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Today is May 16 2020, and we have a New York member of the Houston Asian American Archive, Echo He, with us to speak about her COVID-19 pandemic experiences and her life stories.

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Thank you so much for your time to speak with us. Of course, I'm very happy. Thanks for inviting me. Certainly. First of all, can you tell us a bit about yourself?

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I am a gallerist, curator, writer and hatmaker based in New York. I work at Pace Gallery as a research manager; at the same time I founded and

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run this gallery called Fou Gallery, in a brownstone in Brooklyn, Bed-Stuy area. And we call Fou Gallery an alternative space and creative lab to present artists

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whose works are specific to the space and who have a very—who have a certain aesthetic that's more—that's like connected with old soul civilizations,

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like Asia. So we represent a lot of Chinese artists. But recently we have more international artists like our current show with Wendy Letven. She's based in New Jersey but her works can communicate with Asian

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audiences very easily, as she delivers certain messages with like lines falling together, this philosophy shared with the audience—yeah, with

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the Asian audience. That's lovely. And your hat is lovely too. Can you tell us a little bit more about the hat? Yeah, this hat.

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So I'm a hat maker, and I like to make hats, always with stories. So each hat is different and carries its own name and meaning. This one I made during quarantine time.

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And it's inspired by the leaves out of Fou Gallery's window. So I'll turn my camera so you can see. So there are a lot of

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leaves out of the window right now. But two months ago, when we first started stay home order in New York, there was nothing. It was barely, just empty because winter, it was

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still winter time. So I sit in front of the window every day and see the green leaves cover the whole window little by little. And this is a

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perfect demonstration of time for me—measurement of time, so I made this hat. You can see their leaves, and they look like a deer. So this is like the deer color.

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And it's like a little anchor. So I call it “Deer Field.” So I think this is my impression of this quarantine time. Wow, it's like a diary for you to witness the rolls and this

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coming of spring. Yeah, most profound. And can you share with us how New York is doing? How Brooklyn's doing in your perspective in this pandemic? So New York has been shut down

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for two months, and most of us are working from home except for essential business. It's definitely an unusual experience for New Yorkers because

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New York is considered as a city that never sleeps. I do feel New York is becoming quieter those days and more—living, or like,

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well, more livable, and more environmentally friendly. I like this change in New York. I don't feel like the city is very dead.

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I mean, there are a lot of things that are unusual. I remember in March when we first started to deliver PPEs to hospitals, when we drove along the road, it's basically empty and you would

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never expect New York streets can be so empty. No cars, no— a little bit cars and no pass-bys. And you can only hear ambulances around. And today is very sunny.

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So basically a lot of people are on the street with masks. So you can definitely see people tend to use bikes more and walk more and more connected to this local community.

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Wow. And how about the impact to your daily life? How is working from home been? So I— it's, it's definitely a change. No commute to the office, to Manhattan

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everyday; and like I get used to meet colleagues online and with a lot of zoom meetings for sure. For me, I think it's okay because I'm quite tech savvy.

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So I already—so I used to work from home when I was in China. Because of visa issue, one time I got stuck in China for a whole month, so I needed to work from home.

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And even like this international communication doesn't seem to be a big problem for me. So now I'm kind of better at improving the efficiency and work efficiency, but I still hope one

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day the gallery can reopen. And yeah, I can go to the physical space and also, Fou Gallery can continue to open on weekends.

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So people other than me, can come to see work and exchange feelings and stories during quarantine and appreciation of

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art. Yeah, we're really looking forward to that day. How do you see the technology has been changing to how we communicate with the arts? Like, we are seeing all these online exhibitions?

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Do you think that it can replace the way we communicate with arts? No, I think like anyone in the art world would think that

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like—Okay, so how can I say that? So yeah, we definitely see a lot of activities to bridge technology and art. And because galleries can't open the

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spaces, so all the galleries are trying innovative ways to promote artists and artworks, like online viewing rooms, igtv, and social media campaign, all those activities are kind of using the force of technology.

