Catching Up with Life During the Pandemic

Kularts pamilya shares ways of coping and living in a global pandemic.

Lydia Querian, Kularts Board Member

SIP came in a very interesting timing. I was about to get back to my hustle when Gavin announced SIP for California. I did not complain. It was a rare opportunity to be able to spend more time with my newborn and watch her grow. It's been great watching her personality slowly coming out. She knows what she wants and her "coo-ing" tells me that she's excited to talk and rally into the world with so much adventure. Despite the limitation on being able to meet the community that has supported us all throughout the journey, her laughter heals our hearts. 

And because we need masks when we're out, I was able to sew some masks from leftover inaul textiles that I had from previous projects while still being able to spend time with Luna. Inaul face mask made by yours truly. :)

Ron and I have been going to farmer's market as our little date/alone time from parenting. We found this vendor who sells some of our favorites. He would typically have ampalaya leaves, kamote leaves and that one weekend he had bulaklak ng kalabasa. This was a favorite in our Ilocano household. I made it into diningding/inabraw with smoked salmon. Good for breastfeeding with the sabaw! 

Hana Lee, Project Manager

This week, I came to realize that I am not as adventurous as I once was. As a young girl, watching films like The Goonies and Peter Pan, I craved this world of imagination and adventure, finding new ways to get into trouble everyday. Since I've been living in my neighborhood I would pass by a gated off private road plastered with warning signs. I was curious, but never enough to explore it. How disappointing I thought, I wouldn't have thought twice as a kid. I eventually channeled my inner child and decided to walk up there, only after I saw someone coming down the road. At last I get to the top of the hill and there sits a water tower. It wasn't much, but how exciting would this have been when I was a kid. I would have scaled that tower and finally got to see what it looked like from the top. But, I had to remind myself that I was now considered an adult and should turn back. As I turned, I caught a glimpse of the view from the top of the hill and I paused. As trite as it sounds, I had one of those moments of clarity and peace. I didn't get to have the adventure that I hoped for, but I got reminded of the appreciation I possessed for our Earth. 

Frances Sedayao, Dance Artist

To keep me sane and hopeful these days, I take regular hikes at a nearby wildlife refuge. Bird mating season has rendered the space with an orchestra and choir of voices and sounds. It's so wonderful that I find myself smiling and jumping more so than usual.

My 17 yr old dog, Mr. EL,  has been a companion all along and this 'shelter in place' illuminates him as the one who's never failed me and is the one who makes me feel needed, loved and adored... that to me is everything right now.

Joshua Icban, Composer

One activity I've been engaged in during shelter in place has been growing plants. Pictured here are some tomatoes, onions, bell peppers and lemongrass on the way in my backyard. This crucial time in human history has definitely been challenging for my mental health. Reading about the heightened suffering of those worldwide already impoverished and exploited by pre-pandemic societal systems coupled with our country's continuing politicized and inefficient response to this pandemic has really troubled me. To plant something, nurture it, watch it grow, and provide eventual reciprocal life to me and my family has provided me some much needed solace.

Also pictured is a pot of ginataang mais (sweet rice, coconut milk, corn and sugar) cooked by myself, with guidance from my mother, whom I am sheltered with. This childhood favorite desert reminds me of a simpler period of life. My mother and I have been caretakers for my terminally ill father for the past 10 years, and as he is currently in a care home that has discouraged visitors, it has been a challenge to not see him in person these past 2+ months.  My mother and I being able to spend some quality time together remembering times past, speaking of times ahead and revisiting recipes has been a silver lining admist all the uncertainty.