If there is any time in the entire world where police officers and law enforcement should be showing compassion, it shouldn’t be towards people who are walking around and perpetuating this huge health crisis.

Sierra conducted an interview with D, a senior at UCI majoring in Psychological Science and Social Ecology, and minoring in Global Sustainability and Creative Writing. D has gastrointestinal stromal tumor cancer and takes chemotherapy, which reduces her immune system capabilities. During her interview, she discusses what it is like to have a preexisting condition during a pandemic and how the pandemic has affected her mental health and her relationships. D also explains how she thinks her local government handled the pandemic and how it has changed her views on society. She is excited for everyone to reach herd immunity so that she can once again cherish moments that she took for granted before.

Sierra Clonts: Okay so how has your life changed since the pandemic has started?
D: Well I’ve spent a lot less time with my friends which sucks. It would also suck because all of my friends would go and do things and be reckless and I wasn’t able to be reckless because of my chemo and because I live with my grandma. Also it was scary knowing that I could die if I got sick.
Sierra Clonts: Has your mental health been affected?
D: Yeah, I think so. I was taking my chemo at higher doses before the pandemic and it was making me really sick and that was affecting my mental health because I would usually hangout with my friends and that would make me feel better but ever since the pandemic started I couldn’t really see my friends so I wasn’t able to have people to have fun with and open up with and share my mental health problems. I also feel like those problems were exacerbated since I was spending more time indoors. I wasn’t walking around campus which helped my well-being, because I would be outside and seeing the leaves change colors and the flowers bloom and the birds and the clouds. This was good because I would also be getting exercise walking to and from classes and things like that, but since the pandemic I wasn’t doing that I was just on my computer. I also hate being on my computer so yeah I would say I was more frustrated and had more depressive and anxious symptoms.

Sierra Clonts: How do you feel like your local government handled the situation?
D: I think California did a pretty good job. I think in Orange County there should’ve been a lot more enforcement on people who were refusing to wear masks. I think that those people should have been cited, I mean this is a huge public health concern. And I think that if there is any time in the entire world where police officers and law enforcement should be showing compassion, it shouldn’t be towards people who are walking around and perpetuating this huge health crisis. I think that is the time when they should’ve laid down the law and stopped it because not wearing a mask results in spreading the virus and killing so many people. There is no reason behind not wearing a mask. It isn’t like you are selling drugs to feed your family, it simply is someone who is showing no consideration for others so I don’t know why so much consideration was shown to people who didn’t wear their masks.

Nobody really thought that was going to happen in 21st century… there is so so many things that has been impacting the Burmese community in general and the Burmese international students across the world.

Hayley interviewed Alfred, a student at Orange Coast College majoring in Communication Studies. He is currently working as event coordinator for a small local business and has been living in the United States for about two years. He wants to be able to get a bachelor degree in Communication and continue his parents’ business in Myanmar. Alfred shared that he was first exposed to American culture by attending international school in Myanmar. He enjoys learning as well as trying food from different cultures, and wants more people to know about Myanmar since there are not many people who know about his country. Hayley began the interview by asking Alfred about whether the pandemic has affected his ability to socialize and maintain his studies.

Hayley Hoang: Would you say that the pandemic affected your ability to connect with your peers?

Alfred: Yes, so when the pandemic just started I had a hard time physically trying to be a social person just because I didn’t have a car, I can’t drive and I was basically locked up in my own apartment. And it was hard for me to see my friends or actually stay connected with on my peers, so I kind of had a hard time, however, I still had my Burmese Community that has been surrounding me since I started OCC so um it was a small period of time that
I had like it to be like you know physically staying at home.

Hayley Hoang: How was the pandemic affect your performance in school academically?

Alfred: Honestly I came here to study in the US to get my college experience, so I would totally agree with on COVID having a very big impact on my college life. Just because I really didn’t get any of my experience, as I would just say locked up how I said earlier… Moreover I am not the type of person who deals the best with online school so I kind of had a lot of like difficulties like transitioning online and like basically focusing on in my classes.

The interview then transitioned into Alfred’s experience as a Burmese international student, and his thoughts about the situation in his home country.

