Interview 13: Carmen Rusu

Interview 13: Carmen Rusu

COVID-19, COVID-19 pandemic, Hoboken, New Jersey

An oral history with Carmen Rusu, co-owner of Symposia Community Bookstore, regarding Hoboken's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as her personal experiences with it.

Hoboken Public Library

Hoboken Public Library

Recorded July 11, 2022

Uploaded recording: .mp3
Preservation recording: .wav

English

Oral history

Digital audio file

00:26:45

BP: Okay. My name is Bernadette Patino. I'm a librarian at the Hoboken Public Library. Today is July 11, 2022, and we're conducting an oral history interview today with Carmen. So I'll ask you, Carmen, to just state your name, if you're comfortable, like, your age, and any background information about yourself.

CR: Sure. My name is Carmen. I have been living in Hoboken since 2001. And when we opened the Symposia Bookstore, my husband and I, it's been wonderful years up and down over 20 years apparently. And it seems like it's getting better and better. We are from Romania, we are both Romanians, and we came here in 1999. And my husband took a masters in social work, and he started Symposia Bookstore in 2001, which is more than a bookstore. It is a community center. We have all kinds of community activities, and we stay in business through donations of books. And we have a puppet theater also for babies and toddlers, which we started in 2006. In the morning the bookstore was mostly empty, so we decided to do these events for children.

BP: Yes, that's great. So I'd like you to sort of go back in time a little bit, back to March 2020 when the initial lockdown was first announced. What do you remember from that day or moment when it was announced and known that we are in a global pandemic?

CR: It was very disappointing, because my life is the bookstore practically. I almost live there. I am spending there 10 – 12 hours, even more sometimes, and my life stopped to a halt all of a sudden with that announcement. It was very hard. Very hard for me personally, and as a business because we had to - it was like three or four months when we couldn't officially open the store and have it open. Fortunately, we still could keep the online business. We have a side online business. We sell books online also. So I could go to the bookstore by myself during those months, and I still could continue, although much lower pace because people didn't donate anymore. We sell online what people donate. And it trickled down. But still, idealistic was something that I could do. And of course all the activities and everything was stalled, and many people disappointed that they couldn't come to our events, puppet show stopped, and it was really very disappointing.

BP: Yes. And how did you personally deal with the stress of all of those changes like with the store being closed, with having to cancel all the events for an undisclosed amount of time, since back then we had no idea how long it would take until we were able to come back in person? So how did you personally navigate all of that and deal with all of that stress?

CR: Regarding my social life and interaction with customers, I tried to do something. Like for example, I would put outside a table with books, and I would write a note, “Free books. Help yourself. Cope with the pandemic by reading.” And a lot of people didn't touch the books, because at that time it was the idea that the surfaces need to be cleaned and sanitized, but some people did touch and take them and sanitize them, and I put outside some sanitizer also. And it was a way of connecting somehow with the community. People were smiling through the glass at me. That was an attempt of communicating with my customers.

On a personal level, I always wanted to become a personal trainer. I am already a yoga teacher, and I taught before pandemic yoga at the bookstore. But I used this free time to become a personal trainer. I got certified as an NIESM certified trainer. So it was not a waste of time. And because I love hiking, I went hiking more than ever until the state parks closed for a little bit. They were closed for a while, and that was like really disappointing that I couldn't even go out and hike.

BP: Yes, absolutely. And then how long did it take until the store was able to open again and when you're able to have your in-person activities again? And overall, how was the business impacted by the pandemic?

CR: I think about four months we couldn't open the store. And then when it was allowed, we limited very much. Like two or three people in the store at a time, and we put a plexiglass screen around the front desk. I was the only one. We work with volunteers, but we didn't. I didn't have volunteers for a few months. And I kept as much as was possible during when the weather permitted, open windows and open doors, and lots of ventilation inside, fans. And then we haven't started probably events until maybe a year ago. A year ago we started slowly to have events with masks, definitely masks inside. Only now we started a little bit to release these strict regulations, no masks for the events. So I'd say maybe a year ago we started having events again.

BP: Yeah. And then what were any other changes that happened at the store or your running the business in the last two years as the pandemic continued? Because of course in the beginning with the lock down, things were all closed, and then things slowly opened up again. But were there any other particular changes that happened for yourself or for the business during that time frame up to now?

CR: So first it was a big dip in business. Like, big dip in business. We couldn't even pay the rent for a couple of months. And our landlord is David Roberts. He is the former mayor of Hoboken who allows us to stay there with a very affordable rent for us. Much smaller than the market value of the place. So even in that circumstance when I talked to him, he was very understanding, and he gave us a break for a couple of months. Yeah. A few months were really slow. But then we started to take donations after maybe four or five months. We advertised again that we'll be willing to have the donations, and the people started to donate more and more. And I realized that actually at a certain point the amount of donations are even larger than before pandemic, because people read more during pandemic. That's my theory. Or maybe they had more time to clean their houses and bring the donations, or maybe they wanted to come out there. Anyway. This was a way of going out. So it was pretty good for a while.

