Hawaiʻi Life in the Time of COVID-19

Laʻikū Morales


Laʻikū Morales, interviewed with his mother, Kealoha Fox, was a second grader at the time of the interview. He did a lot of art during the lockdown and shared his art during the interview. He reflects on his favorite art pieces and the transition to online learning. He talks about family, friends, and his activities during the pandemic.

Laʻikū Morales - Health Care Workers
Laʻikū Morales – Health Care Workers
Laʻikū Morales - Space Launch
Laʻikū Morales – Space Launch

Interview Details

  • Narrator: Laʻikū Morales (LM) & Kealoha Fox (KF)
  • Interviewer: Jasmyne Lewis (JL)
  • Recording Date: 07/07/2020
  • Format: Zoom video
  • Key Words: elementary school, art, drawing, quarantine

Interview Transcript

JL: Do you know what you’re going to draw?

LM: I’m gonna… I went to a…. I went to the aquarium with my grandma one time, I want to draw some of the fish in its tank.

JL: Oh, okay. How was the aquarium? Did you like it?

LM: Yeah, it’s pretty fun!

JL: What did you do? Did you draw there?

LM: Well, we took some pictures and then I started draw and then I’m finishing it.

JL: Okay. Okay, so I’m going to ask you some questions they’re not hard questions. I just want to get to know a little bit about you. Okay, good. Okay. Can you give me your full name?

LM: My full name.

JL: Your full name, yeah. Do you know your full name?

KF: What’s your first name?

LM: Laʻikū Kahiluonalani Morales.

JL: OK. Do you know what your name means? Your middle name? No, it’s OK. I was just wondering.

KF: What is it? It swims in the ocean.

LM: Something.

KF: It’s a fish.

LM: Something.

JL: OK. Where did you grow up? Where did you grow up?

LM: Here.

JL: Where’s here. Where do you live?

LM: Hawai’i.

KF: What part of Hawai’i. What island is this?

LM: O’ahu.

KF: What part of O’ahu?

LM: What is it called again?

KF: Ku… Kunia.

LM: Kunia and…

KF: And…

LM: Makakilo.

JL: Okay. What school do you go to?

LM: I go to elementary school.

JL: Okay. Do you like school? How do you like school?

LM: It’s good. The only thing I don’t like about it is that you can get hurt a lot.

JL: Why? Why do you get hurt a lot?

LM: Cause it has the hard floor on the basketball court.

KF: Tell Jasmyne not Mommy.

JL: What do you like about school?

LM: Oh, what I like?

JL: Yeah.

LM: That I make friends.

JL: Oh! Do you have a lot of friends? Do you miss your friends?

LM: Yeah.

JL: What was your favorite part about school when you were in school? What did you like to do the most?

LM: Everything.

KF: Like…

LM: Everything.

KF: Be descriptive. Remember?

JL: Yeah, like, what do you do? What do you like to do?

LM: Math.

JL: Okay. Math. Is that your favorite subject?

LM: One of them.

JL: One. What’s your other one?

LM: All.

JL: [laughing] Do you draw a lot at school too? Do you like to do art at school?

LM: Yeah.

JL: OK. What do you miss about school, since you’re not at school right now? Your friends…

LM: And my teachers.

JL: Your teachers. What grade are you in again?

LM: Well, I was in first grade now I’m in second grade.

JL: Okay. When you were home schooling, like, did you do zoom, or did you like to zoom?

LM: Oh, yeah, we did that.

JL: Okay. Did you like it?

LM: Yeah.

JL: Okay. Did you like to see your classmates?

LM: Yeah.

JL: What did you not like about home schooling, like when you had to do it from home?

LM: Not really anything, mostly like the same.

JL: The same. Yeah. Are you excited to maybe go back to school next year?

LM: Yeah.

JL: OK. What about your art classes? You’re doing art… You’re doing summer school, right?

LM: Yeah.

JL: How do you like that?

LM: It’s pretty good!

JL: What do you guys do?

LM: I do art and science and Hawaiian.

JL: How do you like that? Do you like Hawaiian?

LM: Yeah.

JL: What… what do you like to draw? What’s one of your favorite drawings? Do you have them? Can I see a little bit?

LM: Yeah.

KF: Can you show her?

JL: A penguin… okay. How cute!

KF: Tell her you started the journal when you had to go into stay at home.

JL: Okay.

KF: So you can be a little bit more descriptive, and help to tell a story.

JL: And what do you…how do you decide what you’re gonna draw? You just start drawing and then you…

LM: Well, first, I wanna draw and then I see pictures of people drawing stuff and then I copy it.

