, and unknowingly giving it to my girlfriend who I live with. Despite having to take her to the hospital briefly, we both ended up fine. Whether our cases of Covid were from the lady on the plane or somebody else, I will never know. But the sound of incessant coughing during this pandemic still has the same effect wherever I go, creating a perceptible unease. -
0022-08-18
Hearing Aids
In the audio-file I tried to manipulate the sounds to reflect some of the ways I interpret the world as a Hard of Hearing woman during the Covid-19 pandemic. I want the listener to be able to feel the frustration as they listen and try to understand the story. The pandemic has forced many of us to adapt. This is my story. -
2020-06-21
Disinfectant Battle at the Doctor's Office
The photo was taken at the beginning of the pandemic, probably a Friday in the summer because I was not wearing scrubs (casual Fridays). I was working in a pediatric office as a medical assistant in Litchfield County, Connecticut. If you know anything about that area, it was scary at the time because all of the families with any means in NYC were fleeing the city and coming to Litchfield and Fairfield Counties. We were quite nervous at the time that they would spread covid to our communities at the same rate as it was in NYC. Luckily it did not happen. It was a scary time, as every day we would get the ding in the morning and the end of the day of an email notification telling us how many deaths were in local hospitals, how many beds were left (spoiler- none), how much PPE was available (again, none) etc. We were so short on PPE we had to reuse our masks for a whole week (unless exposed of course). I can still remember the feeling of the little fabric “firs” that would start to itch my face after a few days, and the nice smelling essential oils we put in them to make wearing them tolerable- I used citrus smells, and my coworker used coconut. The worst was the lack of cleaning and disinfecting products. We tried to not see patients that were even remotely sick with covid symptoms because we did not have enough cleaner to disinfect the rooms after they left. When we were fortunate enough to get a new bottle of Lysol, we would take fun photos like this one of me threatening my coworker whom I suspected was covered in germs. Little moments like this helped to alleviate the stress of the moments when that email ding came in at the end of the day. -
2021-12-20
And a Happy New Year
My boyfriend and I had visited his parents over our Christmas Holiday from college. They had just recently gotten back from Hawaii, so they had travelled through several airports to get to and from Baton Rouge. Despite my boyfriend and I being vaccinated and wearing masks around his family, we came to find out that his mother had COVID (she is a staunch anti-vaxxer). Not one week after our visit, my boyfriend and I both tested positive. We spent Christmas and New Years holed up in our tiny apartment, feeling guilty that we had been to our respective works and to visit my relatives without knowing we were positive. His mother is still suffering from COVID complications, nearly eight months after originally having it. I'll never understand why people assume that public health and health education are a hoax. It could have saved everyone a lot of time and effort and suffering if the truth about vaccinations wasn't barraged by misinformation and public hysteria. -
2022-02-28
How Ballet was Effected by COVID-19
Ballet is all about expressing emotion, but even two years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic the art is still being affected. Masks create limits for the art of ballet, especially when you are being judged on your artistry. Dancers had to make themselves more dynamic and expressive so judges could "see through the mask." My studio didn't require us to wear masks, so going to a competition where we were required to wear them was a huge change. But I've found that wearing a mask whilst dancing has become much more bearable as the pandemic has continued though it has taught me the innumerable value of artistry in dance, and how much meaning is lost when the movement we strive to perfect is unaccompanied by any facial expression or individuality. -
2022-07-06
U.S. Yellowstone is latest national park to add indoor mask mandate due to rising COVID cases
This is a news story from CBS News from Sophie Reardon. Due to rising cases, Yellowstone National Park will now require visitors two years and older to wear masks indoors. Other national parks have mask mandates too, such as the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, and the Grand Tetons. This requirement is for everyone using an indoor facility, regardless of vaccination status. For future visitors at this time to these parks, it is recommended one look up COVID requirements for the place they wish to go. -
2022-07-05
Broadway begins mask-optional policy
This is a news story from Spectrum News 1 by Louis Finley. On July 1, a mask optional policy began for Broadway show attendees. This has worried theatergoers and performers alike, as they are now anxious over being exposed to COVID. Some shows, like "Into the Woods," have been negotiating to make masks mandatory for the front row.