Alberta To Oregon: the last blog post of Fulbright

As is likely known by now, I have left Alberta due to the COVID-19 and its associated border restrictions. It was a stressful decision, requiring over ten days (Mar. 13th through Mar 24th, when I actually left) of hard energy. The following photos demonstrate to me how Spring has still come here in Oregon.

One fascinating note is how 0-3 degrees Celsius became the low temperature when it was in fact the high temperature on warmer days in Alberta.

But still the weather has not truly become spring, as we can see from the partial bloom of the below cherry blossom trees.

On March 19, the cases in Alberta climbed to 146, and by the 22nd the cases were around 246. On the 20th, I finally made my decision, with support from family, to return to Oregon. The flight was booked on Friday the 20th for Tuesday the 24th. Currently, there are over 400 cases, indicating the expected increase in spread. In the end, I had no practical choice to stay in Alberta, unless I were to spend months there alone, and without any formal structure.


Source: https://twitter.com/CBCCalgary/status/1241033130502434818

Source: https://twitter.com/ByMatthewBlack/status/1241123912324222976

Source: https://twitter.com/CBCCalgary/status/1241851286317924352

ALL of this change just within two weeks. On Friday the 13th, I received an email from the Fulbright advisor, checking in about the COVID-19 situation. As it turns out, Oregon started facing shutdowns sooner than Alberta, and that was the first major sign that I would likely have to leave. I called up the advisor and the reality began sinking in.

After that conversation, I was quite rattled. It was possible that all of my work would be wasted. But I still performed my cell passaging, which had become a standard task....Something was still wrong. Somehow, drops of cell medium splashed onto the top of one of the flasks, which is a rarity. Note that at this point, I had become rather proficient, so this obvious of a deviation stood out. Just on March 10th and 11th, I had successfully completed another Western blot. Though my passaging was still adequate, I felt disheartened and went home a couple hours early.


This prompted me to reach out to the professor and the postdoc -- to ask for their potential help with moving out. (My parents could not come to help me with this process, putting me in this position for the first time.) Thankfully, they clearly signaled support.

On Monday the 16th, I returned to seed my cells, with the understanding that the lab was likely to close in the next few days. Knowing the risks at hand, I took extra care, taking a full 2 hrs, to seed as well as possible, ensuring that cells were absolutely spread. I meticulously mixed the cells in the wells to make sure they were spread. But on Tuesday I was told to not come to the lab anymore, with the operations reducing to the core of the prof, postdoc, and two PhD students.

On Wednesday, I learned that 1) my cell seeding was done exceptionally well and 2) the cells still had to be thrown. This Wednesday was also supposed to be the day of my lab talk with results -- though I still have these results, the circumstances did not pan out for me to give my long-awaited talk. For me, this small accomplishment of doing cell seeding well became my last in-person triumph here in Alberta. It meant that I could indeed proficiently work with cells, which opened up even more opportunities for my future.

 As it turns out, we were directed to conclude all in-person research tasks, unless deemed essential, by Friday the 20th. So that day, my supervisor threw out my cells.


Though I started packing on the 13th, it was quite the ordeal. Besides the many calls from family, I also had to continue living in my apartment while emptying it. To give you an idea, on the 22nd I lay in a sleeping bag on the floor of my bathroom for a few minutes pondering my life. Staying in place and just letting the magnitude of everything wash over me. It had been that kind of week, with everything being thrown off by the coronavirus. I did not want to leave, but I had to leave.

Instead of a simple matter of packing 2-3 suitcases, I realized that perhaps all 4 suitcases with me had to be packed. One of the suitcases would not even shut, meaning that there were too many items to go back with me over air travel. Feeling overwhelmed, I called my parents and said that I did not want to go home if it involved this much work just in packing. To begin with, my heart was not set on leaving. So I absolutely needed help to get myself and my things to the airport.

Thankfully, after calling my family, we arranged for 1 suitcase, with some items, to be stored with a family friend -- who also helped distribute and donate frozen food. Donations were actually a giant part of my effort during this time, to the point that i had to leave a pile in my room on the day I moved out. Towels, some clothes, various kitchen utensils like a strainer and my pans, dish soap, and many other things were donated. I even donated some non-perishable food and items like bed sheets. This donation process was far more ongoing than I ever anticipated. Somehow, with the combination of the family friend's help and the donations, I was able to pack the 3 suitcases and my rollon.

