In July, I asked nine expats, digital nomads and full-time travelers about their experience during the first few months of the pandemic. I was curious about how each country was handling it and what it was like to be a foreigner abroad during this crazy time. In January, I asked each for an update on their lives. From Australia to London, here are their detailed stories of quarantine, lockdown, losing a parent to COVID, evacuation flights, finding love abroad and trying to return to some form of normalcy.
You can read Part 1 of the series here!
Shanghai, China:
QR Code Contract Tracing &
Taking Advantage of Domestic Travel
Due to strict contract tracing, it was safe enough for Jessica to travel within China to visit iconic landmarks that were empty due to the lack of tourists. This photo was taken at Big Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi’an. (Photo Courtesy of Jessica Dumas)
Name: Jessica Dumas
Nationality: USA
Current Location: Shanghai, China
Instagram: @Jess_dumas
I feel so lucky to say the past six months have been relatively normal day-to-day here in China. My work schedule has resumed back to normal in-person meetings and courses. Attractions, restaurants and businesses are operating almost entirely as normal just with the continued use of temperature checks at entrances, required masks inside and proof of a green health code. (Here in China, we pay for everything with QR codes and one of the services called Alipay has this health code feature. It tracks you (I assume by location and spending) and will be green if you have not been exposed to anyone that has reported being positive. If you have traveled to a location that reports new cases, your code may turn yellow or red.)
This autumn, I was able to take advantage of the mostly closed borders and lack of tourists and go to the Great Wall in Beijing and Terracotta Warriors in Xi’an as well as some awesome day trips to local cultural sites. I was so surprised when I arrived to hike a section of the Great Wall and faced no lines, no waits for shuttles and almost no other people for the first half of the day. When traveling to these cities, I needed to set up a health code on arrival at each train station. Every city has its own health tracking app. The immediacy and firm restrictions China has been implementing and continuing when small outbreaks occur seems to continue to be effective and relatively easy to adapt to. Recently here in Shanghai, there were a few (Less than 20?) locally transmitted cases and now there are strict travel restrictions put into place for the upcoming Lunar New Year, which is the biggest travel week of the year here. Depending on where you plan to travel, you will need to quarantine and/or present a negative nucleic acid test upon arrival and departure. The requirements vary based on region you plan to travel to. While this will hopefully limit any further outbreaks, millions of people have canceled their trips due to time constraints surrounding travel requirements. Aside from international travel – like the rest of the world – the daily lifestyle changes are minimal here. I am looking forward to things getting back to normal but in the meantime, I have been enjoying making masks a fun and colorful accessory.
I don’t have any travel plans set as of yet. Though, there are some domestic trips I want to take if the travel restrictions relax a bit. I also have a wedding I would like to attend back in the states in the early autumn, but with the situation so volatile globally, I am not certain I will be able to attend due to entry requirements of China, and the quarantine timelines. I was recently told if I leave the country I most likely could not return with the current restrictions that are put in place.
Bansko, Bulgaria:
Grief from Losing a Parent to COVID &
Finding Refuge in a Ski Town
Camille and her boyfriend, Banke, were able to travel to Turkey and to visit family in Europe after restrictions were eased during the summer.
Name: Camille Poiré
Nationality: French
Current Location: Bansko, Bulgaria
Websites: My Trail Co and ForTravelista
Instagram: @CamWonderlands
At midnight on December 31st, as I watched the night sky fill with a string of fireworks from the vantage point right outside our apartment in Bansko, I was overwhelmed by emotion and started crying uncontrollably. It was unexpected – we had been hosting a fun dinner with good food and friends at ours, and I am not one to give much importance to symbolic dates anyway. I certainly did not believe 2021 would miraculously change everything. But, these were bittersweet tears: as I remembered that the previous New Year’s Eve had been the last time I had seen my dad in person before he was taken by COVID in May, I found myself mourning the loss that 2020 had brought me, while also enjoying this moment and celebrating the fact that life goes – and went – on. I called my mother and we cried together on the phone for a while. It was cathartic. Then, I went back to my friends and joined in some party card games.
The truth is, despite this personal tragedy, I know that my boyfriend Bauke and I have been extremely lucky! We are both doing well workwise. Following a few months of uncertainty for me after I quit my job right before the start of the pandemic last February (yep, great timing!), I found a fantastic new project to focus on. As our businesses are currently stable and we have been saving a lot through months of living in our own home in very affordable Bulgaria, we are probably in a better financial situation than ever before.
