Talking Taiwan

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Gary Reloj is Co-founder of the PPE Relief Initiative, an entrepreneur in the tech startup and restaurant industry, a founding board member of The Promise Society, and a COVID-19 survivor. In late March, Gary shared a public Facebook post, that was a very well-documented account of COVID-19 symptoms he'd experienced, the toll it took on his body, and specific things that he did to cope with the physical discomfort, and anxiety that it brought on. He had come down with symptoms early on, even before New York City went on lockdown and when testing was still not widely available. It was clear that he had written his post as a way to help others who had also contracted COVID-19 or were worried about possibly contracting it. In the early days of the Coronavirus pandemic, every little cough, sniffle or bit of malaise sent a lot of us into a panic. Around that time, I also learned that Gary was spearheading an effort to get PPE (personal protective equipment) to health care workers. That effort became the PPE Relief Initiative (PRI) with a crowdfunding campaign on GoFundMe to raise $30,000 to give PPE kits to 400 healthcare workers. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: How Gary dealt with and recovered from having COVID-19 The Facebook post that Gary wrote and publicly shared detailing his COVID-19 symptoms and the regime he followed in dealing with his symptoms What motivated Gary to start looking for a way to deliver PPE to healthcare workers Gary's PPE Relief Initiative Co-founder Dr. Joanne Kwan How they determined what to include in the PPE Relief Initiative supply kit that they were going to give health care workers The challenges they encountered in obtaining high quality PPE The PRI team Why the PRI supply kits are delivered directly to health care workers rather than to hospitals The GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign for PRI to raise $30,000 to support 400 healthcare workers There is still room for around 200 for healthcare workers that live or work in the New Jersey/New York metropolitan area and are dealing with COVID-19 patients to apply for the PRI supply kits How they prioritize which healthcare workers will receive the PRI supply kits first The partnership with The Promise Society on the PRI's GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign PRI's support for Black Lives Matter protesters and tips for how protestors should protect themselves and be safe while protesting during this pandemic Being prepared for a possible second wave of COVID-19 cases What's next for PRI after the GoFundMe campaign How having COVID-19 has affected Gary's outlook on life Related Links: PPE Relief Initiative's GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign: http://pperelief.org/donate or https://bit.ly/2Y7JguX Eligible healthcare workers can apply for the PRI supply kits here: www.pperelief.org/apply PPE Relief Initiative's website: https://pperelief.org/ PRI's social media accounts: PRI on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ppe.relief/ PRI's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ppe.relief.initiative/ Cuomo's words really resonated with me and I used the phrase "New York Tough" to help get my mind right and out of the negative mental trench I was in. If you have Covid-19 or someone you know has it, and you're looking for someone to talk to about the experience, please don't hesitate to reach out. When I was at my worst, I was partly in a bad place mentally because I felt so helpless and clueless as to how long my symptoms were going to last. I seriously wish I had someone I could talk to at a human level that could relate to what I was experiencing so if I could do that for you, please let me know. That said, here is the full list of symptoms I experienced... -Fever (ranged between 100 and 102). My fever lasted for four days. -Chronic dry coughing. It came from deep within my chest and at times, would have bad coughing fits. One coughing session was so bad, my core stomach muscles cramped up and I started to gag because I just couldn't breathe…. That really sucked! -Difficulty breathing. This was the big one. Any form of simple physical activity would make it hard to breathe; you almost feel like you're drowning it's like an asthma attack. If I got out of bed to go to the bathroom, or if I would try to eat food, I would be gasping for air with short, shallow, quick breaths. It was extremely difficult to take deep breaths (still is to an extent). The only way I'd be able to breath normally would be to lay down in bed on my side. -Dehydration. This was especially bad when I was on my 2nd day of my fever and was coughing up a storm. -Chills. This also occurred on the 2nd and 3rd day of my fever. -Loss of appetite. Not only was I not hungry, but when I did eat, it was actually hard to breathe while eating, so that contributed to my loss of