Samantha Chen: Okay. Today is Thursday, March 7 2020. My name is Samantha Chen, interviewing Arik Burakovsky for the Covid-19 Documentation Project. Samantha Chen: Do you consent to this interview being recorded and donated to Tufts Digital Collections and Archives in order to be made openly available online and the Tufts Digital Library? Arik Burakovsky: Yes. Samantha Chen: So, can you tell me your affiliation with the school and what you are studying or doing there? Arik Burakovsky: Sure, thanks Samantha. So I am the Assistant Director of the Russian-Eurasia program at the Fletcher School, where I manage communication on behalf of the program, exchanges Arik Burakovsky: for students, and faculty with Russian universities and think tanks and a number of events on campus. I also manage Arik Burakovsky: several student assistants who helped with our program. I completed my MALD at Fletcher in 2017 focusing on International Security Studies, international Arik Burakovsky: communication and regionally on Russian Eurasia and currently I'm working toward a PhD and researching the role of public and elite opinion in the United States and Russia. Samantha Chen: Okay. And how is the pandemic discussed in or handled before the campus closure? Arik Burakovsky: So I think we first heard the news about the pandemic back in January when many of us saw Arik Burakovsky: the news about Covid-19 in Wuhan China. I don't think, Arik Burakovsky: hardly anyone thought the disease would spread worldwide in the way that it did. I remember that many people discuss it as, quote unquote, China's Chernobyl, at the time without having really much concern that it would reach the United States. Arik Burakovsky: And throughout much of February, more and more people started getting concerned about the possibility of trips getting canceled as the disease spread through Arik Burakovsky: Asia and Europe, but few of us saw it as a serious danger that could lead to the shutdown of the university. I recall that on multiple occasions Tufts Arik Burakovsky: sent updates to the community saying that there is no real risk from the coronavirus. Arik Burakovsky: And it wasn't really until Arik Burakovsky: early March that people began to see it as a serious danger. At the time I was in the midst of planning a major study trip to Russia for Fletcher students and faculty Arik Burakovsky: over spring break, and Arik Burakovsky: we were planning travel to St. Petersburg and Moscow for a conference and policy workshop at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations or MGIMO, which is a partner institution of Fletcher. Arik Burakovsky: These events were on US-Russia relations and international politics forecasting, and Arik Burakovsky: I remember that the the last week of February and the first week of March were probably one of the most turbulent and challenging professional experiences I've ever had. Arik Burakovsky: It taught me a lot about Arik Burakovsky: crisis management, particularly how to quickly respond to a rapidly evolving situation, and how to handle a major setback. Arik Burakovsky: If I may, I can go through how the events unfolded because this is quite interesting. Arik Burakovsky: Just to give you some context, Arik Burakovsky: this is a study trip that gets planned over six months, costs Arik Burakovsky: over 100,000 dollars, has multiple sponsors, includes meetings with decision makers both at the US Embassy in Moscow and the Russian Federation Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Arik Burakovsky: And uh. Arik Burakovsky: Despite some of the conflicting information about the pandemic Arik Burakovsky: that was coming in, Arik Burakovsky: we were still Arik Burakovsky: fairly confident that the study trip would happen up until the last minute. Arik Burakovsky: I remember that this was Arik Burakovsky: late-February when Professor Josephine Wolff told us that her conference in Bologna, Italy might be cancelled. And as a result, she would have to redirect her flight and go straight to Moscow. She was planning to spend a few days in Italy before coming to Russia. Arik Burakovsky: Ultimately, we just rebooked her flight tickets and her hotel room, understanding that the Italy part of her trip would be cancelled but, you know, she would still go to Russia. Arik Burakovsky: And then a few days later, I got a phone call from our partners at the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian studies at Harvard University. Arik Burakovsky: Alexandra Vacroux who directs Arik Burakovsky: the Center asking if we had a contingency plan Arik Burakovsky: if Covid-19 spreads to Russia. And I thought, well, we've gotten some community updates from the university. They only mentioned travel to areas affected by the disease. Russia only had a few cases at the time. So I said well, we'll basically Arik Burakovsky: follow the guidance