Now it's starting to go back to the normal business income. But yeah. Generally it evened out with the dip in donations at the beginning of the pandemic, and overflow of donations towards the end of the pandemic.

BP: And yes, how was your family's lives impacted by the pandemic? Or even your friends as well, if there any stories among your friends or family that you'd like to share, how were their lives impacted?

CR: My children are adults, and they have children, and they isolated as much as possible. We managed somehow none of us to get COVID before the vaccine. And we got it later on after the vaccine, but it was much milder. Yeah. For me, I didn't understand why people say that pandemic prevented them to see their friends and family, because for me this was not an impediment. What I did when I really wanted to meet a friend, I would go in my car, and the friend would go in his or her car to a destination in the park, and then we kept a safe distance, and we talked, and we connected. And the same with our children. Yeah. If you want, you can connect. Maybe for some people that was an excuse not to connect. But my social life, other than not being able to go to big events and parties, which I am not a very social person in this way, like craving to go to parties and bars, because I think maybe my social life at the bookstore is fulfilling this need. But I could meet all my – of course I couldn't come close and have dinner, but I would have my lunch. My friend would get their lunch, and we kept a distance, and we ate together and caught up. So, yeah.

BP: Yeah. You mentioned earlier that during the time that at least the store was closed, you had time to become certified as a personal trainer, and then also that you went hiking a lot. Did you do any other activities during the sort of like intense lockdown period? Did you do any things like volunteer work? And if so, what were those experiences like?

CR: I probably read more than normal, and watched TV more than I should have. So, yeah. That's I guess what I did mostly.

BP: Yeah. And then how did your view of yourself change during the pandemic? You know, a lot of people also talk about how their values even changed, or they got to do a lot of internal reflection during the lockdown time. So, yeah. Did your view of yourself change at all? Did your values and different things change as well during the duration of the pandemic?

CR: I think I realized more than what I was taking for granted before is valuable, and I should focus more on friends, relationships. The fact that I could manage to go over such a big hurdle, and I became stronger I would say. That's another thing that I did. I worked out more than normal during pandemic, because I had time. I didn't go to a gym, but I have all equipment at home like dumbbells and mats. I think I'm stronger after going through that, and my self-esteem increased. Yeah.

BP: Yes. And then you know, with these kind of new realizations and perspectives, did that impact or change at all when you were allowed to reopen the business? And did your perspective on the business change as well during the course of the pandemic, kind of coming through the lock down period and being finally able to reopen again?

CR: When we reopened and we started events, it was a flow of people coming. Like we had a book club, and so many people came that the organizer had to do two nights a month instead of one month, same book. And, yeah. I realized how important, what a valuable place this Symposia, what benefit, what value it brings to Hoboken residents. We started the musical open mics, which are very well attended. And we have a knitting club. Yeah. Local artists sometimes are reading their books. Plus the puppet shows we are trying to slowly revive it. We used to have 14 puppet shows every week, but now we have only four. But we hope after the vaccination of the younger kids, it will be complete we hope to have again what we used to have.

BP: Yeah. So did the sense of community, when everyone got to come together again, when the bookstore got to reopen, did it have a sort of different energy around it after everyone was in isolation for so long?

CR: Yeah.

BP: What was that like?

CR: Yeah. Definitely. Definitely people were more eager to connect with other people, and make friends, and talk. Yeah. They enjoyed more to come back.

BP: Yes. At the bookstore, in the business did you experience any sort of supply chain issues? I know a lot of local businesses, actually globally because of the pandemic things were really impacted. So did you at the store ever experience any difficulties of obtaining supplies? You know, whether it's like cleaning supplies, anything else that you would need at the store? Did you face any difficulties in that regard?

CR: No. What we buy, we didn't encounter any issues with delivery, but definitely everything got more expensive unfortunately.

BP: And then, yes, even say at home, did you have any difficulty obtaining things like non-COVID medications, cleaning supplies, the personal protective equipment? Did you and your family experience any issues there?

CR: At the beginning maybe a little bit of like when you had to stay in line for toilet paper and sanitizers. That was not for a while. So you had to limit the amount. But personally, I didn't really feel a big impact.

BP: Yes. And of course each household had to suddenly make all of these changes during the pandemic, like we had to get used to wearing masks, or like washing our hands all the time. How was that like for you and your family? Was it hard to adjust to all of that? What was your experience like?

CR: It was hard for me to wear the mask, especially when it's very hot outside. It was a challenge.

BP: Yeah. And then how about in the bookstore once you were able to reopen again, were there any challenges in maintaining those sort of like health and safety protocols? Do you think that any of those changes that were made will kind of continue on into the future, even in this somewhat post-pandemic time, even though technically we're still in the pandemic? Do you think you'll retain any of those changes?

