Homeschooling, a COVID-19 Time Capsule and Helping an Elderly Friend
During these times of uncertainty and anxiety because of the COVID-19 virus, neuroscientist Math Cuajungco, like many parents, is juggling home schooling his 7-year-old twins, Thea and Seth, while teaching and keeping his rare disease research afloat.
“My husband is also an academic, so we are taking turns with home schooling activities and work-related obligations,” he said.
His experimental research in the lab is currently on hold, but the dissemination of the research is ongoing. He’s managed to write and submit a manuscript and has another to write and submit in the coming weeks.
Time Capsule
To keep his children occupied at home, he also had them create a novel coronavirus time capsule, where they wrote a letter to themselves and shared how they and their parents feel about the pandemic.
“We thought that it would be a good activity for the kids to document their place in history,” he said.
Helping A Friend
Cuajungco and his family also have been helping their 82-year-old friend, Sandy, by doing her grocery shopping and visiting her at her home — keeping a safe distance while picnicking in her backyard.
“Sandy is in isolation because of her age, so we try to visit her every other day. She appreciates the time we have been spending with her, especially because she enjoys seeing the twins,” he shared.
Groceries, Sanitize, Social Media
Cuajungco, professor of biological science, suffers from asthma and leaves the grocery shopping and errands to his husband. “Following guidelines to sanitize and clean grocery and household items is hard work and stressful,” he said. “But with my lung condition, it is better to be extra safe than sorry.”
With family in Australia and friends in Germany and New Zealand, it’s at least comforting to connect with them via FaceTime and social media.
“While it’s not business as usual, we are coping so far on these lifestyle changes we had to abruptly adjust to, and we look forward to some normalcy in the coming months,” he said. “I also look forward to getting the vaccine or a drug that will be developed.”