of Tufts Global Operations on this, but I didn't really think that there was anything threatening the trip. Arik Burakovsky: I think Arik Burakovsky: in the Arik Burakovsky: first couple days of March, Arik Burakovsky: we really saw the beginning of the unraveling of the trip because Arik Burakovsky: one of the professors at Harvard, Thomas Remington, cancelled his participation. Arik Burakovsky: And then Alexandra Vacroux also canceled. Arik Burakovsky: But still I called the Tufts Global Operations team and they assured me that everything is okay, that we can proceed with the study trip as planned. And so we thought, well you know, let's wait and see. Arik Burakovsky: And this was also around the time that other universities started canceling events and international travel, my brother, who is doing his Arik Burakovsky: MBA at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh had already canceled his trip to Japan. Arik Burakovsky: But still we figure that there was nothing to worry about regarding Russia. Arik Burakovsky: In fact, Arik Burakovsky: even though some of the professors were getting more cautious, Arik Burakovsky: when I asked the students, they all told me that they were Arik Burakovsky: far more concerned about not being able to go to Russia than they were about getting sick or getting stuck in quarantine. So our policy at the time was basically, we're operating under the assumption that study trip is happening, unless the university tells us otherwise. And so it was Arik Burakovsky: actually, there was another announcement made by the university on March 5, I believe, saying that travel to CDC level two and three countries is canceled. Arik Burakovsky: And that they're suspending Arik Burakovsky: extracurricular student travel. Arik Burakovsky: But we got Dean Rachel Kyte to weigh in on the situation, and she said that the study trip to Russia is essential travel, and it is part of the curriculum because students are taking a Arik Burakovsky: US-Russia relations class, so it's still okay to go. So we were basically one of the last holdouts. I think all of the other student trips had been canceled. At that point, and many of the faculty trips Arik Burakovsky: had also been canceled and, and all of a sudden on March 6, we got information that Moscow has instituted a high-alert regime. Arik Burakovsky: And that they were starting to quarantine travelers from Arik Burakovsky: quote, unquote Arik Burakovsky: from countries with undesirable coronavirus conditions. Arik Burakovsky: Um and so Arik Burakovsky: we started getting a lot of conflicting information, but to boil it down, Arik Burakovsky: we realized that the United States had been briefly included on that list of high-risk countries. And so the following day, we ended up canceling the study trip. It was Arik Burakovsky: pretty disappointing to have to inform all the participants, partners, and sponsors about Arik Burakovsky: the inevitable change of plans and it was a pretty devastating day, also because March 7 is my birthday, so Arik Burakovsky: you know, it was pretty disappointing to have to make the cancellation and you know, this is something that I had been working on for Arik Burakovsky: well over half a year and and so it was a pretty sad time, Arik Burakovsky: but Arik Burakovsky: we... we thought we made the right decision, all things considered. Samantha Chen: Okay, and then how did you learn of the university decision to close the campus entirely? Arik Burakovsky: Yeah, so we've been following this pretty closely. Actually Arik Burakovsky: one of the first events to get canceled at Tufts was was one we hosted um. Arik Burakovsky: So this was around March um Arik Burakovsky: four through sixth we were planning to host Arik Burakovsky: an expert on Ukraine, Mikhail Minakov. It so happens that he lives in Milan and Arik Burakovsky: nobody else seemed to know this, but Arik Burakovsky: two days before Arik Burakovsky: his Arik Burakovsky: anticipated traveled to Boston, I suddenly realized that we were about to host a speaker from the epicenter of the pandemic in Italy and Arik Burakovsky: I was Arik Burakovsky: immediately Arik Burakovsky: worried about this. So I contacted our co-directors, professors Chris Miller and Daniel Drezner, as well as the Tufts Global Operations team to get their feedback on what to do. Arik Burakovsky: Ultimately, I Arik Burakovsky: bumped into Professor Diana Chigas, who's the Senior International Officer and Associate Provost Arik Burakovsky: for the university and I explained the situation to her, and her advice was that we should go ahead and cancel the events with his participation. He was planning to speak not only at Tufts, but also at Arik Burakovsky: other venues in Boston, and even in Washington DC. Arik Burakovsky: And so ultimately, when we canceled his trip Arik Burakovsky: we coordinated with