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But it can just never replace the experience being in physical space, see the works, feel the aura and communicate with the artists. There are very innovative ways

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like I know some galleries designed an online interactive game, or like the 3D version viewing room. This kind of activities, I think it's quite cool and it's an experiment for the

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artists. But as a viewer I think we want to be touched, to be able to be there and to touch a work, to feel that I'm here, to look at work, to reflect

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on the little details and ruminate. Like this kind of experience just can't be replaced by looking at things on the screen. Yea, I totally agree that art has a vibe around it.

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And how do you think the Asian American artists community are reacting to the pandemic? So I see Asian also, I see a lot of Asian artists very actively engaged in the pandemic.

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So some are creating a lot, spending studio times, and making works that reflect the thinking, the thoughts about Coronavirus. And some are more involved in social

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activities like donation campaign, or activists of the bias, or like, yeah, racism against the Asian community. So I started "N95 for NYC"

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in March with a group of fellow artists and professionals working in the art world. A lot of us are Asian, or

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mainlyChinese. "N95 for NYC" is a mutual aid group to source PPE—like masks, gloves, protective cover wears, or this kind of medical equipments for frontline health care workers and

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first responders in New York. So, our group member, a lot of professionals in the art world or artists, and also our volunteer

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team, because we have a volunteer team of drivers who would go out to deliver PPEs. In addition to me, so those drivers, a lot of those drivers are artists as well. And quite a large proportion of

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the donors and volunteers are Asian American, or just Asians, because we have donors in China. Wow, that's really encouraging. 'Cause I understand that Asian Americans are first of all

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impacted; and artists, this career and community has been very impacted as well. And that's really amazing for them to step up and help out with the others.

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Can you share with us some of the inspiring stories during your time to volunteer for "N95 for NYC"? Okay, so let

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me think... okay, so some small things, I feel like really encouraged and moves me. One story is about this donor in China, she read about this campaign on

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"Douban", a social media platform in China, which is popular about literature and art circle. I think she's high school. And she added me on

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WeChat, and said, you know, "I want to donate some money, but I'm afraid it's too late or I'm still a student." And she just transferred a 200 RMB which is about $30

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and she said, "I meant to come to New York for summer school in Columbia University, but I guess now, things are canceled; but I still want to just donate to New York, just to think,

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yeah, like to pay a little bit efforts. And hopefully, one day I can come to New York." So a lot of those donors. Oh, yeah, continues.

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So there are also people from Wuhan, who was quarantined for two months and finally the city open. When they saw our news, they were still under quarantine. There is one lady, she is

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a single mother and in her—quarantine in her apartment for over one month and half. And she, her. Yeah, read about this campaign and it just transferred 2000 yuan

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about... Yeah, $300 I think that's half a month's wage for her. Yeah, and those people are just... Yeah, I think it's just normal people in China and it's for such a distant

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cause, but they still want to help just because they're, they think like they are part of it, and they... yeah, they, just their generosity and kindness really moves me. And also a lot of healthcare workers I get in touch,

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they–they're really brave and very touching story. So I remember there's one nurse, her name is Sachiko and she works for two places. One is Isabella Center,

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another is North Bronx Hospital. So both places are hit very badly by Coronavirus, and don't have much resources. Because North Bronx is a small public hospital

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in Bronx, and Isabella Center is a nursing home. So she's Japanese and she's a single mother with four kids, and one dog and hamster. And uh, she

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has to work for two jobs to raise her family. But she's so positive every time I saw her. She was basically working—I think about like, every day, this week. And after work, she would spend time

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to source PPEs for her colleagues. And Isabella Center had over 100 death already, and that's only...

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So they have about 600 patients, over 100 deaths. And a lot of her colleagues got infected. And sometimes she would say,

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you know, like she would tell her, her, her kids said that, "You know, I may die very soon or any day." but she's still worried bright and optimistic to live through life. I think it's just very encouraging every

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time when I meet and get to know them, I just feel more, and I deeply respect. Yeah. Yeah so those are some some stories from the frontline to share.