appetite. -Confusion. This again was on the 2nd day, early in the morning. I just woke up and I felt like I was still in dream mode, and I kept trying to tell my body move, but it felt like I was stuck and was confused to where I was. -Diarrhea. -Fatigue -Loss of smell. My taste was also a bit dulled, especially with sweets. -Body aches. This was actually my first symptom. It first started with body aches like sciatica. I then had back pains, lower and upper back. -Anxiety. There were moments where my mind was in a very bad place, especially when it was very hard to breathe. I started to get anxiety thinking about every breathe and as a result, it would disrupt my breathing cycle. When I would have major anxiety, I would try to calm myself by playing meditation music and do my best to have my mind escape reality for a minute to help regulate my breathing again. Eventually, as a way to combat future anxiety, I would create structure around me to keep me busy and help me cope. For example, I documented all my symptoms under a certain timeline, I documented my medication and tried to create a set schedule, and I made sure to reach out to friends for support. Here's the lineup of meds I took and how often: -Tylenol Extra Strength, 3000mg daily, or 2 pills 3x a day. This was probably the most important thing I was taking. -Mucinex DM, 1 tablet every 12 hours. This helped act as a cough suppressant. -Cepacol Extra Strength. Take as needed. This helped numb my throat. While I know my coughing originated more from my chest and not my throat, it gave me peace of mind to take Cepacol before I slept. -Pedialyte. Unfortunately I didn't have any, but my friend who also had Covid-19 was using it to help with dehydration and if I could do it all over again, I would have included it in my rotation. -Ton of water. I can't stress how important it is to have available water by your side. I would have a big pitcher of water by my bed at all times and when I could manage to get out of bed, I always made sure to re-fill my pitcher even if it's 70% full. Here's the timeline of everything (this was the diary I kept). 03/11: Suspected date of exposure 03/14: Noticed body aches, like sciatica. 03/15: Back aches, lower and upper back. Mild diarrhea. 03/16: Experience slight fatigue. Back pain and sciatica pain increases. Start to have mild cough. 03/18: Lose sense of smell. Fatigue increases big time. Cough starts to become more frequent. Start to feel warm under eyelids at night. Mild diarrhea continues. Appetite still normal. 03/19: Cough and fatigue becomes worse. Headaches occur. 03/20: Chronic coughing begins. Fever occurs 101 degrees. Loss of appetite begins. 03/21: Very bad coughing fits, difficulty breathing. Fever still at 101 degrees. Extremely fatigued. Experienced cold chills as well. Further loss of appetite. Difficulty sleeping. 03/22: Coughing is still terrible, at times difficult to breathe. Energy and appetite was okay in the morning, decreased as day progressed. Difficulty sleeping. Breathing is still bad. 03/23: Becoming more thirsty. Woke up and fever wasn't so bad. Early evening suffered worst coughing fit. Night fever is back, 101. Worst night of sleep. Breathing is still bad. 03/24: Lower back really hurts, but could be due to uncomfortable bed. Felt better for most of the day, around 3:30pm start to feel worse. Managed to get myself under control after taking Tylenol and shower around 3:40pm. Improved appetite and energy. No fever. Breathing ability hasn't improved. 03/25: Breathing is still effected. The simplest form of physical activity creates shallow breathing, elevated breathing rates. 03/26: Energy and appetite continues to improve. Coughing slightly improved; starting to produce some phlegm. Breathing is still the same. 3rd day of no fever. Spoke with Doctor, said plateau of symptoms is a good sign, as Covid-19 is progressive in nature. Still have diarrhea. 03/27: Feel exponentially better. Breathing is much improved, although still can't take deep breaths without coughing. Coughing overall is down. Again, no fever. Energy is up, able to sit up without trouble, was able to walk and spend time outside. 03/28: Diarrhea seems improved. Still coughing a little. Breathing still improved. Still no fever. Anyway, I hope this helps! AND STAY HOME!! Gary Reloj's social media accounts: Gary on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/garyreloj Gary on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/garyreloj/ Gary on Twitter: https://twitter.com/GaryReloj The Promise Society's website: http://www.thepromisesociety.org/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: As protests and civil unrest arise across the U.S., and tension has mounted, Talking Taiwan's host Felicia Lin was reminded of a time in which she found herself in the midst of intense protests in 2014, in Taipei, Taiwan, after the occupation of the Legislative Yuan in what has become known as the Sunflower Movement.