the other institutions planning to host him. And they all said Arik Burakovsky: it made sense to do so. And then a few days later, I think it was March 10 that the university Arik Burakovsky: was closed or the announcement came that the university would be closed after spring break. Arik Burakovsky: There was even a Fletcher faculty and staff meeting on March 11 when we discussed how would we would operate Arik Burakovsky: with students gone from campus, but we were still under the assumption that Arik Burakovsky: that we would be able to come into work and then Arik Burakovsky: March 15th came around when we learned that all staff had to work remotely. Arik Burakovsky: I remember it was it was an interesting time because Arik Burakovsky: that Friday, March 13 before spring break, Arik Burakovsky: we all gathered on the tennis courts by Fletcher. Were you there? Samantha Chen: Yeah. Arik Burakovsky: Yeah and um. Arik Burakovsky: I think Arik Burakovsky: you know, people, people understood Arik Burakovsky: what was happening, but I don't know if if everyone truly Arik Burakovsky: realized the gravity of the situation. Like some people kind of thought that, well maybe we'll still have the commencement ceremony in May. Maybe we will still come back for final exams. Arik Burakovsky: And and things became clear pretty quickly that that wasn't actually going to happen. So, um it was, it was Arik Burakovsky: a pretty Arik Burakovsky: difficult Arik Burakovsky: time to be saying goodbye to Arik Burakovsky: you know, to many of the students. And my hope is that we can still have the graduation ceremony in-person Arik Burakovsky: someday. Arik Burakovsky: So we went on to postpone all of our on-campus events. We had some public opinion polling presentations, both in Boston and Washington DC that that have gotten postponed and Arik Burakovsky: we had another study trip that was being planned for May to Moscow and Vladivostok to the Far Eastern Federal University, and that got canceled as well. Arik Burakovsky: We did lose a considerable amount of money, but luckily we managed to get refunds and credits for future use from most of the Arik Burakovsky: airline companies, hotels, tour operators, and other suppliers. Arik Burakovsky: So. Arik Burakovsky: That was, that was good. I spent a couple of weeks, going back and forth with with partners in Russia, but they ultimately instituted quarantine as well. So they recognized, you know, that they would have to make compromises. Arik Burakovsky: And uh, and so we're now looking to conduct many of these activities in the fall if campus re-opens and international travel restrictions are lifted. Samantha Chen: Okay, just going back to something you said earlier, on March or you know, March 13th when we had that big gathering on Fletcher field, Samantha Chen: what were your thoughts? Were you thinking that this would be a short term thing? Or were you thinking that this might be a more of a long term thing? Arik Burakovsky: Um, so Arik Burakovsky: I- I was hopeful that it would be shorter term. Arik Burakovsky: You know that they had announced that the closure of campus would only be through April 30 at the time. Arik Burakovsky: The most challenging part of Arik Burakovsky: all of this is the unpredictability. Arik Burakovsky: Everyone wants to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Arik Burakovsky: There's a reason we kind of held out for as long as we did with Arik Burakovsky: the March study trip to Russia because we Arik Burakovsky: kind of hoped that you know that things would subside fairly quickly. Arik Burakovsky: There was actually, I think one of the last events, the university hosted-- it was, it was at Harvard. Arik Burakovsky: It was the European Conference. And I remember that Arik Burakovsky: half the speakers didn't come. Many of them were from Italy or Spain, places where a virus already spread, but you know they still insisted on going through with it. I was too busy that day, in part because I was Arik Burakovsky: you know, working to cancel Arik Burakovsky: our study trip, but also because Arik Burakovsky: it was, it was my birthday. And so I didn't go, but I- but I remember there were many students who are starting to get worried about, you know, speakers coming from Europe and the possibility of infection and so on. Arik Burakovsky: But yeah, at the time I don't think I really sensed how long this would go. Samantha Chen: And so now, what is daily life like for you? How is it affected by the current restrictions? And then, what sorts of adjustments have you had to make? Arik Burakovsky: Um yeah. Well, I mean Arik Burakovsky: every cloud has a silver lining. I would say that Arik Burakovsky: there have been some complications. But there have also been some Arik Burakovsky: upsides to this. Just to give you a background, my wife Maria is also a student at Fletcher