JL: Okay. So do you watch, like, art or how do you know? Where do you see the pictures at? Like online or…

LM: Well I really watch the video of how do you draw it, cause it’s easier for me.

JL: Yeah. Are you penguins, your favorite animal? I saw you… I saw two penguins before. So you drew that penguin. Do you just like penguins?

LM: Yeah.

JL: And then I saw your space launch one, two. Did you like watching that; The Space Launch?

LM: Oh, yeah!

KF: Do you want to show her that one and talk about?

LM: [Shows picture of basketball court].

JL: Okay. Slam dunk. Oh, that’s at the… That’s at your school?

LM: Yeah.

JL: And then what does it say on the… or did you write that? Did your mom write that?

LM: It says, today I played basketball at the park.

JL: So that was right when quarantine started or before. Sorry. OK. That’s cute! And what else did you do?

LM: What else… let’s see where’s the other stuff? Where am I going? I’m gonna start all over again.

JL: Is that whole book filled already?

KF: Pretty much. So what day was this one… what day was this one.

LM: [Shows picture of the Earth] Earth Day.

KF: Right. You drew that one.

JL: So that was March… what was it 23rd?

KF: I think it was like April 23rd.

JL: Oh April, okay. I saw your Nintendo one too. Did you like… Did you just get your Nintendo… your switch?

LM: I got it a little while ago. I got it… We got it for Christmas.

KF: Your birthday.

LM: For my birthday?… Oh.

JL: So what else do you have? Your pizza… pepperoni pizza.

LM: [Shows picture of pepperoni pizza and cookies] Pepperoni pizza and cookies.

JL: Okay. This one was from your birthday you said?

LM : Not this one.

JL: Oh okay. Which one was this for? That’s what you had for dinner one day.

LM: Mmm…

KF: Have we been eating a lot of pizza.

JL: Oh… you’ve been eating a lot of pizza. [laughing] Is that your favorite food?

LM: [Nodding yes].

JL: And that’s Pokémon right? [laughing] is that Pokémon… I’m not sure I don’t know.

LM: No it’s uhh… what do you call it? I forgot what they called it.

KF: Is it from a cartoon

LM: [shrugging shoulders]

JL: You draw really really well, do you like to… you draw, do you paint too? Or you just draw?

LM: I paint a little bit too.

JL: Okay. What else do you got?

KF/LM: [inaudible].

LM: [Shows picture of penguin crying].

JL: Oh that’s so cute! Why did you draw that one… or when did you draw this one? Do you know?

LM: No I forgot.

JL: Penguin’s are one of your favorites then? You like to draw penguins. He’s so cute! And why did you draw him on the iceberg?

LM: Hmm…

JL: You drew him on the iceberg. Why did you draw him on the iceberg? Or you just… that was your idea?

LM: Well on the video they a drew a iceberg, so I wanted it like that because I liked it.

JL: Yeah.

KF: Is that where penguins live?

LM: I thought I’d be a little 3-D.

KF: Is that where penguins live?

LM: Not really on the icebergs but…

KF: In the snowy place. Yeah. You remember why you made him crying?

LM: No I did not.

KF: You didn’t.

LM: No.

KF: Okay.

KF: You want to show another one. Jasmyne can’t see you when you block the camera.

LM: Oh yeah. I still gotta finish this guy but…

JL: Mmm… that’s Sonic. Oh okay. Wow, he’s good. Do you like that movie or the game?

LM: Yeah. I like both, the game and the movie.

JL: Okay.

LM: That’s why I drew it because… I like Sonic.

JL: So do you have a new sketchbook, too, because if you’re almost done with this one, then you have to get a new one, right?

LM: Yeah, I have one.

JL: Oh, Okay.

LM: [Shows a sketchbook with a Blue Marlin on the cover] A Blue Marlin sketchbook.

JL: Is this for summer school or this is your new… Just for your new art?

LM: They gave it to us for summer school but I think we can use it ourselves.

JL: Okay. So what’s your most recent one? What’s your most recent drawing?

LM: [Shows a picture of Tom Nook from Animal Crossing] Tom Nook… Animal Crossing?

KF: Oh, she knows the game.

JL: Yeah, I actually have the game. It’s a fun game. You like Animal Crossing too?

LM: I bet you already know.

JL: Is that your favorite character?

LM: Umm… not probably my favorite but… I like Tom cause he’s the boss.

JL: Oh yeah. So what else do you have… do you have, so that’s your most recent one. About how many do you do a week?

JL: What does it say… island…

KF: Can you read it for Jasmyne, she can’t over zoom?

JL: Yeah, can you read it? [inaudible] What does it say?

