This piece is the first of several pieces where I interview Asian-American students about their quarantine experiences and concerns, starting with friends who have unique living situations and anecdotes they wish to share.
Yanqing and Peter had been dating for 8 months before he left Hoboken for his co-op at GE in Lynn, MA. Both of them had mentally prepared themselves to be in a long-distance relationship but could have never predicted what was to come. Now, both of them are sharing their experiences being away from home and what it’s like being “together” during COVID-19.
Audrey Dsouza: Please introduce yourself for those who don’t know you!
Peter Liu: Hi, I’m Peter Liu. I’m a 3rd [year] Mechanical Engineer at Stevens. I do co-op, and for the spring 2020 semester, I am working at GE Aviation in Lynn, MA. I’m the President of the Society of Asian Scientists & Engineers (SASE). I like to drink coffee and my hobbies are photography and video games.
Yanqing Liang: Hello! I’m Yanqing and I’m a 3/5 Civil Engineer from North Plainfield, NJ. On campus, I’m involved with orgs like the Society of Asian Scientists & Engineers (SASE), Castle Point Anime Convention (CPAC), and the Chinese Student Association (CSA)!
AD: Where are you living right now and how is it?
PL: I’ve been living in Melrose, MA since mid-January. It’s fairly enjoyable and is a well-rounded suburb, but of course, I’ve been staying mostly indoors. Because I’m indoors more, I’ve been doing more cooking, baking, and coffee brewing.
AD: How has life changed for you?
YL: It’s definitely been a change in lifestyle. With classes and meetings being online, I expected myself to feel more motivated to do work. Who knew wearing pajamas “to class” would make you feel less motivated… other than that, I feel like I’ve really gained a sense of independence in terms of really working to take care of myself and cook for myself while being away from family.
AD: How do you stay connected with family and/or friends?
YL: It feels weird being away from family and friends. I’ve gotten used to being away from home for long periods of time ever since I moved into an apartment, but I still do miss them. I call my family every week and I text my sisters often. We have a Discord server with just the three of us and we play games sometimes, so it’s nice. I know that they’re also taking classes online from home and that’s one reason why I’ve been hesitant to go home. As much as I love them, I don’t know if I can keep my sanity with them around for however long this will last. Eventually, I’d like to go home, but right now with the NY/NJ area being very bad, both my family and I are afraid to go anywhere.
PL: Being in quarantine has actually strengthened my friendships. During the start of the semester, I was still in loose contact with friends back at Stevens. Once everyone started self-isolation, they’ve been reaching out more, so we’ve had more opportunities to play games, make online GBMs, and just chat. My parents and grandparents are still living at home, and they’re putting in extra effort to stay indoors and avoid the virus. My siblings are also living in their respective houses and staying safe. We all call fairly often, and even last week we tried to play a board game online (which went as well as you could have hoped).
AD: What is it like being on co-op, and how has this impacted your experience?
PL: GE was pretty quick about its response to the coronavirus. I felt like there was good transparency from corporate and the people under them. Soon enough, our team decided to escalate action, and we started working from home. Currently, all the engineers in GE Aviation are split into a two-team system. The first team is forbidden from coming into the office for 2 weeks. Then in the next two weeks, the other team is forbidden from entering. Even when people are allowed to work in the office, I find that most try to avoid it, which I highly agree with.
AD: Your relatives own a supermarket, have you heard from them at all and how Asian-owned businesses are doing?
YL: Yes, a side of my family owns a chain of Asian supermarkets. I haven’t spoken with them directly regarding business and how it’s been affected because of the virus, but I can imagine that they’ve taken a hit. I was unable to find groceries (meats, in particular) at the local grocery store so I decided to go to the Asian supermarket, which was like a 10-minute drive away. There weren’t that many people there, but they were stocked up on pretty much everything. It was very surprising to see stores with a lot of people with low stock, and then to see a fully stocked up store with few customers. It’s also just a sad thing to see because, in the back of my head, I knew the reasoning is tied with racism and xenophobia.
AD: What are you concerned about because of the pandemic?
YL: In the weeks leading up to everything being shut down, I was really afraid to take public transportation to work. I don’t have class on Fridays, so I work part-time at an engineering company. The place is in Newark, so I would take the PATH to and from. I remember thinking to myself not to cough or clear my throat too loudly, and I would feel very nervous when people looked at me as I got on. While I was afraid for myself, I was even more afraid for my family. I have two younger sisters, and an aunt and uncle who didn’t speak the slightest bit of English. I was worried about them the most.
AD: What’s it like being in a long-distance relationship?
YL: Being in a long-distance relationship does have its challenges, but it’s also very rewarding when you get to see each other again. During times like this, I’m worried about him and his health, but at the same time, I know he’s smart enough to know what precautions he should be taking. We talk and text often and sometimes play video games or watch movies together. (We watched Parasite and Knives Out the other day! Highly recommended!)
PL: Personally, I don’t place that much importance in being physically next to someone (although it’s always preferred). I also trust that Yanqing is being safe. Other than the games and movies that were previously mentioned, we also have been cooking together a bit. About once a month, we plan out a meal that we would make together, and then video call, make and eat it.
AD: Is there anything else you want other students to know?
YL: With all that’s going on, now’s not the time to blame a specific race of people. It makes me really upset and frustrated when I hear about acts of racism against Asians because of the virus. Yes, the virus originated in Wuhan. There’s really nothing you can do about that anymore. No number of attacks against Asians can make the virus go away. But you know what can? Being united together as one community to self-isolate.
PL: I think the most important thing at this time is to take action very seriously. I believe that everyone should try to represent best practices at all times, including self-isolation, social distancing, and wearing facial coverings. Especially during the beginning of the outbreak, there was a lot of skepticism about how dangerous it is, how contagious it is, the death rate, etc. This is not that same time period. The action that we take right now can have a dramatic impact on our future.
Biggest thanks to Yanqing and Peter for being willing to be interviewed! If you also have a story or experience to share, please email me at adsouza@stevens.edu.
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