CR: Yes, definitely more cleaning around, and also I'm trying to keep the doors and windows open as much as possible, and more fans than normal. I think this is good for any disease, not only for COVID, to have more ventilation. Yeah. Masks optional at this point. And we offer masks, and we offered masks for people on a regular basis who came in the bookstore. But, yeah. I think overall we are better off in terms of contamination.

BP: Yeah. And of course the pandemic was this unprecedented time. Do you feel that you had any previous life experience that prepared you at all for all of these changes that everyone had to face? Anything in your previous life experience that you felt like gave you some level of preparation for all of these changes?

CR: As I'm coming from communist Romania and standing in line to get products is a day-to-day occurrence, I was very prepared for that. This was nothing comparing to hours and hours of staying outside for a jar of milk or sugar. Yeah. This was much better, way better.

BP: And then in your perspective, do you think things have mostly gone back to normal? Or do you still see the effects of the pandemic regularly, even today?

CR: I think mostly life got to normal, at least in Hoboken. And what I like as an addition, all these (unintelligible 00:20:22) for restaurants having outside seating, more seating. I love that and I would like to keep if possible, the city to keep that, because it's nice. It's wholesome. It's like Hoboken looks like a resort. Yeah. I think that's a good thing.

BP: Yes. Do you have any friends or family that live in other states or other countries even? And then how was their experience of the pandemic different from what you experienced in Hoboken?

CR: My daughter has a vacation house in West Virginia, and she lived there for the whole duration. They never intended to live there for like two years, but they lived there total isolated with two kids. In Romania, my family, they went through about the same thing as here I would say. Maybe more distrust in vaccines there than here. Yeah.

BP: And then do you think that there was anything about being in Hoboken that made your pandemic experiences unique in any way? Or do you feel like you had generally the same experiences as most people?

CR: Definitely I would say we are better off because we are in Hoboken from a scientific point of view. Listening to all the rules and regulations, Hoboken is much better as opposed to other places. So we are lucky in this respect I would say. What we are not lucky so much is that we don't have nature around like other places where you can evade right away and go in a park or in a national park. I like the free streets and roads. I don't have much experience driving, so I would love to drive during those times when the streets are empty, the roads are empty as a personal bonus.

BP: Great. And then have you made any changes in your day-to-day life, of course like on the job as well that you plan to keep even after the pandemic is over?

CR: Yeah. Being more outside, definitely. And organizing events outside more. We had some puppet shows in the park. I don't think I'm going to keep it there because it's a little bit too hard to carry a puppet theater with you in the park. There are a lot better children entertainers that are doing this, but they don't have to carry so much. We have to carry a lot, because we have our mini puppet theater. But it was fun to have outside shows.

BP: And then do you have any other friends or family who also own their own local business, whether it's in Hoboken or outside of Hoboken? And how were they impacted during the pandemic?

CR: No, I don't think I have any friends.

BP: Okay. And how has the pandemic changed the way that you view Hoboken? Did it make you see the city at all in a different way?

CR: Based on the pandemic?

BP: Yes. Based on the pandemic. Like does the city seem different in any way kind of coming outside of the pandemic now? Especially since you've lived there for so many years, were there any particular changes you saw in the city after the experience of this pandemic?

CR: These more restaurants having outside, outdoor seating. I cannot think of anything else.

BP: Yeah. And the sort of post-pandemic world, do you have any predictions for the future of Hoboken? Do you think its future course is influenced at all by its experiences during the pandemic?

CR: I think (unintelligible 00:25:16) city as the individuals from this. And then I think that if there is another pandemic, we will be better off I would say, because we had this experience.

BP: Is there anything related to the pandemic that you would want future generations of people who live in Hoboken to know about?

CR: There is always something that you can do during the pandemic to improve yourself, to be better. And the pandemic is no excuse not to keep connected with your friends and your family. There are creative ways always. And, yeah. I think if we went through this, there is hope for many other things too similar.

BP: Is there anything else you would like to mention whether it's Hoboken in relation to the pandemic or your personal experience?

CR: I cannot think of anything other than what I said.

BP: Okay. Yeah. I think that's all the questions we have for the oral history project interview.

CR: Where will this be published or posted?

BP: Yeah. So for this interview, we're still compiling all of the different interviews we've already done. We're actually creating transcriptions as well, so the audio will be transcribed to become text. We're hoping to be able to put it up on our website, so that's what the consent form was about. The one that you had signed digitally. And yeah, I don't know, Steph, if there's anything else you want to add about where will this interview be accessible?

S: Okay. First off, let me stop recording. Hang on.

BP: Okay.

Bernadette Patino

Carmen Rusu

Zoom [interviewer calling in from Hoboken Public Library, Hoboken, New Jersey]