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Yeah, that's most inspiring. And how about yourself? Like how have you protected yourself when you're delivering the masks for the hospitals?

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So me and a driver both wear protective coverall, that specifically and also my hair is covered by a cap, and then the protective...

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add my own hat; and then I would wear at least an N95. So cover the whole—yeah kind of, yeah it's kind of

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like this type of mask, but better because this one is a– is a– is a fake mask. We recently received it and we are trying to

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fight against this scam. And I also have eye goggles to cover my eyes but I don't use that too often right now. ...

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gloves of course. So when we go out to deliver, we don't go into the hospitals or nursing homes and we are not allowed. And so we would meet with our doctors out of the building and do curbside drop-off.

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And also a lot of the times, we go to their homes because of hospitals’ restrictions of the doctors and nurses get their own PPEs.

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They treat them to know sensitive so a lot of doctors and nurses prefer to have their—to receive those PPEs at home and secretly bring them to the hospital.

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Hmm. And when I, so after the whole day delivery, I would go back home, and at the door I would first use alcohol spray to spray my whole body, the whole– whole– whole clothes.

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And then I would leave the protective cover or... in the hallway. And then I would go inside room.

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First, wash my hands; then take off the cap and different things and masks. And then so normally the mask I would reuse it, 'cause I'm not

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like in a hospital that, that kind of exposure. I would use UV light disinfectors, yeah, disinfect. So every mask can be used at least five times. That's great to hear you're protecting yourself as well, um.

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Can you also share some stories about your interactions with the healthcare workers? How are they doing? So they have a very stressful time. But they are all very very kind people and

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very grateful. So we—I know they're incredibly busy because basically I think everyone... One nurse at Elmhurst told me, she has to work 100 hours a week.

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And I was in touch with another doctor at NYP Brooklyn, he worked 30 hours nonstop in the past two days. And this basically this kind of stories and they–they are very

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tired, and the lack of PPE; but they're still like very positive. And when they receive the donation, they just so grateful and trying to like spare some time to take photos while I was...

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So recently we start to deliver flowers. And though... Well, it's so. You can see the difference when you deliver PPE and the way you deliver flowers.

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So when you deliver PPEs, the nurses are grateful and they feel like, "oh," but the eyes are, um, they look like "okay, so we are protected and now we feel grateful." And when you send flowers, they are excited and they are just super

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happy. And all the girls want to take one flower home and there's almost a fight between different units at the flowers. So one-one-one girl told

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me, she said, "Okay, last Sunday is the last day of International Nurse Week." They are very disappointed because the hospital didn't do anything. But they really feel grateful that their local

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communities try to help, and they say those little things definitely very helpful, and they think can continue to work and fight. So we send some flowers to Sachiko to bring to Isabella Center.

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Today she sent me some photos about a colleague print out a photo of a nurse who passed away because of coronavirus, and placed the photo aside of the flowers we donated, so she can feel it.

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And also we deliver bouquets to the refrigerator truck, which carries the bodies of people who passed away. So Sachiko took a risk to

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bring the bouquet there. She– she basically goes there a lot because she needs to carry the bodies to the refrigerator truck. And after she did that,

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she said she just felt so relieved; she thinks it's kind of like a closing ceremony for her. She, now her memory with the refrigerator trucks are not only death, but there's hope,

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and flower, and kindness. So she's saying she can finally leave everything behind and think about her future life plans. And she shared—so there is a documentary

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filmmaker, Yunkai followed her and helped her to deliver those flowers. So he took a photo of her– her back with a refrigerator car. And she shared that photo within their small

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group in the nursing home. And one nurse commented, say, "Oh, that photo I, I just can't help crying." And she said, "I can't believe I'm so emotional, but thank you.

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Thank you. Thank you." She said a lot of thank you; said thank you for your friend, and for you to make this happen. I think, you know, like flowers may not as essential as PPE as a

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lot of people think; but they bring this strong emotional comfort, which we didn't expect, either. Wow, so powerful. It's sad, but true.

