Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Tribune
May 4, 2021
The last Hollywood event that “Punky Brewster” actress Jasika Nicole attended was the 2020 Golden Globes. But Nicole said she doesn’t feel secluded at home. “I feel very fortunate that (my spouse and I) have made such a lovely, comfortable home for ourselves,” said the Los Angeles-based actress, whose work includes “The Good Doctor,” “Scandal” and “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.” “It has been a particularly big blessing during this pandemic, because my partner and I have our own spaces to work in, so we don’t feel like we are always underfoot and in the way of each other. Plus, we have outdoor spaces, so we don’t always feel so cooped up. Unexpectedly, the pandemic made us re-discover our home and appreciate it for new reasons.” Nicole stays in touch with her fans on Instagram (@jasikaistrycurious).
Q: This pandemic has made everyone think differently about how we spend our vacation time. What have you been doing?
A: We haven’t taken that many road trips, because we just feel safer at home. But we did stay at an Airbnb in Joshua Tree in January of 2021, which was really nice, if for nothing but the change of scenery. We did little aside from soak in the hot tub under the stars, cook food and read, and — of course — do a little exploring in Joshua Tree National Park, which is a favorite of ours. It actually snowed while we were there, which made the scenery look even more magical than it normally does. But I was still excited to come home when it was time to leave.
Q: How do you feel about not being able to just hop on a plane and get to your next location for a film or other projects?
A: Being unable to travel for work doesn’t bother me at all, because it is not my favorite part of my job. The year before the pandemic hit, I was working on a show that filmed in Vancouver and was on a plane at least four times a month, sometimes more, for the better part of a year. I am always thankful to be working on projects that I love but traveling back and forth so often is exhausting. I crave stability in my work life and am always thankful when my work keeps me in the city where I live. I am much more excited about traveling for fun than for work!
Q: If you had travel plans for 2020 and had to cancel, where were they to?
A: So many travel plans! The pandemic hit right as I was wrapping up production on season three of “The Good Doctor,” so we had planned a few big trips for what we thought would be my three-month hiatus from the show. We were (going to fly) to Austria to see our friends get married, and we had decided to spend a few days in the beautiful park where the “Sound of Music” was filmed before the actual wedding. We had also planned to stop in the United Kingdom to visit other friends of ours. For April, we had planned a trip to New York City to celebrate my 40th birthday. All of those trips got canceled. Thankfully, I did get to go and visit my brother’s family and meet my newborn nephew in Florida a few weeks before we went into lockdown. But man, I was really looking forward to Austria!
Q: What’s the most important thing you’ve learned from your travels?
A: I never fully understood the privileges I had as a westerner until I started to travel outside of the country. My first trip out of the States was when I was in my mid-20s, so I had a perspective about these experiences that I probably would not have had if I had been traveling the world as a kid. I saw the effects of colonialism on communities of color. I saw how, in some places, a city’s entire well-being was centered around accommodating mostly wealthy and white tourists (and) saw that money afforded me power in ways that my skin color did not when I was back in the States. It was impossible to separate wanting to immerse myself in another culture and enjoy my trip, while also being keenly aware of the disparities that exist between myself and the people of the city I have traveled to.
Q: What was the first trip you took as a child?
A: To Florida with my dad and cousins. I remember very little about that trip aside from having a good time. According to my dad, the trip was a bit of a disaster. It was just him and three little kids on a 10-hour-plus road trip to a place none of us had been to before. I brought back a bunch of crabs I found on the beach and was shocked when they all died on the way home, and I think the car broke down at some point during our trip. I remember being with my dad, who I have always adored and been very close to. He could make any place feel like Disney World.
Q: What are your five favorite cities?
A: New York City, Amsterdam, the Bay Area, New Orleans, Paris.
Q: Where would you like to go that you have never been to before?
A: Tokyo, Japan, Singapore, Nigeria, the Seychelles and Bali!
© 2021 JAE-HA KIM
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