LM: I like Tom Nook because he tells us to do fun stuff on our island and…

JL: [laughing] Are you done reading?

KF: Can you finish the sentences that you wrote?

LM: I don’t want to.

KF: We talked about this. Focus please. Finish reading what you wrote here about Tom Nook. Jasmyne has the game too so she knows who you’re talking about.

JL: Yeah, it’s a fun game.

LM: And she knows everything else?

KF: Yeah.

LM: So I don’t need to tell her.

KF: Yes, that’s what having a conversation is remember, Daddy and I have been talking to you about that.

JL: It’s OK, I’m not going to tell anybody. You can tell me.

KF: Can you read the rest of what you wrote here and then you can talk to her about the island? What’s up? What’s going on? Do you need to take a break for a second? I’m just going to take a break one second.

JL: Oh yeah. That’s fine. Go ahead.

JL: Let’s see. Anything that was hard for you during quarantine. Did you struggle with anything?

KF: What was hard? What was some of the stuff that was making you sad, or some of the stuff that was scary?

LM: People getting really sick.

JL: Yeah.

KF: Can you tell Jasmyne about that?

JL: Did you know anybody that got sick?

LM: [Shaking head no].

JL: No. Okay.

KF: Everyone is healthy in our family because we’ve been keeping you safe.

JL: Have you been learning to wash your hands good?

KF: How do you wash your hands? No. How do you really… can you show in the video how you really wash your hands.

LM: [Shows how he washes his hands]

JL: Okay. Good! So you learned to wash your hands. What else have you been doing to keep… keep healthy?

LM: Staying away from other people.

JL: Yeah. Good.

KF: And…

LM: Wearing my mask.

JL: Wearing your mask. Yes. Good. What kind of mask do you have? Do you have a nice mask?

LM: Yeah, it’s really comfortable.

JL: Does it have a design on it?

LM: What?

JL: Does have a design on it?

LM: Yeah.

JL: Okay.

LM: Some turtles.

JL: Umm what… You went to Disneyland last year, didn’t you?

LM: Hmm?

JL: Did you go to Disneyland last year?

LM: Yeah, I think we did.

KF: Yeah, we went to Disneyland last year? Who did we go with?

JL: How did you like it? Was it your first time at Disneyland?

LM: Uhh… No.

JL: Okay. Oh, because you go to San Diego a lot. You have family in San Diego, right?

LM: [Nodding yes].

JL: Do you miss them?

LM: [Nodding yes].

JL: Yeah… and then you have family in Hilo too right?

LM: One thing I really miss is Disneyland.

JL: What is your favorite ride at Disneyland? What do you like?

LM: Umm… I kinda like that Cars ride. It’s really fun.

JL: Oh yeah, that’s a good ride.

LM: And the Millennium Falcon at Star Wars.

KF: Ohh yeah.

JL: Oh you guys went to Star Wars Land, I’ve never been there before.

LM: Oh, and I umm… well I watched Press Your Luck a few times and… [Shows picture of Press Your Luck]

JL: Oh, how cute!

LM: Whammies.

JL: That’s a pretty old show. That’s cute! Whammy. What else have you missed? Do you miss your family in Hilo and San Diego?

LM: [Nodding yes].

JL: Do you talk to them over Zoom?

LM: Carnival game.

JL: Oh carnival. What carnival game is that?

KF: We didn’t have the… tell her we couldn’t go to the fair this year.

JL: Oh yeah, the fair.

KF: Usually you go to the fair during the summer.

LM: Oh yeah, the one by the stadium?

KF/JL: Yeah.

JL: What… let’s see. So do you talk to your family over Zoom?

LM: Yeah, I usually talk to them on the phone.

JL: Mmm. Okay.

KF: Tell her you talk to them on the WhatsApp.

JL: Oh, WhatsApp okay. What are you drawing right now?

LM: Uhh… I still gotta color this part and this part and the background. Maybe… Maybe.

JL: So you usually go to the fair every year?

LM: Mmm… [Nodding yes].

JL: Yeah. Let’s see what else. You used to go on trips with your mom to D.C. too right?

LM: Uhh huh. [Nodding yes].

JL: What was your favorite place there?

LM: I don’t know, I like mostly every place there. I like the capital the museum.

JL: Wow.

LM: A lot of places are pretty cool.

JL: So you’ve been to D.C. a lot then?

LM: [Nodding yes].

JL: Wow. Cool! So you travel a lot. Have you been to a lot of places?

LM: Uhh…

JL: Well, where have you been?

LM: I’ve been Washington, D.C., where you just said and Hilo and San Diego. Where else?

KF: Las Vegas.