On Monday  the 23rd, my professor and the postdoc picked up my 3 suitcases going to the airport as well as my sleeping bag, kettle, and a pillow. Because of their great offer of help, I gave a gift of almonds, almond roca, and edamame. They seemed rather happy to receive it! On Tuesday the 24th, I took the public transit of the city one last time, arriving at the airport. There, I met the prof and the postdoc with my items and we were expecting a simple time. However, we were directed to take the suitcases to a baggage drop. There we spent 20 minutes waiting for the machine to work. Unsurprisingly, the airport was rather empty, but the machine faced technical difficulties that they struggled with.

In the mean time, I brought up the possibility of returning to Alberta, which both of them seemed amenable to. That means: this may not be the last blog post after all. We also discussed other things that can be continued, like lab meetings and my work on literature reviews.

After this, with my suitcases on their way to the plane, I said "Kaerimasu!", which means "going home" in Japanese. The prof and the postdoc both smiled and we went our separate ways. Honestly, the rest of the 24th was me sanitizing my hands, wincing when they stung, and continuing on until I got home. The only notable event was that I ate Khan Kebabs food (which I got as take out on Monday) one last time and that I called several friends I'd made in Edmonton.

My time from Mar 5th through March 24th was perhaps my most interesting time here but also the most difficult.

Many things were cancelled:
- The Toastmasters 3/18 meeting AND the intended social event after were both cancelled due to Covid-19; this social event had been discussed  for weeks, making this loss more bitter.
-The Japanese Conversational Club was cancelled from March 13th onwards along with the Japanese cultural festival scheduled for March 28th; without the club, I am *still* trying to find the time to focus on Japanese
- The Feminists of Alberta's work on an event and a zine were both stalled, and we have not met since March 5th
- The equity, diversity, and inclusion meeting (Mar 24th) which would have allowed me to get involved with accessibility at the institutional level; funnily enough, the meeting was both cancelled AND my flight took its spot instead.
- Meeting with the head of Voices of Albertans with Disabilities again
- My April meeting with the Accessibility Advisory Committee
- Any ongoing meetings with the Mayor's Office or the Office of Advocacy for Persons With Disabilities or Federal politicians in Canada
- Most sad cancellation of all was my May 10th-16th planned trip to Halifax, where I would present for my professor's colleague, eat great seafood, and work with city and provincial officials on accessibility; beyond that, I was hoping to stay with an aunt and see a couple family friends.

However, some things still happened:
-Through Friday the 20th, I still was able to go to the Starbucks near my lab, helping me keep sanity
- The gym in my building was still open, even through the 23rd
- Just on the 23rd I also attended a Toastmasters meeting (held by my hometown group) via Zoom
- I participated in both the speech contest and the table topics contest on 3/11 for the Alberta group; surprisingly, I reached third place. For my speech, I spoke about the concepts of mentorship through the lens of my parents and my lab mates, especially my supervisor. It was a fitting note for my last speech in Alberta.
- On the 14th, I did board games with friends, which we had planned before COVID-19 had shown up; but by the 13th, the situation looked stuff, so I am really grateful we did it anyways. Of course, like my family insisted, I washed my hands when we entered the place, when we started our first game, before our second game, and after we left. Then we ate at IT Dog, which I termed a very Edmonton place -- because it is hot dogs done Korean-style and very local. This was a great highlight of my last two weeks in Alberta.

As you may observe, many of the things that were cancelled for me still are possible in some form. Perhaps I can do many more meetings virtually, including both Toastmasters groups and meetings with accessibility officials. A silver lining of this situation is that, even though my Fulbright is now over, I can connect the two places even during a pandemic. Because of this pandemic, I have a better chance. (Of course, I want this situation resolved as soon as possible regardless!) A lot of my work can continue, and that fills me with promise, even if we are all scared as well.

Thank you for reading all of these posts!