Kung Flu Fighting: Pandemic Life and Schooling Amid the Specter of Yellow Peril

The year 2020 began on such a high note. Fall 2019 my partner and newborn were hospitalized due to some serious pregnancy and postpartum complications. While my spouse was discharged after a month, though still on bedrest recovering for several weeks longer, our baby was finally able to come home right in time for the holidays after a long two months in the NICU. Despite the sheer exhaustion from lack of sleep due to the infant’s feeding schedule, we were just thankful our family felt whole again while we celebrated the new year.

Little did I know what the coming months had in store for us all. However, by late January there already were glimpses of the challenges ahead. My mother was planning her annual Hong Kong trip to celebrate Lunar New Year with her siblings and our extended family. My mom was excited to return for the most important Chinese holiday of the year, but reports of a new virus spreading in China were rising. While relatively little was mentioned in the U.S. news beyond what seemed like sensationalized stories “over there,” the accounts from Hong Kong were concerning enough that my mother decided to postpone the trip that meant so much to her.