LM: Las Vegas.

JL: Mmm… Las Vegas. Okay. What was your favorite place that you’ve ever been to before?

LM: Ohh, my favorite place. Maybe San Diego.

JL: San Diego. OK.

KF: How come?

LM: Because it’s Disneyland again.

JL: [laughing] Have you been to Aulani. Well that’s not really rides but… Have you been to Aulani?

LM: Yeah.

JL: Okay. So what else have you been doing during quarantine? Anything else?

LM: [Shaking head no].

JL: No.

JL: Let’s go back to school. Do you guys know when you’re gonna go back to school?

LM: Isn’t it August or…

KF: Mmm hmm…

LM: Four more months?

KF: August 4.

LM: August 4th

JL: Oh, wow. That’s like almost… Wow you have like a month already. That’s fast. OK. Are you excited to go back?

LM: [Nodding head yes].

JL: So you guys are going back. You’re not going to do Zoom?

LM: Not really.

JL: No okay.

LM: [inaudible] Only thing is, I don’t know what we’re going to have to bring.

JL: Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So you’re excited to see your friends again? What… What are you excited to go back to? When you go back to school, what are you excited for, your friends mostly?

LM: Yeah, and my music teacher.

JL: Do you sing or do you play an instrument? What’s your music teacher?

LM: They don’t… we’re not really playing instruments yet but… We’re really just listening.

JL: Oh, okay, cool. Let’s see.

KF: Do you want to share a song you learned? That you’ve been singing at home.

LM: I don’t know.

JL: What’s the song?

LM: They… who?

KF: Your music teachers and Mrs. Achong. Do you want me to play it really quick?

LM: I forgot.

JL: Have you been singing around the house?

KF: Yeah, you’ve been singing it a lot around the house while we’ve been home.

JL: Do you have any pets?

LM: Oh, we have… We have two fish and two dogs. We used to have three but…

JL: What’s your dog’s name? Names?

LM: Ahi, Hana, and Loki went to heaven.

JL: Mmm…

KF: Okay, here do you want share Jasmyne the song that you have been singing that you learned in music class?

LM: [All Hawai’i Stand Together by Liko Martin playing].

KF: You can sing.

LM: I forgot this song.

KF: No you didn’t.

LM: Of course I did. Cool pictures.

LM: [Inaudible singing] To sing and praise, the glory of our land…

LM: They didn’t really teach us this part.

KF: This is the hard part [inaudible]… it will get to the part you like.

LM: [Singing] All Hawai’i stand together, it is now and forever, to raise our voices, and hold your banners high. We shall stand as a nation, to guide the destiny of our generation, to sing and praise the glory of our land.

LM: [Singing continues].

JL: You remember the song? [laughing].

JL: [Song ends] Wow, that’s a good song! So in music class do you mostly sing Hawaiian songs?

LM: Uhh.. yeah.

JL: Yeah. So you really enjoy music then?

LM: Uhh huh.

JL: You have to take music or you’re just in the class?

LM : Do we have to or…?

KF: Everybody takes music.

JL: Everybody. Ok wow. So going back to your dogs, what do you like to do with your dogs?

LM: Play.

JL: Play with them. Yeah. Has it helped you during… when you were in quarantine? Have they helped you with, like your…. If you’re feeling sad or something?

LM: Yeah a little bit.

JL: Usually during COVID, like during the quarantine, what would you do if you were feeling sad?

LM: Hmm…

JL: If you’re feeling sad, what do you… what do you like to do?

LM: Do stuff that are fun.

JL: Yeah.

LM: Like what I do. I draw.

JL: You draw. So, let’s see what else we got. What do you miss the most when you were in quarantine? Or what do you wish you could do?

LM: What I wish? I wish I can go bowling.

KF: Bowling.

JL: [Laughing] You like bowling. What else do you like to do? Do you like going to the movies?

LM: Mmm hmm.

JL: Yeah. What’s your favorite movie? Do you know?

LM: No.

JL: It’s a hard question, yeah.

LM: I like too many movies.

JL: Too many movies. What’s your favorite kind of movies?

LM: Cool. Kind…

JL: Yeah, like, just give me a few of your favorite movies. What do you like?

LM: I like Sonic. And… what else, what else… Onward.

JL: Oh, okay.

KF: Superhero movies.

LM: Yeah, superhero movies.

KF: Like what?

LM: Like superhero movies.

JL: So for your drawings, did you draw anything for your birthday?

LM: Oh, yeah. I drawed [sic] me.

JL: You drew… oh okay? Do you have it?

LM: Yeah, where is it?

KF: Can you tell Jasmyne what day is your birthday?

