How Jessica Soho coped with lockdown when pandemic hit the Philippines

Ever wonder how someone like Jessica Soho copes with life amid the pandemic?

In the pilot episode of "The Howie Severino Podcast," the award-winning broadcast journalist shared how she spent her time when the lockdown began last year.

While many people turned to Netflix or tried their hand at baking to avoid cabin fever, Jessica decided to brush up on her foreign language skills.

"I revived my fascination with the French language," she said in a mix of English and Filipino, adding that she enrolled in online language classes.

The "Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho" host said she took six units of French during her college days in the University of the Philippines Diliman. She ended up taking the course as an elective due to the notoriously difficult registration process in UP.

"It's been challenging my brains and my tongue," she said about her French lessons. "It's so hard. It's a difficult language to learn."

Jessica may have had her eye on self-improvement with the extra time freed up by the lockdown, but she also recognizes that watching Korean dramas on Netflix is one of the "survival tools" amid the pandemic.

She previously interviewed Rain and Song Hye Kyo, the stars of the 2004 K-drama "Full House," and got to learn that Koreans are good storytellers.

Meanwhile, Jessica still has her job as a broadcast journalist. And just like her fellow Filipinos, she's had to adjust to life in the "new normal."

When she needs to go out into the field — like when she covered the floods in Cagayan and Isabela or when she interviewed President Rodrigo Duterte and Vice President Leni Robredo — she observes all the necessary protocols to keep herself and the people around her safe.

"For someone with very weak lungs, I'm doing pretty ok. I've had two bouts with pneumonia and very serious bouts of pneumonia [so] I need to be very careful," she said.

In addition to the usual physical distancing, wearing face masks, and practicing hand hygiene, Jessica said she also did some workouts to improve her lungs.

"I need to work. But most of the time, I've been really trying to take care of my health," she said. 

The Howie Severino Podcast, which launched on Thursday with Jessica Soho as special guest, is available for streaming on Spotify, Apple, and other platforms. —MGP/LA, GMA News