and she's currently pursuing her MALD. Arik Burakovsky: And our son Gregory was born on February 10, so we had already had a significant upheaval to our routines. Arik Burakovsky: You know, we were fairly sleep deprived, doing things like feedings, and diaper changes, taking daily walks with a stroller. Arik Burakovsky: And Arik Burakovsky: what's nice is that Arik Burakovsky: Tufts offers staff up to 12 weeks of parental leave. I really do commend the university on that. Arik Burakovsky: And so I've been taking it intermittently right after Arik Burakovsky: the baby was born, I took formally two weeks of parental leave and since then, I've been taking a few hours here and there. Arik Burakovsky: And so Arik Burakovsky: I mean, we were lucky in February to have Maria's brother come visit us for a week, and then her mother came for a month in March to, to help us take care of the baby. Arik Burakovsky: And so Arik Burakovsky: I think we've been handling things pretty well. The upside for me of Arik Burakovsky: having to work from home now is having more flexibility to take care of the little one and Arik Burakovsky: our friends in the area have been really supportive bringing food and toys and baby clothes so Arik Burakovsky: I think- I think we're doing pretty well. Um, I do miss not being able to come into the office and to interact with people at Fletcher. And of course, having face-to-face classes and events. Arik Burakovsky: Grocery shopping has become a lot more difficult. Arik Burakovsky: With, with the long lines, it's always a Arik Burakovsky: you know, quite an endeavor. And it's time consuming, we obviously can't go to restaurants and cafes anymore. We have to order things on Amazon, because most of the other stores are closed. Arik Burakovsky: Can't go to the gym. Arik Burakovsky: Haven't had a haircut in a couple of months at this point. Arik Burakovsky: Yeah, but all things considered, I would say that daily life Arik Burakovsky: hasn't changed significantly. So, still working a lot. I had classes throughout Arik Burakovsky: March and April that were uninterrupted and I think that all things considered, Arik Burakovsky: the classes were still engaging. Arik Burakovsky: Taking care of the baby, going on stroller walks, cooking, and cleaning. A bit more time for Arik Burakovsky: reading books and occasionally watching Netflix documentaries, now that we're not Arik Burakovsky: as insatiated with all of the different events at Fletcher. So yeah, I think- I think we found kind of a new normal in all this. Samantha Chen: Okay. And how do you think this pandemic has affected your relationships with others? Arik Burakovsky: Um, so it's it's interesting, not being able to spend time face-to-face with people has Arik Burakovsky: allowed me to spend more time engaging with people online and and the paradox in this is that, when you're restricted to using the internet to communicate the choice about whom to communicate with becomes unrestricted. It's kind of liberating, if you will. And so Arik Burakovsky: I think there's some kind of solidarity that everybody's feeling these days. Arik Burakovsky: You know, kind of facing the same challenges being stuck at home and Arik Burakovsky: many of us feel like we're in this together. And so I've gotten to reconnect with friends, family, acquaintances, colleagues who are not living Arik Burakovsky: in the area. In fact, all over the world. And it's certainly not the same as in-person interaction, but it's a decent substitute while we wait out the quarantine and Arik Burakovsky: you know, many of these people, I may not have spoken to in Arik Burakovsky: you know, in months or years and so that's that's kind of nice, but Arik Burakovsky: But it does mean that we have Arik Burakovsky: limited interaction now with, with people who are living close to us. We see them sometimes going out on stroller walks and you know, stay six feet apart and chat for a while. Arik Burakovsky: But Arik Burakovsky: you know, but it's certainly not the same as it was before. Samantha Chen: Okay. Samantha Chen: And then this is probably an interesting question for you. Um, but what sorts of messages and other types of communications have you received from the administration? Arik Burakovsky: Um. Arik Burakovsky: So. Arik Burakovsky: I mean, we've received the same messages everyone else has received from Arik Burakovsky: President Monaco, from the Executive Vice President Mike Howard, from the Fletcher Dean Arik Burakovsky: Rachel Kyte. Arik Burakovsky: I've attended all the Fletcher community town halls and it's been useful to, to try to understand Arik Burakovsky: what the administrators at Fletcher are considering. I know about the task force that has been convened to try to determine what to do about next semester and whether Arik Burakovsky: the university will be open in the fall, or whether