LM: Hmm…?

KF: What is your birthday?

LM: April 20th.

JL: April 20th, okay. I was just wondering if you drew do anything for your birthday.

KF: You drew something for Mommy’s birthday. When is Mommy’s birthday?

LM: When… so yours is in April too so… It’s on top of me in the calendar.

KF: Can you show her the ones you drew?

LM: Wait, let me finish this first… there’s one square. Okay.

JL: So usually do you draw for like a special event or you kind of just draw whenever you want to draw.

LM: Mostly both.

JL: Okay.

LM: [Shows picture of character names Rainbow] I was playing a game her… she named her character Rainbow.

JL: Oh, how cute. So that was on… that was on your Mom’s birthday?

LM: Not on it… a little bit after.

KF: That was a couple… that was only a couple weeks ago. There’s the date.

JL: Oh yeah. June 19. OK.

LM: Woah. June 19th. [inaudible].

KF: Find the one for our birthday’s.

LM: Ours… our birthday’s?

LM: [Shows picture of pink and blue birthday cake] Ohh, wait! I made this one for Mommy too.

JL: Okay. That was for her birthday. Aww, okay.

LM: It looks like a really good cake.

JL: That does look really good.

LM: Where is the one’s that I did.

KF: Yeah, where’s your birthday one?

LM: Here it is… I gotta finish coloring this one. The balloons.

JL: Ohh… Happy 7th Birthday. How cute! So what… When the quarantine first started, what is your first picture then? Do you know?

LM: No.

KF: I think it was this one.

LM: No.

KF: What. I think it was this one.

LM: It’s nothing it’s not… it’s not the Yin and the Yang.

KF: That wasn’t the first one?

LM: It’s one of them. [Shows picture of Yin Yang].

JL: Oh, the Yin Yang, okay.

LM: I don’t even know why the circle isn’t round. Oh, yeah. I made a… the electric guitar [Shows picture of electric guitar].

JL: Ohh. Do you know how to play or you want to learn how to play?

LM: First, I want to learn. Tree… Mr. Tree. That’s what I call it… Mr. Tree. SpongeBob! [Shows picture of SpongeBob].

JL: Do you like that cartoon? I like SpongeBob too.

KF: You watch him every day now.

LM: Not everyday.

KF: A lot.

JL: Yeah, that’s cute.

LM: He’s a bonus.

JL: So what’s in your new… your new sketchbook? Is there anything new?

LM: No, just that fish… Marlin.

JL: No, not yet.

JL: How many sketchbooks do you have?

LM: I really only have this one and the other one.

JL: Okay. Let’s see what else…

KF: Jasmyne asked you before, about how many pictures do you make a week?

LM: Probably two or three or…

KF: Yeah, you make about two or three a week?

JL: Wow, that’s kind of a lot.

LM: [Shows picture of motorcycle].

JL: Wow. Motorcycle. You like motorcycles, too?

LM: Uhh, they’re okay, I just like the picture.

JL: Is that paint, or is that crayons?

LM: It’s colored pencils.

JL: Colored pencils, okay.

LM: It comes out really nice.

JL: Yeah, no, it kind of looks like paint. So for next year. What do you hope happens next year?

LM: Next year?

JL: Yeah.

LM: Hmm… I don’t know.

JL: What are you excited for? Are you excited for anything? Anything coming up?

LM: Christmas.

JL: [laughs] Christmas.

KF: We’re far from Christmas.

JL: Is that your favorite holiday?

LM: Yes.

JL: Yes, Christmas. You don’t like Halloween.

LM: I like Halloween but… it kinda like… it makes your feet really tired. Cause you walk around a lot and say, “Trick or Treat.”

JL: What were you for Halloween last year?

LM: What was I?… The sun?

KF: You were the sun one year.

LM: I remember I was a eagle one year.

JL: So what do you… what are you going to ask for, for Christmas this year?

LM: I don’t know, I gotta think about it.

JL: Do you usually have a long list?

LM: Not that long, cause sometimes you don’t get everything that you wanted.

JL: So you’re really excited to go bowling?

LM: The most important.

JL: If it opens. What else are you excited for?

LM: Let’s see… stuff I’m excited for…

JL: Like if you could go anywhere, where would you want to go? If it’s safe.

LM: Every place.

KF: Be more descriptive please.

JL: Do you wish you can go see your family this summer? What do you usually do in the summer, if it’s not… if you’re not in lockdown, what do you usually do?

LM: I really just go to the beach and pools a lot cause it’s hot.

JL: Do you go any place? Do you go on vacation anywhere?

LM: Yeah.

JL: Where you usually go?