We haven’t been doing too bad on the travel front either. Since many European countries eased restrictions over the summer, we managed to salvage some travel within Bulgaria and abroad. We took some trips to the Black Sea, Plovdiv, and Sofia, and visited our families and friends in France, Belgium, and The Netherlands. Some of the highlights included celebrating both our birthdays with our loved ones, eating giant seafood platters in Brittany, scootering around empty Paris, and boat cruising on the quiet canals of Amsterdam.
But I think our biggest blessing is to be based in Bulgaria – and even more so, in Bansko. The country has not been as hardly hit as other European nations. Measures have been more relaxed, and the nomad and expat communities are continuing to grow. Not only has there been a constant influx of new members – and potential new friends! – at our coworking space, but we have even converted several of our existing friends, and even Bauke’s brother, to Bansko life. Some of them are now our neighbors, as they decided to buy a home base here too.
We knew that we would spend the winter months in Bansko, so in October we escaped to Turkey for a few weeks to soak up the last rays of sun before the cold season. We drove from Bulgaria and did a road trip through Istanbul down the Aegean coast. We fell in love with the coastal towns of Kas and Akyaka, wondered at Ephesus and Pamukkale, and Turkish food shot to the top three of our favorite cuisines in the world (seriously, it’s way underrated)!
Prior to the pandemic, Camille and her boyfriend bought an apartment in Bansko, Bulgaria, a big ski resort town in Europe, where they have spent most of the last six months.
Since we got back to Bansko, we’ve been making the most of the ski season. Incredibly, this is one of the few ski resorts open in Europe. Not only are we on the slopes a lot, but we are enjoying tons of activities. Hot springs, spas, dinners with friends, football matches, board game and poker nights…
Masks are mandatory in most public indoor spaces but not generally outside, except in crowded outdoors areas, like at markets or when queuing for ski lifts on the slopes. Malls, gyms, cinemas, and schools have just reopened at the beginning of this month after a shutdown period. Restaurants and bars have been closed since early December, but they can offer takeaway and delivery, and they’re expected to reopen on March 1st. Spas, hotels, and hot springs complexes have stayed open throughout.
We are not allowed to organise private gatherings of more than 15 people (which is not too constraining compared to the 0-4 guest limit I’m hearing about in other European countries!). On February 1st, Bulgaria also introduced a PCR test requirement to enter the country.
We’re totally living in a bubble here and I do feel guilty when I talk to my mother and sister in France and Belgium, where restrictions are much more severe and continue to tighten. The hard part is not being able to see them. I have not met my new nephew since he was born in October. My mum is supposed to come visit us in Bulgaria, but new measures make it too complicated. We don’t know if/when it will happen.
There are also times when we just get very itchy feet. We’re not used to being so sedentary, and we don’t normally do winter! Once in a while we start looking at flights and current travel requirements…but, yeah, there is pretty much nowhere to go. What’s tough is that it doesn’t seem to be getting any better, with so many countries closing down again.
Anyway, we’re still hoping to leave Bulgaria sometime between April and June. Going back to Turkey looks like the most likely. We love Bansko in the summer (especially since Bauke got really into mountain biking!) so we’ll probably stay here July-September. After that, we’re keeping our fingers crossed that Thailand reopens for fall 2021 or winter 2022.
Da Nang, Vietnam:
A Second Lockdown & Exploring the Country
Marilyn has decided to wait out the panedmic in Vietnam and explore more the country between lockdowns.
Name: Marilyn Solomon
Nationality: British (Oxford, England)
Current Location: Da Nang, Vietnam
Instagram: marilyn_in_vietnam
Since I wrote my last piece, there has only been a minor tweak as oppose to any changes, and that was the re-emergence of my traveling boots. This was to escape the humidity, the drawn-out rainy season plus a series of mini storms here in Da Nang. I returned very recently after spending a few months in cooler Da Lat; the beautiful city on the hills, followed by the warmer coastal town of Nha Trang. I’m now ready to see in spring, post the rainy season, which is when the temperature is just perfect and for the few months leading up to when the temperature rises again.
We also lost our COVID-free status soon after I last wrote. Our second wave of the virus, at the end of July, followed a rather extreme local lockdown which lasted five weeks. I still see many more Vietnamese people wearing masks as a standard part of their attire now. There are no current COVID restrictions in Vietnam, other than those applicable to incomers at the borders, the most relevant is, the country is sadly still closed to tourists. I remain very grateful to our temporary host country who only require us to renew our tourist visa monthly, this is free depending on our date of entry, otherwise this now costs about $50. It’s not possible to say why they allow us to stay. We assume it might be viewed as dangerous or heartless to return us to countries that are still fighting to control COVID. I remain very grateful to my temporary host country while my own, in the UK, has returned to lockdown for the third time.