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: The exceptional way in which Taiwan has handled and contained the Coronavirus has thrust it into the international spotlight once again, but for a different reason. On April 11th, Taiwan's professional baseball league (CPBL) became the world's first professional sports league to open in 2020. And then it became the first to have spectators at their games on May 8th. When I realized that Taiwan had became the only place on the planet where professional baseball was being played, and I knew there was a story there. I learned that Richard Wang had become the English broadcaster for CPBL games, so I reached out to him hoping that he'd agree to an interview for Talking Taiwan. Richard kindly agreed to do the interview, and you'll see how just how kind, gracious and patient he was when our interview got off to a bit of a rocky start. Just watch the blooper video of our Zoom call, which shows that strange things happen when using a virtual background. Look for that video below in the related links section. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: What happened when Taiwan's baseball league (CPBL) realized that they were going to be the first sports league in the world to open in 2020 The Eleven Sports Network's role in bringing English commentary to Taiwan's baseball league Richard's baseball broadcasting partner Wayne McNeil What it was like having live baseball games with no spectators What it was like when fans were allowed to attend baseball games The comparison between baseball games played in the U.S. and Taiwan How Richard became a Red Sox fan How Richard got the nickname Boston How Richard got interested in baseball How Richard became a baseball announcer in Taiwan How aspects of Taiwanese culture and traditions are introduced during the broadcasting of games A viral video of a home run call from 2013, when Manny Ramirez hit another home run for the EDA Rhinos in Taiwan How baseball was introduced to Taiwan The history of baseball in Taiwan Taiwan's Little League and its participation in the Little League World Series How baseball has boosted Taiwan's international image Why Taiwan's baseball league is called the Chinese Professional Baseball League The Taiwan Major League (TML) Parallels between the Spanish Flu of 1918 and the Coronavirus in 2020 The precautions taken at the baseball stadiums in Taiwan Will there be a major league baseball season in the U.S. Where you can watch the CPBL games What baseball has to do with the New Taiwan Dollar 500 dollar bill Richard Wang and Wayne McNeil (Photo courtesy of Richard Wang) Richard Wang and Wayne McNeil (Photo courtesy of Richard Wang) Related Links: Blooper video of Richard Wang's interview with Felicia Lin: CPBL English Website: http://www.cpbl.com.tw/eng/history/ For CPBL stats and stories visit: http://cpblstats.com/ [Can you embed this link to a video clip on Twitter] Here's a video clip from a CPBL game that shows the robot drummers: https://twitter.com/ElevenSportsTW/status/1251201807981768709 Watch CPBL games by going to Twitter.com and searching for one of the following four teams: Rakuten Monkeys, Uni Lions, Chinatrust Brothers and Fubon Guardians Watch Rakuten Monkeys, Uni Lions on the Eleven Sports Taiwan Twitter account: https://twitter.com/ElevenSportsTW Richard Wang on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RWang_WBSC

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: A-Doc, the Asian American Documentary Network was established in 2016 by one of the Co-founders, Grace Lee (known for the award-winning The Grace Lee Project and other documentary films) and is a resource and network for nonfiction filmmakers at all different stages of their career. I spoke with Grace about the organization, and its "Stories of the Coronavirus" microdoc series, with microdocs being released throughout the month of May and beyond. Grace also told me about two of her most recent documentary film projects, the PBS five-part documentary "Asian Americans," which will air May 11 and May 12, and the "And She Could Be Next" docuseries for POV on PBS that will be released in June. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: How Grace got involved with the Auntie Sewing Squad A-Doc (Asian American Documentary Network) and its mission The A-Doc "Stories of the Coronavirus" microdoc series How Valerie's microdoc "Sewing in the Time of Coronavirus" became A-Doc's proof of concept for the "Stories of the Coronavirus" microdoc series The events, work and initiatives of A-Doc Resources that Grace recommends for documentary filmmakers to deal with the COVI-19 pandemic A-Doc's partnership with the Center for Asian American Media (in San Francisco) on a mentorship/fellowship program A-Doc's work on creating a database of documentary films made by Asian American filmmakers The networking opportunities for filmmakers facilitated by A-Doc What's in the future for A-Doc How has the landscape of Asian American documentary films and filmmakers changed since Grace started her career The PBS five-part documentary "Asian Americans," that Grace worked on "And She Could Be Next" series for POV (television's longest-running