LM: Where… For summer or…?

JL: Yeah, for summer.

LM: Don’t remember.

KF: Where do you we normally fly to during summer? Who do we usually go see?

LM: Who…?

KF: Yes.

LM: Nana?

KF: Yes, tell Jasmyne that we usually go see Nana.

LM: We usually go see Nana.

JL: Who is that? Your grandma.

LM: No my grandma is over… downstairs.

JL: Yeah, yeah.

KF: Great Grandma.

JL: Great Grandma, okay. She’s the one that lives in Hilo?

LM: Uh no, San Diego.

JL: San Diego. Okay, okay. So when… So who lives in Hilo?

LM: My Tutu is the one that lives in Hilo.

JL: Oh, okay. Hopefully, are you excited to go see them if you can?

LM: Yeah.

JL: Yeah.

KF: You know why we’re not going to see them right now?

LM: Because they’re not letting us go to other places.

KF: And why is that important?

LM: So we don’t get sick.

KF: And… who do we don’t want to get sick?

LM: Our family.

KF: Right, who don’t we want to get sick?

LM: Well not Nana.

KF: And…

LM: Well I don’t want to get sick.

KF: Mmm hmm…

LM: And Tutu. Uncle Dave.

KF: Right. Do you remember why we can’t go see Uncle Dave right now?

LM: Well, because they’re having a baby.

KF: Right, and… What happened to Uncle Dave? Do you remember what happened to him?

LM: He got sick.

KF: He got really sick, and because he got really sick, what does that mean?

LM: Because people were visiting that place.

KF: They can’t… yeah. So we can’t go and see him, remember, until it’s safe. Can you tell Jasmyne?

JL: Do you know if your Uncle, did he have COVID or he just… he was just sick?

LM: Not really.

KF: Do you remember what happened to Uncle Dave?

LM: I remember he got sick.

KF: Mmm Hmm. And then he was in the hospital for a long time. Tell Jasmyne.

JL: So everybody around you has been pretty healthy then.

LM: Now they are.

JL: Good, okay. What have you learned to do now? Learned to do since COVID, anything new that you’ve learned to keep yourself safe?

LM: Where your mask every time you go to places.

JL: And do you go out a lot with your mom?

LM: Not that much, we usually go to the store a lot.

JL: And you go with her inside the store?

LM: Yeah.

JL: Okay. And what else have you… You said you learned to wash your hands. So you wash your hands a lot now.

LM: Yeah.

JL: And then what else, your dad… Your dad works at the hospital, right?

LM: Yeah.

JL: So what… So when he gets home, what do you what do you do? You can’t go hug him right?

LM: No. Well… can’t really.

JL: Like right when he gets home your shouldn’t…

LM: You can do a air hug.

JL: Yeah.

KF: Tell Jasmyne, or what do you do instead?

LM : [Shows fist bump].

JL: Oh, Okay.

KF: Why do you do that?

LM: Because it’s safer?

KF: Right. And then what does Daddy do?

LM: After…?

KF: What’s what does Daddy do after he gets home?

LM: Other fun stuff.

KF: He takes a shower. To keep you safe, yeah.

JL: Have you ever been scared? Or what makes you scared?

LM: Well, because I don’t want to get sick.

JL: You don’t mind getting sick?

LM: I don’t want to get sick.

JL: Oh, you don’t want to get sick. I’m sorry. You don’t want to get sick, okay. That’s what makes you… That’s what scares you.

KF: Are there are other things that scare you?

JL: If you go out, is there anything that scares you?

KF: Put your feet down. Jasmyne asked you a question.

LM: No, not really that scared.

JL: So what… Let’s see what else. What else have you been doing to keep yourself safe? You don’t really go out that much, right? Usually like for a week, say, every week, do you know how much you go out?

LM: One or two.

JL: One or two. And then every… and then you usually just stay at home or you go to…

LM: Yeah, I really just do my stuff at home.

JL: Yeah. OK. And you’re usually with your grandma during during the week.

LM: Yeah and my mom right here.

JL: How have you like spending more time with your mom? You like it. You like spending more time with your mom.

LM: Yeah.

KF: Why?

JL: What do you guys do?

LM: Listen to music.

JL: Play Animal Crossing?

LM: [Nodding head yes].

KF: Why do you like staying home with Mommy now? Can you answer the question, please? Why do you like staying home with Mommy more?

LM: I like staying home with the both of you guys.

KF: How come?

LM: Cause you’re all keeping me safe.

JL: Before you went into quarantine, did you spend a lot of time with them, too, or not as much?

LM: Yeah.

JL: Okay. Did you do after school programs at your school too… The after school program?