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And also, just, thank you so much for doing all these really kind gestures and help for the healthcare community. And yeah, thanks to the healthcare workers too.

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Yeah, I really admire your beautiful gallery in your background. So 360 view. You see the leaves out of the two windows. They're going very

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well. Yes spring is definitely here no matter where the virus is. So it's definitely a lot of changes. That's amazing.

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I guess nature and universe has its own, time— timing. Yeah. Definitely something that we want to revisit when it opens up again. How

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is the gallery holding up and all the other artists in your community holding up during this period? I guess people would have canceled shows and canceled opening receptions? And how about the income?

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Yeah, that's– that's really difficult for a lot of artists. For, for our artists I think Siyuan and Michael are impacted strongest; because Siyuan used to work for a sculpture studio and now everything has to

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stop; and he doesn't have a solid income source except for that freelance job, and also making work. So he is yeah, he's under a lot of stress. And Michael too, because Michael doesn't have a teaching job.

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So some other artists are a little bit better. Like Renqian Yang and Han Qin. They both teach in universities. While they, they are so stressful because they need to think about remote teaching

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especially if they are artists. Like Han Qin make... Oh, sorry, Renqian Yang, she makes ceramics. So how can you teach ceramics in a

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remote setting? So she has to think about a lot of innovative ways. As for us, um, we are trying to find exhibition opportunities for those artists out of U. S. Like, for Wendy, I'm

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trying to talk to a Chengdu space about an exhibition opportunity. And for Du Meng who is based in Beijing and planning for her show in October in Beijing.

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And so there's Tan Siyuan is going to participate in online exhibition, curated by galleries in New York. So it's just like have to think a lot of innovative ways to help

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those artists. And also we—so Lynn, the art director Fou Gallery and partner of Fou Gallery. She's working with me and a

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lot of other galleries in New York to organize online benefit auction... ... is so, the profits will help the frontline healthcare

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workers. Hmm. That's wonderful. So, what is your vision for this charity auction? We... So basically now we have postponed the date to June...

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... gain a little bit... of very high permission, although it's a benefit auction so we are trying to negotiate a good plan for us to make it

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happen. The artists are incredibly generous. Like Wang Guangle would donate a work he created in Fujian, and he would ship the work from Beijing to us and donate 100% proceeds for

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this auction. We actually say we don't want artists to donate 100%. Artists should save certain proportion for them, to— yeah to, yeah, because they are going through a very difficult time.

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But a lot of ... still a lot of artists who think, feel as in less financial... strike, they, yeah, they are like, very generous to donate their

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works. Yeah, that's most beneficial and that I feel like artists having the heart to step forward and help is definitely most admired.

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Can you also share with us if you've seen any of the xenophobic or anti-Asian, which I heard has been going on a lot as we all seeing on the news? Oh, yeah, so on the news.

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So in real life, I didn't feel a lot because it just never come into my mind, in New York, which is very diversified city. Until in late April, I

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suddenly came across CDC's post on their Instagram about the cover of their new magazine. Let me see, can I find it, the article?

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So, so, so CDC publish this journal which is a scientific journal called "Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal", and in their May issue, they

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are using a rank badge with leopard wave and some motifs from Qing Dynasty in China as the cover of that journal. So, this batch has

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some like motifs of bats and leopards, and this like different symbols that was popular in,

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in, yeah like in ancient China as decorations. So on this post of CDC, let me see. You can share your screen if you like.

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... see if the original. So CDC is on... Mmm? Oh I was saying if you want to share your screen, you can do that too. Oh

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yeah okay. Let me open my Facebook and share this screen. Because CDC deleted the original about... Okay.

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Okay, so I'm going to share the screen. So this is CDC's cover of Infectious Diseases, and this is the Instagram post.

