Peace Corps Volunteer Julie Chan returns to China on her own
Read and comment on this story from the San Francisco Chronicle on Peace Corps Volunteer Julie Chan who was teaching epidemiology in Chendu, which is in Sichuan province, far from the SARS outbreaks. Two weeks ago, she was pulled out of China with about 100 other Peace Corps volunteers. "There was a knock on her door on a Friday, and they told her to close her bank accounts, and on Sunday she was on a plane back to Washington," Chan's mother said. "It was the parents of the volunteers who put on the pressure."
Chan, who has a master's degree in epidemiology and public health, got on a plane a week ago and flew to China on her own, paying her own way, because she had only two months to go in her two-year stint teaching Chinese medical students. She didn't want to quit. Read the story at:
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Battle-weary Chinatown faces epidemic of fear
ROB MORSE
Monday, April 28, 2003
When you ask Tane Chan how to spell her name, she says, "That's Tane, as in 'high octane.' "
That describes the personality of Chan, who owns the Wok Shop, a cozy kitchen supply store on Grant Avenue in San Francisco's Chinatown. On Sunday morning, she was wasting a little low octane, as she sat double-parked in her old Volvo and waited a half-hour for a guy to leave a parking space. He was waiting for his wife to return from shopping.
"This is the way it is every day in Chinatown," she said. "But I always get a space."
When I described Chinatown as a mall without parking, she said it was a pretty good description. She turned off the Volvo's engine, and we talked as a few driblets of tourists walked by, perusing the kites, clothing and kitchenware on Grant Avenue.
We talked about the latest ugly disease with an ugly acronym -- SARS -- and how it's affected Chinatown's tourist trade.
"We've been hit big-time. First it was the economy, then it was the war, then it was protesters, and now this," Chan said. "What happened to Toronto was unfair, and when I saw that, I thought it could happen to us."
So far, there has been only one probable case of the infectious disease in San Francisco, reported last week in a traveler returning from a city affected by severe acute respiratory syndrome.
"It is blown completely out of proportion," Chan said.
And why might she think that?
Well, her daughter Julie Chan, who has a master's degree in epidemiology and public health, got on a plane a week ago and flew to China.
"That's how confident she is," said Chan, who admitted her own doubts. "I'm opposed because I'm a parent, but what can I do? She's 26 years old."
Only two weeks ago, Julie Chan had been pulled out of China with about 100 other Peace Corps volunteers -- even though she was teaching epidemiology in Chendu, which is in Sichuan province, far from the SARS outbreaks.
"There was a knock on her door on a Friday, and they told her to close her bank accounts, and on Sunday she was on a plane back to Washington," Chan said.
"It was the parents of the volunteers who put on the pressure."
Chan said her daughter went back on her own, paying her own way, because she had only two months to go in her two-year stint teaching Chinese medical students. She didn't want to quit.
"China never had a plan," Chan said. "They're doing this for the media -- closing the theaters, closing the schools. They're doing it just to show they're sorry for their mistakes when this started. It won't do any good."
It is hard to know what would stop the spread of respiratory diseases -- and it may be particularly hard in China.
"There are different cultural practices in China," Chan said. "The first thing my daughter does in her class is write 'No spitting' and 'Cover your mouth when you cough' on the board. But her students keep on spitting -- and these are medical students." Finally, the man started to pull out of the parking space, and Chan said, "I hope my car starts."
She drove her three children to school and lessons in that 18-year-old Volvo. She paid thousands of dollars to put them through good Eastern colleges and graduate schools, but it has paid off. They've done her proud.
More than that, her son Mark Chan used his computer skills three years ago to put her store on the Web at www.wokshop.com.
"It's keeping us going," Chan said of her trade on the Internet, where viruses aren't as frightening as SARS. "We sent our first wok to Africa yesterday, and we were so excited. I wrote the man, saying, 'Mr. Edwards, your wok costs $14.95 and shipping is $30. Are you sure need a wok?'
"He wrote back, 'When you need a wok, you need a wok.' "
Chan has been shipping woks and making e-mail friends in places as diverse as Portugal, Oklahoma and London.
"Don't ask me why London," Chan said. "Maybe they think it's more authentic if a wok comes from San Francisco than London. Maybe they think Chinatown in San Francisco is the next best thing to China."
Many people around the world do. Let's hope they keep coming here despite the SARS virus.
"What is it, the fear of the unknown?" Chan asked.
Yes, and it's one more unknown to fear.
Rob Morse's column appears Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. His e-mail address is rmorse@sfchronicle.com. Click on a link below for more stories on PCOL
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This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - China; Sars; Infectious Diseases; Safety and Security of Volunteers