LM: Yeah.

JL: You did, okay. Let’s see.

KF: What did you do on the weekends?

LM: What do we do on the weekends…?

KF: What did you normally do on the weekends? What sports did you play?

LM: Basketball.

KF: Tell Jasmyne.

LM: We don’t really play basketball that much. There’s a park over here is… only the tennis courts are open.

JL: Mmm. So you live by a park, but they’re closed right now.

LM: The only thing I don’t know is, why did they open the…the…

JL: Tennis courts.

LM: They didn’t even open the basketball court? Ahh.. come on!

JL: So you miss basketball. Can you play basketball at your house or you have to go to the park?

LM: We really just go to the park because we don’t live at the dead end street.

JL: Oh, okay.

LM: But, we just live in the corner.

JL: So you miss basketball. How long have you been playing basketball?

LM: Uh. How long?

KF: Two months two years.

LM: Two years!

JL: Two years, wow. Any other sports that you play?

LM: Well I used to play soccer.

JL: Mmm hmm, okay. So now usually, what do you do on the weekends now?

LM: What?

JL: Usually what do you do on the weekends now when you’re in quarantine? Is it… is your weekends the same or what has changed?

LM: Well, we go to the beach a lot on weekends.

JL: Okay.

KF: We couldn’t go to the beach before remember?

LM: Why?

KF: Do you remember when the beaches were closed?

LM: Oh, Yeah. And now we can!

JL: So when they were closed, you were just staying at home mostly… Well yeah, cause you had to. OK. Let’s see what else. Has your bedtime changed? What time do you usually go to bed before the Coronavirus? Before the quarantine?

LM: Now?

JL: Like before. Do you know what time… like when you’re in school, what time do you usually go to bed?

LM: Umm… Eight o’clock.

JL: So now, has your bedtime changed? Or is it the same?

LM: A little bit.

KF: A lot.

JL: What time do you usually go to bed now?

LM: Eight, nine and ten.

JL: Do you have more energy now?

LM: [Nodding yes].

JL: Yeah.

LM: Cause now I can’t really do that much stuff outside so…

JL: And then do you sleep in?

LM: Sometimes, sometimes not.

JL: Okay, good.

LM: It’s kind of boring.

JL: Let’s see. What do you want to be when you grow up? Do you know?

LM: [Nodding head no].

KF : What are some of the things you’re thinking about being when you grow up?

LM: I don’t know.

JL: What about an artist? Do you see yourself as an artist?

LM: I don’t know maybe an artist or a basketball player.

JL: Oh, okay. So for next year for… for when you start school. Do you guys… Are you guys going to have any kind of different things that you have to do to get in school since the virus?

LM: I think we might have to wear a mask a few times.

JL: OK.

LM: Well, I’m sure their still gonna let us go to school, but I think we’re going to have to have…

JL: You have to wear a mask.

LM: And their gonna make us have to wash our hands a lot of times.

JL: Do you already know what teacher you got or not yet?

LM: I forgot what her name is.

JL: Okay. So do you know some of the class… Do you know your classmates or not yet?

LM: They’re pretty much just the same. One is leaving but… I think our I don’t know if were gonna get somebody new or were just gonna have everybody else the same.

JL: Are you scared? Does it scare you?

LM: Not Really?

JL: Okay. Let’s see what else…

LM: Do you have like a list of things?

JL: I do. [laughing]. We’re almost to the end of it. So what… So you’re really excited to go back to school. Do you know, is there a possibility that you could be on Zoom or you’re gonna pretty much go back to school?

LM: I don’t know, if we’re gonna do both. I think we’re just gonna really go to school. I don’t think we’re gonna do both. Maybe on the weekends we might do the Zoom but…

JL: Yeah, yeah.

LM: I think it might have to do a little bit more, because now we don’t really do that much work. So I don’t know, we might have to do more work.

JL: When you went… when you started home schooling when the quarantine started, so you guys had less work to do.

LM: Oh, yeah, I think we had a little bit more.

JL: Okay. So was it easier for you?

LM: Yeah, a little bit. We usually did three papers a day.

JL: Wow. And your grandma usually helped you on those?

LM: Yeah. Some I did myself was kind of easy, and then others were a little hard. So, I needed a little bit help.

JL: What’s the hardest subject? What’s your hardest subject?

LM: I know I’m gonna learn it well but… times.

JL: Was it harder to learn when you were… When you were homeschooled?

LM: Yeah.

JL: Yeah. Did you get distracted a lot?

LM: Little bit not that much.

JL: Okay, it looks we’re almost done, let’s see. For the future, When all this… when quarantine stuff ends was the first thing you want to do?