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So although this sounds neutral, so we–we don't— we also first, we don't... Yeah, we, I don't want to criticize the art history interpretation here— the

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misleading art history interpretation here. But it's definitely there is some connection between China and the virus. So I think any Asian, or like any Chinese People

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who see the post would feel a little bit offended. And the first of our group member Hansi Liao of "N95 for NYC", she found this post on

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Instagram. And she shared with our group and we just can't believe! We thought this is maybe CDC got hacked. And then we realize, okay, that's an official post and also, there are people

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comments under this post and some already been misled by CDC, and think CDC is delivering this message that's connecting this virus with China.

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And we started to, so I I shared this post on my Instagram and my Facebook, and call for friends to leave comments under this post. To tell CDC that we think it's inappropriate.

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So a lot of my friends who are not Chinese, who are Americans or other, from other countries, they also feel offended by this post since it's a weird racism message there.

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So, so suddenly this post was filled with comments, like who feel inappropriate and asked CDC to take this down. So the second day CDC took

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this down, which is a small victory. However, this image still stays on their journal cover. So last week, um, Michelle

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Wong published an article on Hyperallergic about this cover of May 2020 issue. She is a scholar in Asian art, so she analyzed this textile from a historical

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perspective and challenged CDC's interpretation of this cover image and their content. So I think this is a really good

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article. I don't want to say more things, but from this article, I get to know that Michelle actually contacted um, the editor.

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So she actually contacted the senior editor, trying to explain the problem of the journal's association of China with COVID-19 at this very sensitive

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time and affairs from the Asian American community. And this editor just said, "Oh, where's the confusion? And we just saw the Chinese

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textile was a striking piece of art." So I think okay, we can say that maybe they were just naive, and they just didn't show the connection between the Chinese

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textile and this uprising racism against the Asian community. However, I think when someone already brought this to his attention, and also they have seen

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a lot of those comments under their public social media platform. That sounds irresponsible to me, this response. I think it's kind of like played dumb in this game. So I don't know what's going on.

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Maybe it's just a smart political game. Yeah, it's quite disheartening to hear people using this pandemic as an excuse to become racist and yeah. Okay, great.

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Can you also share with us what has inspired you most during the stay-at-home order on the other end? So I actually enjoy this shutdown moment in life, I think things get

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slower. And I gain more time to look at the leaves out of the window and see the changes of the season, and appreciate the different little details in life.

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I think our society was driven too fast by commercial or consumerism and by capitalism. So this virus actually provided opportunities for human beings to reflect on the—on our activity

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to the nature, to the environment and to our fellow human beings. For example, I heard a woodpecker out the window. I think she came back every spring. But before I only get to notice her every weekend

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while I'm here, but now I get to spend some time with her every day and trying to track her pattern. So I know this just like human beings to work from Monday to Friday, and on Saturday you don't hear her.

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So I wonder what's going on with her tomorrow. So this woodpecker, she's like very hard working. She gets up at 6am and stopped to work at around like 4pm.

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So I become very curious. So I did a search on woodpecker and realize this species can be traced back to 35 million years ago. So her species is

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much much older than humankind's. So for me, I was like looking at the numbers and start to think, Oh, this species of human beings may only exist on earth for a certain time and who knows how

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longer we are going to occupy this earth? And think of that and think about the changes humankind's have done to the earth, who think, you know, it's maybe just a second.

00:40:33.700 - 00:40:48.190

Yeah. So definitely, I think this is a big warning from the nature to human beings to take a step back and look at the life and to see what's more important.

00:40:48.970 - 00:41:05.490

Okay, so this is one side, I think, good thing brought by the virus. Another good thing is it definitely intense a lot of relationship. So this virus is isolating us from each other.

00:41:06.230 - 00:41:24.280

But at the same times, we feel like connected more because we are facing the same enemy. Or like spending more time communicating from apart. Before I, so I live in this building

00:41:25.570 - 00:41:35.940

for four years. The gallery has been here for years and we have a lot of guests out of New York, out of the country. But we don't really spend time with our

00:41:35.940 - 00:41:48.940

neighbors. I don't know them personally, I know their names and they will come to the openings, but not their stories. But with quarantine for two months we become very good friends.