we'll continue to have online classes or hybrid classes. Arik Burakovsky: And uh, and certainly I've Arik Burakovsky: kept in touch with people in the administration to Arik Burakovsky: handle various Arik Burakovsky: programmatic changes. Arik Burakovsky: Things like Arik Burakovsky: accounting for the program, you know, certain grants have to be extended through the end of the year because of delays. Arik Burakovsky: But Arik Burakovsky: I would say that Arik Burakovsky: You know, it's not like I know a whole lot more than than most people. I'm not really involved in the university's response to the pandemic, and so Arik Burakovsky: I learned about it mainly through, Arik Burakovsky: through these kinds of messages and events and you know in staff meetings, I think that Arik Burakovsky: I think that students are, have adjusted to the remote learning environment fairly well. Arik Burakovsky: There are, in some cases, upsides to using Zoom like Arik Burakovsky: being able to see students' names on the screen, the hand raising feature. We have a couple of joint courses with MGIMO Arik Burakovsky: that we conduct and Arik Burakovsky: I think many students were telling me that Arik Burakovsky: they kind of like the new format more because Arik Burakovsky: there is smoother transition between Fletcher and MGIMO Arik Burakovsky: when it comes to discussions so Arik Burakovsky: I think Arik Burakovsky: again, all things considered, Arik Burakovsky: Zoom has been Arik Burakovsky: I think pretty Arik Burakovsky: pretty useful for, for maintaining the continuity of the classes but but as I said already, the hardest challenge with, with all this has been the unpredictability. Samantha Chen: And so, how have your own academic routines changed in light of this? Arik Burakovsky: Um. Arik Burakovsky: I mean, I Arik Burakovsky: think- I think it's Arik Burakovsky: hard to sit in front of a computer screen all day. If I was sitting in front of a computer for most of the day, now I'm doing it all day. And one of the things I've heard about is Zoom fatigue and, and I've felt it on on several occasions. Arik Burakovsky: Just Arik Burakovsky: kind of being, being so tired of staring at a computer screen that I will, you know, either stop paying attention to meetings or classes. Arik Burakovsky: Or I'll have to like shut off my camera and go Arik Burakovsky: you know, stand up, do some exercises during these classes or meetings to be able to refocus again. Arik Burakovsky: There was an interesting psychological study that I read the other day about how Arik Burakovsky: it's much harder to understand nonverbal cues when you're Arik Burakovsky: meeting with people on Zoom or other online platforms, Arik Burakovsky: as opposed to face-to-face. It's much more difficult to read gestures and facial expressions, and so your brain is actually working much harder to Arik Burakovsky: understand nonverbal communication. And so I think, I think that's been a challenge. Arik Burakovsky: But um. Arik Burakovsky: I think we're making the best of it. Samantha Chen: Okay. And so how are you feeling mentally and/or physically? Arik Burakovsky: Um, well. Arik Burakovsky: I have to say, so in the beginning of March when the quarantine started, and we canceled the study trips and and the other activities, I was feeling pretty frustrated that most of the projects I've been working on recently were discarded or postponed. And I Arik Burakovsky: spent a while Arik Burakovsky: being disappointed. I- it took me a while to calm myself and create clarity and put things in perspective. Arik Burakovsky: And, and also I was, of course, feeling exhaustion from Arik Burakovsky: from everything else going on at home. So that was tough. But at this point I feel fine, mentally, because I do have the company of my wife and son to keep me sane. Arik Burakovsky: I probably should do more exercise at home because I've gotten a little bit out of shape and and it's hard because you know, I can't go to the gym anymore but um, Arik Burakovsky: I think Arik Burakovsky: now that the semester is over, I'll have a little bit more time for that too. Samantha Chen: And then how are your friends, your family, Maria? How are other important people in your life doing? Arik Burakovsky: Um. Arik Burakovsky: I think I mean we're blessed that everyone is healthy and safe and Arik Burakovsky: everyone still has their jobs. Arik Burakovsky: My uh Arik Burakovsky: parents who live in Los Alamos, New Mexico, were sad that they couldn't come visit us in April to spend time with us and get to know Gregory. Arik Burakovsky: They uh. Arik Burakovsky: They felt like they missed out. Maria's mother and brother, as I already mentioned, came to see us a little bit earlier. And that was nice, then they had to be in quarantine for a couple of weeks when they returned to Moscow. Arik Burakovsky: But Arik Burakovsky: yeah, I mean. Now they're back to, to work as well remotely, of course. Arik Burakovsky: But everyone's doing okay. We're- we're worried, of course, about Arik Burakovsky: the Arik Burakovsky: older members of our family. So our grandparents, who are in Russia and Israel, they've been pretty much under lockdown since this began, and they have other people bringing them Arik Burakovsky: food and supplies and so on. Arik Burakovsky: And- and they're of course, in the higher risk Arik Burakovsky: category for coronavirus so Arik Burakovsky: thankfully, they haven't Arik Burakovsky: been infected or had any major health problems recently, but Arik Burakovsky: you know, but we're certainly concerned about them. Arik Burakovsky: Samantha, are you there? Arik Burakovsky: Hello? Arik Burakovsky: Hey, you're back. Samantha Chen: Hi. Yeah, I'm just using my mobile hotspot right now. Our wifi has been doing some crazy things, so I apologize for that. Arik Burakovsky: No, that's no problem. I'm glad you managed to reconnect. Did you hear the last part of my answer? I think it'll be part of the recording, so we can probably move on to another question. Samantha Chen: Okay. Samantha Chen: Do you hear my question about the media coverage or should I repeat that? Arik Burakovsky: Please repeat that, I didn't hear that. Samantha Chen: Okay. So what are your impressions of the media coverage of the pandemic, both currently and before it arrived in the US? Arik Burakovsky: So that's a good question. Um. Arik Burakovsky: I think there's been Arik Burakovsky: a lot of Arik Burakovsky: misinformation and disinformation about Arik Burakovsky: Covid-19 itself, which Arik Burakovsky: often happens during periods of unease and uncertainty. I think people who Arik Burakovsky: want to exploit people's fears and uh, Arik Burakovsky: lack of understanding can do so, and I think coronavirus is a fruitful area for that. And so Arik Burakovsky: I think it's led to a lot of Arik Burakovsky: partisan polarization in the media. Trump really did miss an opportunity to Arik Burakovsky: to have a rally around the flag effect. Most of the time if there's a crisis that affects everyone Arik Burakovsky: it's a good opportunity for Arik Burakovsky: the government to unite the country but unfortunately, that hasn't happened. It's become Arik Burakovsky: very much a partisan issue and, and an issue Arik Burakovsky: of tension between the federal government and the state governments. Arik Burakovsky: And uh, and the trouble is that Arik Burakovsky: in the media coverage, there hasn't really been much room for Arik Burakovsky: a middle ground in response to the pandemic. It's either taking the precautionary principle and shutting everything down, or it's opening the economy completely. And I think Arik Burakovsky: there needs to be a lot more discussion about Arik Burakovsky: efforts to prevent the spread of the disease, while still ensuring that we have a functioning economy. There needs to be some kind of Arik Burakovsky: you know, some kind of sweet spot in this, where we can do Arik Burakovsky: things like, you know, social distancing, and tracking, and tracing, and testing, and all the things we hear about, but at the same time make sure that people Arik Burakovsky: have the means to survive and Arik Burakovsky: you know, unfortunately, Arik Burakovsky: so many people are losing their jobs, and and we're not really sure when those jobs are coming back. Arik Burakovsky: That you know, we need some kind of economic response more so than even the stimulus that the government has passed. Arik Burakovsky: And so I think Arik Burakovsky: that has been in some sense overshadowed by the constant partisan bickering and Arik Burakovsky: misinformation and disinformation that's coming out. Samantha Chen: Yeah. Samantha Chen: So what seems normal to you now, or what seemed normal a few weeks ago, that seems strange to you now? And what are you doing now, that will seem strange to you? Arik Burakovsky: Well, I mean. Arik Burakovsky: The- the timeline of this question is a little bit tricky, because we've already been in this for Arik Burakovsky: a month and a half. Arik Burakovsky: But, um. Arik Burakovsky: Yeah I mean, there- there are certain changes in routines like having to wear a face mask in public, not being able to use rideshare so you know, things like Uber and Lyft. Arik Burakovsky: I'm now resorting to Zipcar instead, because we don't have, have our own car. But having to disinfect everything with wipes and hands and, you know, using hand sanitizer and Arik Burakovsky: yeah, of course it's it's a bit strange Arik Burakovsky: not being able to interact with people in the way that Arik Burakovsky: we're used to. Not being able to shake hands, having to stand six feet apart. But at this point, you know, it doesn't seem strange because because we're already into