When the country went under the coup, the military coup d’état, people really didn’t bother to hear about the pandemic. They really went out to the street and like start protesting in Myanmar. However, when it had been like in February, I was just worried because it’s like something that nobody would have expected… nobody really thought that was going to happen in 21st century, because it is really outdated, and nobody was really expecting, and it got worse because it was under the pandemic. A lot of business has been shut down since 2019 because of the pandemic and the coup just made a worse, so it financially impacted a lot. When the coup first happened, the dictator basically cut off the Internet of the whole country to basically keep the news and keep everything what’s happening in the country. To not leak to different countries, so it was hard for me to contact my family, and I was really worried, back then, but then they just not they just but basically. They basically give back the Internet connections, so they are able to contact our family now, however, on in Burma only people are people are only we’re only using Internet from 9am to 9pm during nighttime so it was still cut the Internet off, so I would not be able to contact them and Burmese nighttime. And it’s really hard for me to like contact, sometimes because I wouldn’t be able to contact them in the daytime that I in the US, because daytime in the US means that nighttime in Myanmar. So I wouldn’t be able to talk to them or not, but I guess we’re getting used to that, right now, and internet is back, however, there is so so many things that has been impacting the Burmese community in general and the Burmese international students across the world.

Ariana interviewed her sister, Marla Burgos, who teaches preschool at a private Christian elementary school located in Los Angeles, California. Marla received both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in child development from California State University, Los Angeles. Marla currently lives in Sun Valley, California, where she was originally born and raised. Ariana begins the interview by asking Marla whether transitioning to online learning was easy or difficult.

So we had a strategy to use Zoom and how we would implement our curriculum and everything through Zoom. And then, however, when we initially started Zoom, it was very difficult because, um, students just wouldn’t sit for long periods of time on the computer… So we just kind of stopped forcing students to stay online as much with us. And then it was very difficult also because we started off with like 15 students and then the class size went lower to 10. And then by mid pandemic, I only had, I was the only one hired and then I, it was only two students, so it was very, very traumatic.

Ariana Burgos: Do you still feel as connected, or engaged, with your students despite the transition to online learning?
Marla Burgos: Definitely not. Because I think teaching requires a specific setting, which is the classroom and that’s where you guide and help children develop socially and emotionally. And yeah, that’s nothing that I can do online as that’s just my point of view.
Ariana Burgos: And next, how do you feel not being, not being able to interact in person with your students anymore?
Marla Burgos: Um, well it does feel like it, at the beginning of the, like the first two weeks of March, it was a very state of shock, um, because it was complete quarantine. My co-teachers and my team, we were still planning how we’re going to plan this, how are we going to implement this? So we were not even teaching those first two weeks. It wasn’t until after like those two weeks where we just started to interact with Zoom, but it didn’t feel the same.

Marla described several challenges with online learning, such as low attendance and less socialization through Zoom. She looks forward to returning to the classroom so she can see her students in-person again.

I think childhood education is definitely most effective in the elementary school setting or a preschool setting or school classroom setting. Um, yeah, no, the grades tell you all the results, tell you all. Um, and it just kinda makes you doubt your teaching. So I mean, I’m satisfied, but you know, not with such a low enrollment and not with not being able to see them be in person.

Mayra Moreno interviewed Valeria, a housewife living in Riverside county California. The interview was conducted in Spanish. Valeria describes her concerns revolving the pandemic and shares the emotional toll the pandemic took on her emotional being. Valeria explains how her life took a turn from going to employed to unemployed, with a heightened sense of nervousness and sadness. Valeria describes in great detail the different type of actions and feelings that emerged once she began to feel uneasy about the pandemic. Regardless of her frustrations Valeria states she found comfort through her family and enjoyed spending time together. She played lots of games with her family, was able to garden, and began to workout. Overall, Valeria hopes everyone can remain staying safe and practicing safe social distancing.

Mayra Moreno: ¿Cree que los-las personas de su comunidad se han visto afectadas de maneras diferente?

Valeria Moreno: Pues si porque muchas personas–casi la mayoría si puede decir que perdieron el trabajo, el espeso, la esposa, tienen su familia y ya no tienen de donde sacar el dinero pa estar llevándoles comida a sus hijos. Y no hay de donde agarrar dinero entonces igual esta saliéndose la gente de sus apartamentos, de sus casas.

Mayra Moreno: ¿Si es así, como se están viendo afectados de maniera diferente los miembros de su comunidad? Que has oído, visto, o vivido personalmente, a través de eso, usted puede confirmar o refutar sus creencias. 

Valeria Moreno: Si. Uhm- estada viendo de como me da tristeza de ver familias que están sin trabajo que tienen sus niños-uhm-que están arrimándose a las-sss- escuelas en los lugares donde están donde oyes que están dando-oh-bolsas de comida para poder sobrevivir esta pandemia. Es-está muy triste todo.