00:41:48.940 - 00:42:03.300

So Udon, our gallery cat would go to catch mice in upstair neighbor's apartment, and our neighbor next door. She has a car so she

00:42:03.300 - 00:42:15.740

would volunteer to deliver PPEs sometimes. And we also share bread and share recipes and like essentials of home. Because we only have one ...

00:42:19.280 - 00:42:36.920

in the building which is in my apartment so I'm allowing the neighbor to use it as well. Wonderful. So in a way that's definitely brought us closer together. Yeah I'm just now feel comfortable and I never closed the door.

00:42:39.760 - 00:42:54.680

So as a gallery owner and a curator, with the technology being more intertwining and inseparable in our lives, do you see artists using the digital media, more predominantly in the future?

00:42:55.620 - 00:43:11.230

I think artists would—they have their own mediums. So I do see a lot of artists are using digital media to express themselves; but there are also artists who prefer to use the

00:43:11.230 - 00:43:42.870

traditional media and they would use egg tempera, they would use xuan paper and a shot like Wendy, she put ...

00:43:42.870 - 00:43:57.330

I will say more; but they are definitely, whether you're... nowadays you all need to have certain knowledge about technology; whether Instagram or Facebook or basic computer or Photoshop.

00:43:57.330 - 00:44:11.790

This is just basic skill for every artist. So during the coronavirus, touch with technology than ever.

00:44:12.170 - 00:44:27.760

The artists need to use video, use igtv or "Zhibo" to promote themselves. And they are thinking about different ways to, to, to create a new project for which

00:44:28.040 - 00:44:42.890

I think is very interesting. Sorry we got cut out a while ago when you started talking about Wendy, do you mind talking about Wendy again? Sorry. Okay, so um, so

00:44:42.890 - 00:44:56.980

definitely I see artists are getting more and more exposed to technology. I would say artists, they tend to use different mediums to

00:44:58.920 - 00:45:07.170

create works. I won't say that new is better. Because a lot of artists tend to get some

00:45:09.730 - 00:45:26.800

nutrition from the past. Like Michael Eade would use egg tempera, which is a very classic technique; and Lin Yan would use Xuan paper and ink, which can be traced back to 2000

00:45:26.800 - 00:45:42.540

years ago. And Wendy is using acrylic and sculpture, but she's also using some more advanced technology like laser cuts, and video and projection, those are all mediums she can use.

00:45:43.150 - 00:45:59.610

So I am... so I think artists are using multimedia these days to create a work. And even artists who are more used to traditional media, they still need to have certain

00:46:00.000 - 00:46:14.070

skills in technology to promote themselves. Especially during this quarantine time artists need to use video to show their studio to communicate with the audience. ...

00:46:18.720 - 00:46:34.790

or to, yeah, to continue to show their work to the public. Yeah, this is wonderful. Um, do you have anything else to add that I've run out of my questions? I think that's

00:46:37.210 - 00:46:45.360

basically... Oh, reopen plans. Are we going to talk about that? So like museums and galleries, because museums and galleries shut down in

00:46:45.650 - 00:47:01.180

March, and so now U. S. is facing the new stage of reopen. And museums and galleries will be the last. Oh, that's–that's New York.

00:47:01.180 - 00:47:12.640

Sorry. So I don't know about Houston. But New York has this reopen stage plans. So Cuomo said that the state is going to open gradually.

00:47:12.640 - 00:47:21.960

So it's four stages. The first stage will be construction. Yeah. More like essential industry. So art

00:47:24.860 - 00:47:45.310

would be the last industry to open ... Hello? How is syncing?

00:47:45.820 - 00:47:55.840

Yeah, we lost you again. Sorry. It seems. Yeah. You were talking about the museums and galleries being the last to open.

