TRAVELS (and more) WITH CECILIA BRAINARD: Filipinos #CopingWith Covid - Barbara Ann Velasco Jacala, San Diego, CA, USA

Friday, July 10, 2020

Filipinos #CopingWith Covid - Barbara Ann Velasco Jacala, San Diego, CA, USA

The following is part of my series, Filipinos Coping with Covid.

Responding to my interview questions, Barbara Ann Velasco Jacala describes life for her in San Diego, USA, during the time of coronavirus. She and her husband Jack have been quarantining with their youngest daughter and her family.

Life in San Diego, USA during Covid 19

By Barbara Ann Velasco

Dear Cecilia,

My husband Jack and I are quarantining in San Diego with our youngest daughter and her family. We're taking the lockdown as an opportunity to be hands-on with our three grandkids (5, 3, and 1).

I am retired and fully helping with family at home. My daughter and son-in-law are working remotely. The eldest grandchild is now homeschooling and the younger ones are home from daycare. When my husband and I come in from errands, our kisses and hugs are held off until we wash up.

We were not affected financially but we received a stimulus check, which we splurged.

In the morning, I exercise with my daughter and granddaughter following online Zumba. I also place pickleball with my husband at a private tennis court.

We wear face masks which we sewed for every family member. We also observe 6 feet social distancing.

Daily routine: We care for the baby in the daytime to allow daughter/ son-in-law to work. We also sit with own daughter for school work; parents had to learn Google classroom, clever and seesaw to help their kids do online classes.

We do grocery runs but choose markets that have no lines. At one time there was a shortage of rice in the stores. Vendor assigned numbers to customers and phoned them to pickup when their number came up.

We shop online (Amazon) and go to stores such as Target, Walmart, 99 Cents, and grocery stores.

We cook in daily or do sandwiches.

I do not feel anxious. I feel normal.

I miss eating in restaurants, going to church, gyms, concerts, and travelling.

My tips to surviving this pandemic: Enjoy being a family. Plan on having a 500-1000 piece puzzle to work on and exchange with other families. Change into day clothes and not stay in pajamas all day. Keep wake up and sleep schedule. We have been appreciating special shows on TV, eg, Llyod Webber productions.

Other thoughts about the current situation:

My daughter Joie in Washington is an Eastern Medicine provider who started a telemedicine service on top of her clinic. She is also at home with three children under the age of eight. She lets them zoom with their cousins/classmates and occasionally does e-challenge activities with them. Her children do online martial arts.

My other daughter Gail in Guam, is a university professor who now teaches her classes online. Her husband is at sea. He taught the sailors how to make a T-shirt into a mask Guam style. Her two teenage children are now homeschooling. The family go for hikes and surfing for recreation.

Suki, another daughter in San Diego, an engineer for the city, works three days at home and in the office for two. Her husband teaches online now. Her two boys homeschooling. She organized a drive by of her son’s friends for his birthday. They fixed their backyard garden, planted vegetables and take daily bike rides and runs.

Recently Jack and I celebrated our 49th anniversary with a family hike at the Black Canyon Waterfall.

Bing (Barbara Ann)

Covid-19: An Encounter with a Bee During Quarantine

Interviews follow:
Lia Feraren, Germany
Teresa Concepcion, Canada
Ofelia Gelvezon Tequi, France
Reine Marie Bonnie Melvin, France
New Zealand: Jay Montilla & Monika Tawngdee
Linda Ty-Casper, Massachusetts, USA
Barbara Ann Jacala, San Diego, CA, USA
Brian Ascalon Roley, Ohio, USA
Elizabeth Ann Besa-Quirino, USA
Interview of Cecilia Brainard by 95.9 Star FM Bacolod (DJ Billie), USA

Interviews of Filipino Americans #CopingWithCovid

Live Interview of #CebuLitFest Producer Hendri Go by Cecilia Brainard

All of the above links are part of the Philippine Covid Archive of Filipinas Heritage Library.

tags: #coronavirus #covid19 #covid #Filipinos #copingwithcovid #Paris #France #Europe #FilipinoFrench #FrenchFilipino #FilipinoAmerican #Bacolod #Philippines

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard's official website is ceciliabrainarddotcom. She is the award-winning author and editor of 22 books, including When the Rainbow Goddess Wept, The Newspaper Widow, Magdalena, Selected Stories, Vigan and Other Stories, and more. She edited Growing Up Filipino 1, 2, & 3, Fiction by Filipinos in America, Contemporary Fiction by Filipinos in America, and other books.. Her work has been translated into Finnish and Turkish; and many of her stories and articles have been widely anthologized. Cecilia has received many awards, including a California Arts Council Fellowship in Fiction, a Brody Arts Fund Award, a Special Recognition Award for her work dealing with Asian American youths, as well as a Certificate of Recognition from the California State Senate, 21st District, and the Outstanding Individual Award from her birth city, Cebu, Philippines. She has lectured and performed at UCLA, USC, University of Connecticut, University of the Philippines, PEN, Shakespeare & Company in Paris, and many others. She has served in the Board of literary arts groups such as PEN, PAWWA (Pacific Asian American Writers West), among others.