Suddenly, the school district made an announcement in the afternoon on March 14, and it said
that all schools in Davis will be closed starting on March 16th. Next, Yolo County, which Davis
belongs to, also announced an order on March 18 asking all the residents to shelter-in-place.
This order was issued to be effective from March 19 to April 7. However, it was extended to May 1,
then May 31, maybe more according to the situation of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). This order
limits the businesses and activities that we can do unless they meet essential needs. The order
is intended to slow down the spread of COVID-19, flatten the curve of people who are infected by
the virus, and make sure the local hospitals are capable of taking care of the patients.
Since that, our lives have changed a lot, everything becomes slower. There is no more traffic
in the downtown or on the highway. Most of the businesses are closed, and fewer people walk on
the streets of downtown Davis. No more dine-in restaurants, people have to take-out the meals.
The schools and parks are supposed to welcome the children to come in, but now, no kids are in
the schools and parks. All the school campuses are empty; the play structures in the parks are
lonely and are surrounded by the yellow strips to keep the children away. Where are the children?
They are facing any kind of screen and doing distance learning at home. If they want to meet a
friend, they can set a time to meet via certain apps through their smart phones or tablets.
The same thing happens to adults. Some of the adults cannot keep their jobs because their businesses
cannot be run. Some adults are lucky if they can work from home to make a living. For some people
who have to work on site, they are risking their lives to serve the people. It was normal to meet
a friend with a hug or shake hands; now, those behaviors seem to be risky because we never know
who has the virus. People stay 6 ft away from each other to keep the social distance and put on
face masks and gloves to shop in a grocery store now. Those are the ways to decrease the possibility
of getting the virus by air or touching. Are they working? Yes, they are actually working but just
slower than the speed that the virus spreads.
Just like most people, I have plenty of time to stay at home during these days. Cooking
has become an important part of life. And since I have extra time, I try to make some Taiwanese
dishes that are easily to buy in Taiwan but not usually found here. Thanks to those youtubers
who are willing to share their recipes on the internet, it is never difficult to know how to
make those dishes. I have tried so many for the first time. I also tried to bake simple cakes
and swiss rolls and even made my own ice cream. I enjoy the fun of cooking, especially when my
children finish the dish and tell me they like it. My children, though I would like them to learn
something about school subjects, are not getting much online from school. They seem to have more
skills on using some computer software. My daughter spends more time doing her favorite hobby,
drawing. Maybe they are still growing in some other ways.
During these days, Lucia, my instructor of Yolo Reads program, doesn’t postpone our
meeting. She still works on my English learning. Instead of going to the library to meet each
other in person, she uses an app called “Zoom” to read some articles with me on the screen every
week. We talk about what we do during the week, and she always kindly offers to help me if I need
anything. One day, Lucia showed me how to make her family’s cheese pie via the screen! There are 3
layers in this pie: the crust, the filling, and the topping. The crust is made by the graham crackers
and butter; the filling is the mix of cream cheese and eggs; and the topping has the flavor of sour
cream and vanilla. Lucia showed me how to make this pie from the beginning to the end, while my daughter
and I were watching from another side of the screen. Next week after that, my daughter was able to make
this pie with me. That was fun. Lucia and I also made it work to meet our friends who used to live in
Davis. Now, one of them lives in Bay Area, and another one lives in Korea. We haven’t met each other in
2 years. We arranged a time that works for everyone, and we had a girls’ chat! That was amazing, too. It
is very helpful to have Yolo Reads program with me during these quarantine time.
I think that everyone can do their part to help decrease spreading the virus. What we can do
is wash our hands more frequently, keep good hygiene, and wear masks when you go outside. Also, we can
avoid participating in large gathering events and do outdoor exercises instead of in a gym to keep our
bodies healthy. I understand that it will take a long time to get back to life like before, but it is
really worthwhile that everybody make efforts to win back our normal lives. Let’s dig into something
fun during the quarantine period!
Submitted by Shinyi Liu, Yolo County – Davis.