LM: Go to school.

JL: What else what do you want to do with your family? What do you hope to do with your family?

LM: Stuff are not open.

JL: Yeah, so say when it opens. What is the first thing you want to do?

LM: Go to Disneyland.

JL: Let’s see what else?

LM: Well see family.

JL: See family, okay. What else do you like to do with your friends? Do you do anything with your friends outside of school?

LM: Wait you mean like on Zoom? When we do the Zoom?

JL: No like when you… when you can see your friends, what would you like to do with them?

KF: In real life, in real person now.

JL: Yeah, in real person.

LM: What do I want to do?

KF: Yeah, when you’re allowed to see people and hang out again?

LM: Play games with them, talk to them. Help what they’re doing.

JL: Have have you talked to them a lot during during quarantine, or not that much?

LM: Not really, because we’re not really doing a zoom for our class that much. We did it when we were really doing homeschool.

JL: Yeah. Yeah. Is there anything that you’ve learned from from being in quarantine and COVID-19?

LM: Mostly what I said earlier.

KF: What did you learn about yourself?

LM: Myself.

KF: Mmm Hmm.

LM: Everything else I said earlier when we were talking.

JL: Anything you learned about yourself since you’re spending more time at home?

LM: Anything I learned…

JL: Or what have you been doing different?

KF: You learned how to play by yourself.

LM: Well now I’m playing by myself?

JL: Mmm Hmm… And how does that make you feel?

LM: Okay. I would rather just play with my friends instead of myself.

JL: Yeah, yeah. Have you still been happy during this time? What makes you happy?

LM: I can a little bit…. do a little bit more stuff. When I went to school, I really… I had to go sleep early. Didn’t really get to do that much stuff. So now I like it a little bit more, cause now I can do more stuff.

JL: Good. Well, thank you, Lai’kū! Thanks for letting me talk to you.

KF: You want to tell her about when we went to deliver the masks to the Health Center.

LM: Yeah what was the picture that I made?

KF: Oh, I think I sent her a picture of it. If not, we can send her a picture. But tell her about that day.

LM: About it…

KF: We boxed up all the stuff.

LM: Well there was some stuff that we wanted, but we had to give it to them.

JL: You had to give them… who are you giving it to?

LM: Other people.

KF: What did we take in the boxes?

LM: Hmm?

KF: What did we take in the boxes to them?

LM: Well, I made a picture for them; a nice one. Was it the Health Care…

KF: Mmm Hmm.

JL: The Health Care workers.

KF: What did you take them? What did you go and delivered to them in the boxes with your picture?

LM: Donuts.

KF: Not donuts.

JL: So you gave them a picture, and what else?

LM: Oh, yeah. A lei.

KF: Yeah, it was… What day was that?

LM: A day.

KF: What is the day called?

LM: Special Day?

KF: Lei Day.

LM: Oh, Lei Day.

KF: What did you take with the lei in the boxes? What did we have in the boxes?

LM: Books.

KF: Masks.

JL: So did you make all the masks?

LM: I think we… did we buy them?

KF: We ordered them.

LM: Oh, we ordered them.

JL: Wow. How did you like that day? Was it fun?

LM: A little bit.

KF: Were they so happy?

LM: Yeah.

JL: They were happy.

LM: I mean I liked the lei.

JL: They were happy because… because they were running out of masks already, right?

LM: Mmm Hmm. So we had to give them some. That’s what’s happening over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again.

JL: How many masks did you guys deliver to them? Do you know?

LM: No.

KF: Like 4,000.

JL: Oh, wow!

LM: Like a whole gigantic room of masks.

KF: And they had to bring the things to carry them.

LM: Yeah, and then we took a picture.

JL: Yeah, I saw your picture. It was a nice… your handwriting is really nice.

LM: Thanks.

JL: Well, thank you. So what else are you going to do today?

LM: Go swimming.

JL: Thank you for letting me talk to you.

LM: Oh, you’re welcome.

JL: For showing me your drawings.

KF: What do you say to Jasmyne?

LM: [Shows picture of Summer Penguin] Thank you for making me draw a penguin.

JL: Is it okay if maybe your mom sends me a few of them and I can… I can put them up.

LM: Yeah.

JL: Thank you. Well, hopefully you have fun next next year at school.

LM: Free.

JL: And you get to go to Disneyland.

KF: See your family.

JL: See your family, yeah. Thank you so much!

KF: What do you say?

LM: You’re welcome.

KF: Say “Thank you”.

LM: Thank you.

KF: And tell Jasmyne stay safe…

LM: Stay safe and stay healthy.

JL: Yes, you too!