this and and frankly, I don't know Arik Burakovsky: how long it will be before life will return to normal. In fact, this kind of is the new normal. Um I- I'm not sure that in a month or two, we uh Arik Burakovsky: you know, we can get back to the same routines, we had before the pandemic. I think social distancing will be a reality for the foreseeable future, at least until there's a vaccine. The hope is that Arik Burakovsky: you know, we'll be able to go back Arik Burakovsky: into the building at least, but even that's not certain. So yeah, I can't really predict what what what's going to seem strange to us Arik Burakovsky: in a month or two. My impression is that this will go on for a while, and and even when we have the vaccine, Arik Burakovsky: you know, unfortunately, Arik Burakovsky: I've been reading economic analyses of the crisis that this- this may well be worse than the Great Depression. And the Great Depression lasted for four years, right. Arik Burakovsky: So Arik Burakovsky: yeah. This unfortunately is with us to stay for a while. Samantha Chen: And how have your plans changed for the near future? What were you planning to do this summer, but is now uncertain? Arik Burakovsky: Um yeah. So Arik Burakovsky: many things have changed. Arik Burakovsky: We've been planning international travel, as I mentioned to you, two Arik Burakovsky: major trips to Russia, Maria and I were planning to take Gregory to see his Arik Burakovsky: great-grandparents in both Russia and Israel over the summer. That's not happening anymore. Arik Burakovsky: And Arik Burakovsky: there's also uncertainty about the fall of course, because we still don't know if classes will be online, in-person, or Arik Burakovsky: hybrid and so Arik Burakovsky: we're still thinking about what to do. Does it really make sense to stay in Boston, have to keep paying rent in one of the most expensive cities in the country? Arik Burakovsky: As I mentioned too, my parents live in Los Alamos, New Mexico. So we're thinking, well you know, should we relocate to New Mexico if we don't have to be on campus next semester? Arik Burakovsky: Then again, it's not easy to Arik Burakovsky: travel with a three month old and particularly in a pandemic, so Arik Burakovsky: we still haven't decided on what to do. We're still in the wait-and-see mode. And I think we're going to wait until the university makes some kind of decision about next semester. Arik Burakovsky: Yeah, we're not really sure if it's safe to travel. I know that airlines are doing everything they can to try to disinfect planes and and maintain social distancing of passengers, but Arik Burakovsky: we'll have to see. So for the time being, we're staying put in Boston and Arik Burakovsky: you know, luckily, Arik Burakovsky: there's still plenty of work to be done and I can work on Arik Burakovsky: you know, research and Arik Burakovsky: many projects that Arik Burakovsky: were put on the backburner previously. Now that uh, now that many things have been postponed to the fall, Arik Burakovsky: my time has freed up, and you know, and I'm able to hire a number of student research assistants for the program. So those are all positive developments and as I said, we're trying to make the best of the situation. Samantha Chen: Okay. Well, those are all of my questions. Is there anything else you would like people to know? Arik Burakovsky: Uh well, I mean, I understand that- that many people are really Arik Burakovsky: struggling right now, given the economic turbulence around the world. And Arik Burakovsky: many students have had job opportunities and internships fall through. But it's important to stay optimistic. Arik Burakovsky: Even Arik Burakovsky: you know, even when we're faced with these challenges because Arik Burakovsky: I think we're all going to come out Arik Burakovsky: of the situation stronger and more resilient than before, and Arik Burakovsky: you know, we're already becoming more technology savvy and more health conscious, and Arik Burakovsky: you know, just grateful to be alive Arik Burakovsky: amidst all of the the death. Arik Burakovsky: And focus on the things that truly matter in the grand scheme of things, you know. I feel so blessed to have my wife and Arik Burakovsky: son here with me and Arik Burakovsky: you know, and that's really what's most important to me right now. And I have a feeling that Arik Burakovsky: that we're all going to persevere. We'll get through this. Samantha Chen: Okay, thank you so much for your time. Arik Burakovsky: Thank you, Samantha. Let me know please, if there's anything else you need from me. I'm happy to clarify any of the things I said, and I hope this will be useful. Arik Burakovsky: Yeah. Samantha Chen: Just one thing, I think that you are now the host. So if you could hit stop on the recording, that would be great. Arik Burakovsky: Sure, yes. Stop recording.