About This Item


  • Call NumberOSOS_OH_0138
  • Summary(1:30) Now residing in Wappinger Falls, New York. Formerly lived in Africa -- (2:25) School counselor at an international school in Burkina Faso, West Africa -- (3:42) Husband left NYC for Burkina Faso when first Covid cases appeared -- (4:40) International families evacuating from Africa -- (4:50) Left Burkina Faso just before airport closed, to stay with family in Poughkeepsie -- (7:07) Arrival at JFK, no health screening -- (8:15) Quarantine and disorientation -- (9:42) Somewhat more comfortable but anxious -- (10:32) Left Burkina in haste, intended to go back -- (11:19) Working remotely on W. African time -- (12:20) Weighing decision to move back to NYC -- (13:00) Difficulties of navigating NYC with a child during lockdown -- (16:50) Hears news from friends in Brooklyn. Feels disconnected from city -- (21:00) Living in a bubble, outside the city, sense of displacement.
  • Date2020-06-23
  • Physical Description1 sound file (24 min ) : digital, WAV
  • CreatorGodfrey, Amber
  • CollectionBrooklyn Covid-19 Stories
  • Cite AsBrooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
  • Formatsound recording-nonmusical
  • Genreinterviews
  • NoteAudio interview conducted on June 23, 2020, by Maria Luisa Gambale. Collected for the Covid-19 Oral History Project through Our Streets, Our Stories, an oral history project of Brooklyn Public Library. This project is a partnership with Services for Older Adults and the Brooklyn Collection.
  • SubjectQuarantine ; COVID-19 (Disease) ; Epidemics ; Coronaviruses ; Telecommuting
  • Place[Location unknown]
  • LocationWappingers Falls (N.Y.) ; Burkina Faso
  • RightsThis work is covered by a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Users are free to share and adapt the work for non-commercial purposes as long as appropriate credit is given to the source and new material created with this work is shared under the same conditions.
  • TitleOral history interview with Amber Godfrey conducted on 2020 June 23