showcase for independent non-fiction films on PBS) that Grace has worked on Grace's advice for aspiring documentary filmmakers Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/grace-lee-documentary-filmmaker-on-a-doc/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: What a fun, spirited conversation I had with my guests Valerie Soe and Kristina Wong! We could certainly use more conversations like this in this post-COVID-19 world. We talked about the Auntie Sewing Squad, a sewing circle formed during the global Coronavirus pandemic, that has taken on making masks first for frontline medical and essential workers, and now for vulnerable marginalized communities, who have no financial means to purchase masks. My guests are Valerie Soe, an Asian American Studies Professor and Film maker, and Kristina Wong, a performance artist. comedian, writer and elected representative. Valerie has been on Talking Taiwan previously to talk about her documentary film Love Boat: Taiwan and she recently made a microdocumentary, "Sewing in the Time of Coronavirus," which incidentally, is how I learned about the Auntie Sewing Squad. Kristina, is the force behind the Auntie Sewing Squad. She recently streamed a live performance, "Kristina Wong Sweatshop Overlord" over Zoom and YouTube. It's her latest work born out of the current COVID-19 lockdown, about how she went from volunteer sewist to a "swearshop" overlord in ten days. Listen in and enjoy our conversation! Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: The mission/purpose of the Auntie Sewing Squad Why Kristina was initially reluctant to wear a mask herself when the pandemic first hit Los Angeles How the Auntie Sewing Squad grew from a dozen members to over 600 Writing Auntie Rebecca Solnit's piece for The Guardian which mentions the Auntie Sewing Squad "Aunties" located in states other than California What funds donated to the Auntie Sewing Squad (via Kristina) used for The unfortunate acronym that represents to the Auntie Sewing Squad What "Auntie Care" is Does Kristina plan on making the Auntie Sewing Squad into a non-profit organization The microdocumentary film that Valerie made for A-Doc (Asian American Documentary Network) How Kristina helped an LA hospital fix broken N95 masks that were given to them by the Federal government Stories about the amazing dedication of the sewing aunties How you can support the Auntie Sewing Squad even if you don't sew How much longer the Auntie Sewing Squad will continue sewing masks Kristina's connection to the "Love Boat program" Kristina and Valerie's advice for how to deal with lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic Related Links: The Auntie Sewing Squad on Instagram: www.Instagram.com/AuntieSewing The Auntie Sewing Squad Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2764362993676831/ Ways to donate to the Auntie Sewing Squad: Tax-deductible donation link thanks to Art2Action who has waived the fiscal sponsor fees: https://donorbox.org/auntie-sewing-squad Kristina Wong PayPal General Donations using (Friends & Family): k@kristinasherylwong.com Kristina Wong Venmo General Donations HERE: "GiveKristinaWongMoney" "Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord" (May 6, 2020 performance). This performance is a preview of Kristina's new work born out of the current lockdown and about how she went from volunteer sewist to overlord of a volunteer sewing factory in ten days: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmSWdH1BnjE Kristina Wong's website: http://kristinawong.com/ Kristina Wong's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ilovekristinawong/ Kristina Wong's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYVB9LCGQewhp4LxlachKPQ Valerie Soe's blog post about the Auntie Sewing Squad and microdocumentary "Sewing in the Time of Coronavirus": https://beyondasiaphilia.com/2020/05/07/fire-in-the-rain-sewing-in-the-time-of-coronavirus/ Valerie Soe's microdocumentary, "Sewing in the Time of Coronavirus": https://youtu.be/1H7jrmD3JC4 Writing Auntie Rebecca Solnit's article for The Guardian, "The way we get through this is together: the rise of mutual aid under coronavirus," which features a mention of the Auntie Sewing Squad: https://bit.ly/2LDuK8d Valerie's previous Talking Taiwan interview about her documentary film, Love Boat Taiwan: https://www.talkingtaiwan.com/love-boat-taiwan-interview-asian-american-studies-professor-film-maker-valerie-soe-ep-66/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Since I've stepped into the role of Producer of this podcast, in addition to being the host, we've been working on consistently delivering quality content, and on releasing previously unreleased episodes. In doing so, it's allowed me to revisit some of our previous guests like Peter Lin who is a jazz musician and trombone player who I interviewed in 2018. Recently I caught up with Peter, two years after our first interview. Artists and musicians have been amongst the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and I wanted to know how Peter was dealing with it. I learned that Peter released a second album in 2019 and has started a new company, Yardbird Entertainment. He had lots of great advice and tips for musicians who are trying to get through these tough times. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: The difference between performing live vs. doing remote, online performances How the Internet can offer new opportunities for musicians to reach the larger global community How some musicians have earned money by performing on a live stream with a link to Venmo or PayPal to donate What relief funds and government assistance there is for musicians The different ways that musicians have been trying to earn money The Facebook group, the COVID-19 musicians support group- a resource to apply for unemployment, and find out about grants Resources where musicians can apply for relief The importance of staying at home and protecting those who are most vulnerable and realizing who has been hardest hit What Peter has been working on since the last time he was on Talking Taiwan on 2018 The release of Peter's second album New Age Old Ways in 2019 and the comic book that accompanies it Peter's YouTube series Jazz Biz 101 by Yardbird Entertainment Peter's remote video production company, Yardbird Entertainment Creating mobile live stream How clubs can widen their reach by broadcasting on the Internet How people can support artists and musicians in this time of the COVID-19 pandemic Related Links: The Lintet's website and social media Peter Lin's Website : www.lintet.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/thelintet Instagram: www.instagram.com/the_lintet YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR9oIrd0KQlvLqov1ivTkSA Yardbird Entertainment's website and social media Yardbird Entertainment Website : www.yardbirdent.com Y.E.'s Facebook: www.facebook.com/yardbirdentertainment Y.E.'s Instagram: www.instagram.com/yardbirdentertainment Y.E.'s YouTube (Jazz Biz 101 + Y.E. Remote Music Video Productions): www.youtube.com/c/yardbirdentertainment Jazz Exchange Relief Fund: https://www.gofundme.com/f/dz5cng-the-jazz-exchange-relief-fund Louis Armstrong Foundation Musicians Emergency Fund: https://louisarmstrongfoundation.org/emergency-fund-for-jazz-musicians-form/ Peter Lin's Digital Album + Comic Book "New Age Old Ways" + First Album "With Respect": https://peterlin.bandcamp.com/ Places to stream Peter Lin's Music: Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/artist/2zQlHyPGf6ydi4CBrLXP4r Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/peter-lin/1402841452 Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Respect-Peter-Lin/dp/B07F1TPSQC Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/music/album/Peter_Lin_New_Age_Old_Ways?id=Bhdnqosid74unyfczxi5grktxoq&PCamRefID=LFV_857c0eb8a48e4637a911c4fb39769d32 SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/thelintet Kelly Lin's Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SketchBites Peter Lin's Remote Rendition of Taiwanese Classic "Wife": https://youtu.be/Brja_6rq1T4 https://www.facebook.com/peterlinmusic/videos/10157450798753335/ NYC's Covid-19 Musician Resource Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nycmusicianscovid19/ Chris Do's "The Futur" YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/TheSkoolRocks Pat Flynn's website Smart Passive Income: https://www.smartpassiveincome.com/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Peter Lin, is a trombone player, leader of the jazz band, The Lintet, and music teacher. He is a man who wears a lot of different hats! In March of 2018, Peter spoke with me about his career as a professional musician, the difference between being a bandleader versus a sideman, and how he met jazz legend Slide Hampton. We also talked about the Lintet's first upcoming album, and the connection between Jeremy Lin, Linsanity, and The Lintet- all of which incidentally are not related to me. Peter shared why he describes jazz as democratic, and a barometer of the United States' social climate. In his first album, The Lintet introduces Taiwanese music to jazz listeners and jazz music to the Taiwanese. Two years later, we've invited Peter back on to Talking Taiwan to let us know what he's been up to, how he's been dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, and to share some advice for how musicians can get through these tough times. Our follow up interview is coming up on the next episode of Talking Taiwan. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: How Peter got started playing the trombone How he decided to become a professional musician Where the band's name The Lintet came from What Peter does as a bandleader How jazz has historically reflected the social climate and race relations in the U.S. How The Lintet incorporates Taiwanese and Chinese songs done in jazz style at his performances and on their first album The twofold purpose The Lintet's album to introduce Taiwanese to jazz music and to introduce jazz listeners to Taiwanese and Chinese music Peter's observation that more Taiwanese people are becoming interested in jazz Here's the sound clip from one of the Lintet's 2018 Lunar New Year performances. It's a rendition of a classic Teresa Teng song: Related Links: Peter Lin's Facebook profile: https://www.facebook.com/peterlinmusic The Lintet's first album, With Respect: https://peterlin.bandcamp.com/album/with-respect The Lintet's website: www.lintet.com

