Thanks a lot for the update!
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âThe West is The Best. Get here, and wĂ©âll do the restâ
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My experiences leaving Taipei for New York CityâŠ
Monday: Completed a PCR test at Far Eastern hospital for ~$8000, received results the same day (thankfully negative). Smooth process, well organized - from them website to the test and results.
Wednesday Evening: Flew on EVA to NYC (direct flight), check-in took longer (15 mins) and the PCR test was checked. The airport was empty and a lot of the shops (and restaurants) were closed. Boarding was completed by class, vs. by row. The flight was very full (only a few seats open),with vast majority of passengers Taiwanese. The flight crew all wore masks throughout the flight, all passengers wore masks (except when eating/drinking). It felt very safe, especially since to get on the plane you were required to have a negative test from Taiwan and there were no transfer passengers.
Wednesday Late Night: Arrived in NY (JFK), immediately on exiting the aircraft security officials checked all passenger PCR tests. The check was a little cursoryâŠImmigration and customs was empty - hence very quick process. Everyone was wearing masks inside the airport.
Thursday morning: Received Covid Vaccine at local pharmacy on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. I had booked the appointment about 5 days earlier from a link on the NY.gov website ( COVID-19: Vaccine - NYC Health). Second vaccine shot scheduled for mid June.
Impression of NYC: Feels like Taiwan did in Oct/Nov last year when there were no local cases. Probably around 90% of people (on the Upper West Side) were wearing masks, though when I walked through Central Park, it was a lot less (maybe <50%). Overall it feels very normal (and safe) with everyone wearing masks inside shops - social distancing was respected and all employees were shielded with masks and perspex barriers. Masks required on all buses and the subway and there was 99.9% compliance. Visited the Apple shop and they require appointments to speak with a sales person, and browsing was limited to ~15/20 mins with 50% capacity restrictions. Whole Foods also had capacity restrictions and folks were queued up outside at one location WF waiting to enter due to capacity. The picture painted by the media of lawlessness, masks wars and hate against asians definitely seems very different versus the reality in the city.
Plan to return to Taiwan in a few months once weâve completed some things back here. Hopefully Taiwan will be able to acquire more vaccines and do a better job of rolling them out than they did with the previous AZ vaccines (and the PCR tests which IMHO aside from Far Eastern is disorganized)âŠ
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I paid a little more than 8k per test this morning for same day results.
US$300? Thatâs insane. The test labs must be making more loot out of a planeload of passengers than the airlines.
Iâm biding my time for a bit - there are rumours that some of this nonsense will evaporate in the UK sometime in June.
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Yeah, but I donât have much of a choice. Gotta get back here in early July in time to get my kids indoctrinated to CRT at TAS, and I want to have enough time in the US to be with my parents, brothers, nieces, and nephewsâŠplus a full course of vaccinations.
Can I ask you two questions, please:
- Is there a quarantine requirement in NY when coming from Taiwan?
- Does NY allow vaccinations for non-residents like some other U.S. states do (in case you know)? I think the mayor said tourists are welcome, but this only seemed to relate to Johnson & Johnson if I understood it correctly?
Not to be nosy, but youâve mentioned this several times now. I may be missing something but is it not possible to switch schools if you arenât happy with the curriculum?
Genuine question. Not a jab. Genuinely curious.
I donât really know what CRT is nor do I care to learn so I canât even argue it.
- Negative COVID-19 test required before departure and 10-day quarantine required on arrival.
Stuff is always changing. Take anything on here with a grain of salt. That was taken from Google Flights.
All unvaccinated international travelers who have not recovered from COVID-19 in the past 3 months are recommended to get tested 3-5 days after arrival in New York, consider non-mandated self-quarantine (7 days if tested on day 3-5, otherwise 10 days), and avoid contact with people at higher risk for severe disease for 14 days, regardless of test result.
- Yes. Many states like California allow it. Thereâs so much more supply than demand.
COVID-19: Vaccination Requirements - NYC Health
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We had paid for 2021 before my kids starting coming home asking about why white cops hate black people and showing me essays where they state that Europeans invented slavery in the Age of Exploration. Also, Iâd like to keep a US curriculum, and the options arenât great for where we are. I will just continue to talk to my kids and try and de-indoctrinate themâŠthey will have to get used to hearing this garbage in the US and I can help them know how to fend off those arguments. I will not allow my kids to go back for 2022 unless there is a complete change in how the administration works. Weâll either leave Taiwan on schedule or find a non-crazy school to go to.
As a general matter, Iâve liked all but one of the teachers Iâve met at TAS, and the academics seem really good. Itâs just that they insert 40 minutes of racism into the curriculum every now and then.
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Ok. Thank you for your answer!
Itâs rebranded Marxism where the subject is society as a whole and the institutions which gird it instead of just the economy and the means of production. Instead of worrying about the proletariat, you worry about any âoppressedâ racial group (except Jews and sometimes Asians), who struggle against the white people instead of the bourgeois.
I think to better understand what is happening in the West, itâs probably better to focus on Critical Legal Theory rather than CRT, which is an offshoot of a wider issue.
Yeh, but that might be the best you can do.
I doubt youâll be able to find non-rebranded Marxism in Taiwan.
- There is no quarantine requirement when entering NY from Taiwan.
- Yes - NY allows vaccinations for non-residents and non U.S citizens - we registered on the Pharmacy website (Duane Reade), the registration asked for: name/DOB/Gender/Address/Email/Phone. At no point were we asked for anything related to immigration status. When we received the vaccine we had to complete a form for Duane Reade and another one for the State of New York. Neither form asked for residency or immigration status (you can find these online). We were also not asked for ID or anything when we were in the pharmacy to receive the vaccine. There are also numerous walk in locations around the city and they also would not ask about immigration status (the city does not discriminate against/differentiate âillegalsâ).
If you check on the NYC.Gov website this has all the information on which locations have which vaccine. So to answer your unasked question, yes I do believe you could fly to NY, receive the one shot J&J vaccine and return to Taiwan. Though IMHO Iâd suggest spending time in NYC, its Spring, the weather is great and the city is opening up again.
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Youâre too nice. I hope he has a bad trip back⊠maybe a bout of air sickness, or the plane loses his luggage. Screw that guy.
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This is why theyâre putting microchips in the vaccine to force compliance as they usher in a neo-Marxist racially equal transgender Utopia.
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Is that why Iâm doing yoga now?
I got the Pfizer shots.
Microchips in vaccines? Thatâs old hat. How about ârobotsâ according to world leaders?
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Thank you! And on the same terms I assume I would also be able to get Pfizer/Biontech if I were happy to stay in NY for the necessary 3 weeks to cover the required time between the first and second dose? I would want an mRNA vaccine, so either Pfizer/Biontech or Moderna, not J&J
Yes - based on the location you can choose which vaccine you wish to have and as you note, for Pfizer and Moderna would need to be in NYC for 3 or 4 weeks. I have not had my second Pfizer dose yet - though the appointment was scheduled at the same time as I booked the first appointment. The Pfizer second dose is scheduled for 3 weeks after the first dose. I believe the Moderna second dose should be scheduled 4 weeks after the first dose. The quicker time to become fully vaccinated was the main reason we chose the Pfizer vaccine.
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