Katia | Pandemic Observations from Oahu
I’ve noticed around me--my friends and peers--it's been difficult, the isolation part [...] trying to be safe but trying to be with others, it is a difficult balance for many people.
Katia and I lived together in the Nurse’s Quarters in Kalaupapa, sharing meals, laughs, star gazing nights, and beach swims. A few months into my time there, Katia moved home to Kailua (on Oahu) and began her position as Opioid Coordinator for the Hawaii Department of Health—because she is amazing. She is the BEST host, welcoming me and a friend to her family Thanksgiving last year and even rescuing me short notice from my 12 hour Oahu layover on my way back to the mainland from Kalaupapa—feeding me and taking me to Kailua Beach for one last magical swim in the Pacific Ocean. A friend for life, I was super excited to record her pandemic story. Take a listen:
“I actually kind of like it—not the whole pandemic part—but the ability to take the time to be alone. It has been really rewarding. It has also been a really big time for growth. ”
“Also, learn how to divulge in self care—which has been really fun. I think it’s been a rewarding time for me—despite the stressors [...] in that I get to focus on myself and my family. I like to do spa nights, often. The best thing that I’ve done is start a garden: I am very blessed to have space for a garden. So we have cucumbers, bok choy, cabbage, manoa lettuce, a wing bean plant, okra [...] it’s like going off. So all these little tiny things, but it’s taught me to be really present and to enjoy the little things.
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“I run the State’s plan for opioid use disorder and manage the federal grants [...] I usually travel from here to the other side of the island—pre-Covid. Now I telework. Which has been absolutely amazing for me [...] Meetings have increased a lot because COVID has brought up a few issues with our populations and substance use and mental health [...] because of COVID and isolation [...] It’s been an opportunity to work with a lot of people I haven’t been able to work with before, because we can do it over zoom now. But the amount of meetings that I have everyday is kind of nutso. But it’s been a really good experience to see what’s going on and how we can prevent something like this in the future, help our populations, and keep everybody safe. ”
“Since right now we are able to go out, I go to the beach alot. So on the weekends I try not to work as much. ”
“I live in a very big tourist area as well, so you can tell. There’s more people [since the state opened up again in October], the beaches are heavily crowded—so social distancing and wearing masks on the beach is very rare. Before the tourists were allowed to come, walking on the beach in the early morning there would be very few people [...] Not as crazy as when we are fully fledged open, but its been a little more busy—so it’s kind of very hard to social distance and you have to be very careful [...] when the beaches are crowded and there’s a lot of people it’s a little scary.
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“One of the things I’ve noticed is—in Hawai`i—when someone passes it is a very big thing to celebrate their life. And that has all been put on hold. Funerals are a very big event in Hawai`i [...] It’s been very difficult, when before you were able to go and be with family and be able to be comforted—I think for cultures like Native Hawaiian and Pacific island cultures. It’s very difficult to not be able to mourn together and be supported as a family.
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“For my family, every Sunday we would get together and have dinner. And that hasn’t happened. It is a big blow—I have a very big family, a very close family. ”
“I miss being able to have that personal interaction with people, even if it’s just meeting a client for coffee and asking how their day is. ”
Kailua Beach, by Emily. The day Katia rescued me from the airport (September 13, 2020)
“I always welcome the struggle, because that’s when I am growing the most [...] ultimately I am safe and I am in a good situation, and not a lot of people are. ”
For more on Katia, her work with Monet, and some truly beautiful Oahu photographs, follow her on Instagram @katia_pohai
Photos submitted by Katia