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Scott Simon, Professor in the School of Sociological and Anthropological Studies and Co-holder of the Research Chair in Taiwan Studies at the University of Ottawa spoke with us about an article he wrote for the Macdonald-Laurier Institute which served to sound a warning to the global community about China's lack of transparency. In the case of the COVID-19 pandemic, several media sources have reported that Chinese authorities alerted the WHO on December 31, 2019, about several cases of pneumonia of unknown cause. China then announced its first death from the Coronavirus on January 11, 2020. In our conversation, Scott also offered an anthropological perspective on the Coronavirus pandemic by discussing the term anthropocene, which is defined as the period of time during which human activities have had an environmental impact on the Earth regarded as constituting a distinct geological age. He also offered thoughts on what should be taken into consideration as the world begins to look at when to end lockdowns. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: The March 16thincident in which China flew one of their military jets very close to Taiwan's airspace at night Chinese aggressive behavior since the COVID-19 outbreak towards Taiwan's outer islands, Taiwan's main island, Japan and Guam Chinese military's operations during the global COVID-19 pandemic How do we really know about what's going on in China and the PLA Does China have its COVID-19 outbreak currently under control China's lack of transparency How China has tried to rewrite history and dispute that COVID-19 originated from China How China has blocked Taiwan's WHO membership How Taiwan and the WHO have differed in their early responses to COVID-19 The Free and Open Indo-Pacific foreign policy spearheaded by Japan Coronavirus cases on the USS Theodore Roosevelt Scott's perspective as an anthropologist on the COVID-19 pandemic and what considerations should be made as lockdowns are lifted How the Western world failed to see the possible impact of the Coronavirus Related Links: Professor Scott Simon's author page on The Center for International Policy Studies of the University of Ottawa website: https://www.cips-cepi.ca/author/scott-simon/ We Must Be on Guard as China Seeks Strategic Advantage: Scott Simon for Inside Policy: https://www.macdonaldlaurier.ca/china-seeks-strategic-advantage-covid-19/?fbclid=IwAR0eRpwScoHNeHSIbMp-r3YjRK9cQpBT_C5LXuI4YJMh4Isw8bZGfg_t9W8 Macdonald-Laurier Institute (Canada's only truly national public policy think tank based in Ottawa): https://www.macdonaldlaurier.ca/ The Free and Open Indo-Pacific foreign policy: https://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/page25e_000278.html The Pandemic Is Turning the Natural World Upside Down: https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2020/04/coronavirus-pandemic-earth-pollution-noise/609316/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: I invited Emily Chen on to Talking Taiwan as a guest to talk about how she manages to homeschool during the coronavirus when having her kids home full-time during this pandemic. The idea for this episode came from a Google doc that was created and shared by Emily on Facebook. The link to it is listed below in the related links section of this post. You'll see that it has over 100 weblinks to resources for parents and kids to try out during the Coronavirus pandemic. What a treasure trove of information it is! **SPOILER ALERT** Be sure to listen to the end of my interview with Emily for a special offering that she has for parents and kids to get through the quarantine of the COVID-19 pandemic. With so many parents and families struggling with managing their kids at home due to the COVID-19 outbreak, I realized that many people could benefit from this amazing list of resources that Emily has compiled. I also knew that because Emily has been homeschooling her kids, she could definitely provide some perspective with parents suddenly faced with this unfamiliar situation. Our conversation touched upon what homeschooling is and the different approaches that people take to homeschooling. Imagine a teaching approach completely centered on a particular child's interests and a more holistic approach to teaching. In essence every moment of teaching could be turned into a well-rounded lesson by looking at a particular subject matter from different angles by discussing the math, geography, history, or writing etc. involved. It is a creative approach to teaching what a child is already interested and it makes what the child has learned seem much more meaningful and tangible. This conversation gave me a fuller understanding of how homeschooling works and how Emily is applying it to her kids. In full disclosure, Emily is not only my Facebook friend, but also my cousin. Strange that we never got into such an in-depth conversation about this before. Emily also shared her thoughts on how to manage working at home while having kids at home and how to parents your kids when you are at home full-time with your kids. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: How long Emily has been homeschooling her kids Why Emily decided to homeschool her kids What is homeschooling, and what approaches to people take to homeschooling their kids What is unschooling and different unschooling approaches Homeschooling vs. public schooling How she and her kids are dealing with social distancing and how that has impacted their homeschooling The challenges for parents having to be home full-time with their kids due to lockdown recommendations What's on the Google doc list of resources that Emily put together for parents with kids at home How parents can deal with having kids of different ages and personalities at home at the same time How to manage working at home with having kids at home Talking to your kids about the Coronavirus How to parent your kids when you are at home full-time with your kids Related Links: The Google doc that Emily has compiled with resources for homeschoolers and parents looking for things to do with their kids at home: https://bit.ly/2VuOOOR Emily's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/mchendraws/ Other resources for parents dealing with talking to kids about COVID-19: Coronavirus: Keeping Our Children And Ourselves Safe, With Pamela Cantor, M.D. (180 Podcast): https://www.turnaroundusa.org/the-180-podcast-coronavirus/ Turnaround For Children, an organization created by Dr. Pamela Cantor in the wake of 9/11, after co-authoring a study on the impact of the 9/11 attacks on NYC schoolchildren: https://www.turnaroundusa.org/ The Daily podcast episode, in which Carl Zimmer, science reporter and author of the "Matter" column for The New York Times answers kids questions about COVID-19: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-kids-guide-to-coronavirus/id1200361736?i=1000469699785 TED Talk 10 Tips for Cultivating Creativity in Your Kids: http://ideas.ted.com/10-tips-for-cultivating-creativity-in-your-kids/

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin: Since Taiwan has received a great deal of recognition globally for its successful containment of COVID-19, I've been looking to interview a medical professional about Taiwan's response and handling of the Coronavirus. Special thanks to Dr. Han Mingrong (韓明榮) for his help in connecting me with Dr. Brian Chang who is located in Taipei, Taiwan. I spoke with Dr. Chang about the early steps that Taiwan took to contain the Coronavirus outbreak, and how having dealt with SARS in 2003, the government and the general public in particular was prepared to deal with COVID-19. Note to listeners: my interview with Dr. Chang was pre-recorded. I spoke to him on April 2nd, 2020, which was around the time of the ching ming jie or tomb sweeping weekend in Taiwan. I really appreciate the fact that Dr. Chang took the time out of his busy schedule to speak with me. Right after we spoke, he had planned to travel down to southern Taiwan to observe the tomb sweeping weekend. Dr. Chang is the acting Secretary General of the Taiwan Medical Association and the Honorary Secretary of the World Organization of Family Doctors of the Asia Pacific Region. He is a specialist in family medicine and community medicine. Dr. Chang has been a Director in a public health center for 11 years. Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this episode: How Taiwan is currently dealing with the Coronavirus How Taiwan's experience with SARS prepared it and its people to deal with COVID-19 What were the earliest steps that Taiwan took to contain the spread of COVID-19 How the government of Taiwan clearly communicated and educated its public about that precautions they needed to take regarding COVID-19 How the public in Taiwan initially reacted when the Coronavirus hit How Taiwan's government instilled confidence in the people of Taiwan How Taiwan's government handled the spread of false news and rumors Dr. Chang's recommendations of when to wear masks How the government created educational videos (public service announcements) to inform the public The biggest challenges for Taiwan currently in containing the spread of COVID-19 Fines enacted by the government of Taiwan for the violation of self-isolation rules What the U.S. can learn from Taiwan's handling of COVID-19 What kind of aid Taiwan is currently offering to help other nations dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic What is our best hope to develop a vaccine or to find a cure? What medical advice Dr. Chang has for people who are currently under lockdown and trying to stay healthy Related Links: Dr. Brian Chang's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/brianclinic/ An article on how Taiwan has been so successful in managing the Coronavirus written by Brian Bih-Jeng Chang and Tai-Yuan Chiu, Ready for a long fight against the COVID-19 outbreak: an innovative model of tiered primary health care in Taiwan: https://bjgpopen.org/content/early/2020/04/07/bjgpopen20X101068 Taiwan's CDC website (in Chinese characters): https://www.cdc.gov.tw An example educational video (aka public service announcements) that the government created to inform the public about COVID-19: https://youtu.be/gHc9WcEKWX4