Beijing Bunker: Another Postponed Wedding and the Calming Company of a Rescue Dog

As Beijing enters its fifth week in self-quarantine, the stories of how people have been dealing with the coronavirus outbreak – by staying, leaving, or watching on from afar – are many and varied. In Beijing Bunker, we quiz Beijingers on what approach they've been taking to stay safe and sane through the ordeal.

It appears that more than one wedding has been scuppered by the spread of the coronavirus. After hearing from one couple last week about how they had to delay their trip to New York to tie the knot, Cynthia and Andrew below describe an almost identical situation, having to postpone their dream wedding which was set to take place on the beaches of Vietnam this month. Following a period of crisis, luckily they were able to settle into quarantine life, taking small pleasures from the company of their rescue dog and a new helper around the house.

Can you first tell us a little bit about yourself and your background?
Andrew was born and raised in Boston and moved to Beijing to work for a manufacturing company. Luckily, his extended family was already here so the transition was much easier than what most expats had to go through.

Cynthia was born in Vietnam and moved to Seattle at a young age. After graduating from college, she relocated back to Asia to travel and teach. Right before she was going to move down to Southeast Asia, she met Andrew and the rest is history!

Would you consider yourself safe, sane, safe and sane, or other? Why?
Andrew would consider himself safe and sane. He loves being at home with his wife and do. He finds contentment in the little things in life. 

Cynthia considers herself safe physically but this outbreak has drastically affected her mental health. She loves being out and about so this period of self-quarantine has been an emotional rollercoaster ride.

Has the virus disrupted your travel plans or those of your loved ones?
Yes, we had to postpone our wedding! We had originally planned our dream wedding for March on the beaches of Vietnam and we had over 80-plus guests from all over the world. 

Back in mid-January, as news was spreading about the coronavirus, we were becoming more and more anxious about whether or not we should postpone our wedding. By early February, we got news that Vietnam had banned flights from China, making the decision for us.

Prior to the postponement, Cynthia was practically couch-ridden with stress. She didn’t know if the stress was due to the fear of the virus or the burden of being responsible for our loved ones’ travel plans and safety. After we informed our guests of the postponement, it felt like a weight was lifted from our shoulders.

Luckily, our wedding venue is giving us a year to figure out our new date with no penalties, so we will still have our dream wedding week. In the grand scheme of everything, this feels minuscule so we are counting our blessings and keeping those who are less fortunate in our thoughts and prayers.

How have you been spending your time since the outbreak? How has your life changed or not changed on account of the situation?
We have been spending loads of time with our rescue dog, Felix Pancakes. He is probably wondering why we have been at home so often. Aside from that, Cynthia has been studying for her HSK exam and Andrew has been playing a lot of World of Warcraft.

Has the situation affected your work or business? If so, how?
Andrew has been able to either work from home or take half days for most of the month. He is finally back in the office full-time starting this week, and he is glad to be back.

Cynthia is a freelancer so she is using this time to work on her passion projects. 

Have there been any unexpected “upsides” to this whole situation?
You need to learn how to make lemonade from lemons. Cynthia’s baking skills have improved immensely while Andrew’s cooking skills have, too.

Which resources (online or real-life) have proved the most useful to you during this time?
We really appreciate all the delivery services that have been working around the clock to provide us with food, water, and deliveries.

In regards to news sources, Cynthia constantly checks the New York Times and the Beijinger. 

What's one thing that you've done that has saved you a lot of hassle/time/insanity?
Andrew recently bought a Xiaomi Roomba to clean up Felix’s fur. Although Felix is not a huge fan of how loud it gets, our new toy has done a successful job of keeping our floors pristine.

What do you most look forward to doing once all of this has blown over?
Cynthia is looking forward to having family dinners and hanging out with friends again while Andrew is looking forward to the wedding that we were supposed to have!

READ: Pregnant in China at the Time of Coronavirus

Images courtesy of Andrew and Cynthia