00:47:55.840 - 00:48:11.650

And then we have, yeah. Yeah. So I think museums and galleries all are designing reopen plans. So for Pace, Pace is

00:48:11.710 - 00:48:29.180

considering requesting of the visitors to wear masks and shoe covers before entering the space. And Met I don't know yet about their plan but definitely I think it would be

00:48:31.500 - 00:48:50.510

less, much less visitors and the request for book in advance, or waiting outside. And for Fou Gallery, we are going, we are trying to design special events, which is about welcoming the visitors

00:48:51.300 - 00:49:03.010

to a new planet. So this is using a reference of "The Naked Sun" which is a sci-fi fiction, sci-fi story by Asimov.

00:49:03.290 - 00:49:21.340

This story basically tell us about our planet, where everyone is isolated with each other people leaving their house and do business with remote camera and all the kills were done by robots.

00:49:22.650 - 00:49:34.080

Sound very familiar, right? So face-to-face contact is considered as not clean, and very contagious.

00:49:36.110 - 00:49:47.750

So sounds really like our current world. So I wrote something. But it's like an opening chapter of a sci-fi story. So I'm planning to use that

00:49:47.750 - 00:50:00.020

as an invitation for the gallery reopen, so we are actually inviting our visitors to enter the space like landing a new planet.

00:50:01.730 - 00:50:18.170

So every hour, there will be no more than six people in the space. So it would be by appointments. And also need to take off shoes, and do disinfection with alcohol spray and wear masks.

00:50:18.920 - 00:50:33.560

And though I hope I'm still thinking whether should encourage visitors to leave their phones behind them, so they can within this one hour, in this isolated planet, really immersing art

00:50:34.900 - 00:50:51.830

and communicate with the other fellow human beings you happen to come across on this new planet. Yeah, artists so essential. Like we see all these artists being creative on their social

00:50:51.830 - 00:51:06.170

media platforms, as well as some being the one who is impacted most. Yeah, creativity is definitely what connects every human being. Yeah, thank you for promoting the creativity

00:51:06.350 - 00:51:19.350

in people. And just wondering, have you experienced any anxiety or depression during your time at home alone? So I feel actually okay, um.

00:51:19.950 - 00:51:32.560

So in the very beginning in March, I feel a little bit anxious because I thought I got coronavirus. Because Pace CEO, Mark Glimcher was confirmed. And I was in the same

00:51:32.560 - 00:51:49.380

elevator, and you know, the whole building is basically, it's very easy to be close contact with, uh, coronavirus victims. And I had symptoms like headache and short– short of breathe,

00:51:49.710 - 00:52:04.800

and different things. So at that moment, I feel like I was very anxious and I went to CityMD and realized that I couldn't get a test because I don't have a fever. Um, so that was the first time I feel like oh, I can't do anything

00:52:04.860 - 00:52:19.260

in front of this virus. And also realize the, the crack of the medical system here. No PPEs, like even the front desk nurse at CityMD doesn't wear a mask.

00:52:21.750 - 00:52:38.120

And no, no medicine, no medical suggestion, the person at CityMD, the doctor said, "You know, I would recommend you to take some cold remedies and recover yourselves.

00:52:39.210 - 00:52:59.240

Even when if it gets really bad if you need to call ambulance then go to the hospital— don't go to hospitals ." So that's the instruction here. And I got so confused in March because it's very different from China. Like it feels much safer about all

00:52:59.240 - 00:53:14.540

the policies in China, but what else can we do? We live in this system, we just need to adapt to it. So that time I feel very anxious. But gradually I get adapted and also start to organize this PPEs donation.

00:53:15.710 - 00:53:34.020

I see this whole experience empower me. And now I feel you know, like every every day I get up, I have a purpose and I get very used to this isolation time and get to

00:53:34.020 - 00:53:53.270

like the daily routine to be with myself and ruminate more on the universe and humankind and nature. Yeah. And I felt like our pet through this pandemic has helped us a lot in

00:53:53.460 - 00:54:01.820

combating isolation. And it's very nice that you have Mr. Udon over there. Yeah. He's sleeping every day.

00:54:02.360 - 00:54:16.780

Needs to learn from him. Yeah. Great. Yeah. I'm spending more time with families and pets. Well, thank you so much.

00:54:17.250 - 00:54:17.860

Yeah. Thank you.