If my stay here is allowed to continue, I plan to revisit Hanoi for autumn and then my wish will be to return to Thailand where I hope to be able to retire one day.
The caseload to date is 1,553 total cases. Two new cases (They don’t say whether this is in the community, or new arrivals in quarantine.) And, a total of 35 deaths. Impressive considering we border China!
Singapore:
A family of New Yorkers Rides Out the
Pandemic Safely in Asia
Clockwise left to right: Jeanhee, Jemma, Chiara and Luke pose for a selfie at the world’s tallest indoor waterfall at the Jewel entertainment complex in Singapore. (Photo Courtesy of the Kimelias.)
Name: The Kimelia Family (Jeanhee, Luke, Chiara and Jemma)
Nationality: USA (New York City)
Current Location: Singapore
Instagram: @Kimelias.Eat
The Kimelias are still in Singapore. Whenever anyone asks us how long we’ve lived in Singapore, we tell them: As long as the virus has been here! Singapore has been aggressive and take-no-prisoners in its defense against COVID-19. That has allowed us to live a relatively normal lifestyle the last six months, and to tolerate the constraints. The kids go to school in person daily, and have since July 2020. Luke and I work at home, and appreciate that there is a lot of light and fresh air in our apartment. Restaurants, movie theaters, museums, the beach, the parks, public transportation and more are all open for business and pleasure.
This is a nation of rules-followers for the most part, and we are compliant as well. Masks are mandatory everywhere; if you are at an eatery you cannot take your mask off until you are served something to eat or drink. For months and months, groups were capped at a maximum of 5 people. I was in an exercise class at the beach of 5 students and a teacher, which was permitted. But because we had a total group of more than 5, many passersby took video and photos of us and called the police, who ultimately agreed the instructor had a valid permit, but still treated us sternly. For the last 6 weeks only has the government eased restrictions so that groups can be up to 8 people; if you have guests in your home, the maximum of 8 people includes everyone within a 24-hour period! That has meant a canceled dinner invitation on one occasion because our host’s child had friends over after school.
We are grateful for all that Singapore has done to protect us and we look forward to the imminent nationwide vaccination rollout. The hardest thing has been our sympathy for our kids, who miss their friends back home terribly, and their past lives, too. The fact that the country they left behind and their hometown might never be the same is unimaginable to them. That’s been the most difficult part of parenting in the pandemic. They miss their friends and family so much and keep asking about home, and we believe their old life might be lost forever, that they wouldn’t necessarily be returning to something familiar. And we regret our empty guest bedroom. We had hoped it would be used frequently for family and friends to visit. Instead, we’ve turned it into a laundry folding and sorting room.
There is still a lot of uncertainty. How long will the pandemic last? When will we be vaccinated? Since our kids cannot be vaccinated, what will that mean for us if we wish to travel again? Adding to the uncertainty is that we are not sure how our visa renewal will be received, which we are eligible to apply for in the spring. Our current visa expires in the fall. So we live each day and wait for news that the countries can safely open borders and that we are free to move about the world as we had hoped when we started our globetrotting adventure about 18 months ago.
Queensland, Australia:
A COVID-Free Santuary
Nina helped relocate a baby kangaroo who lost his mom to another family. (Photo courtesy of Nina Mariana Pascha.)
Name: Nina Mariana Pascha
Nationality: Netherlands and Thailand
Current Location: Queenland, Australia
Instagram: Nina.m.pascha
Saint George, a small town in the south west of Queensland Australia. That’s were I’ve been for the last six months, working in an onion packing shed as Quality Control for a friend’s farm – six hours away from Brisbane and fairly remote from the busy cities.
Australia has been a sanctuary in the last year. I haven’t been anywhere in Australia where masks are mandatory. Any flair up of community transmission has resulted in quick and strict lockdown in hotspots around Australia. We’ve just had our first case in two weeks! Other than signing in at the pub (for traceability), life is normal and there are absolutely no restrictions. At least that’s my experience. I’ve not a city person so I have decided not to go to Sydney or Melbourne where life could be more restricted.
Throughout the country there has been a level of understanding and respect towards the community. You wouldn’t want to be the person who brings COVID into a small town. Australia has done a phenomenal job at keeping the country safe. This is a western country and culture, but the people and government has dealt with COVID drastically different from other western countries.
Soon I’ll be leaving my job and taking another road trip adventure up the East Coast. I’m planning on spending the next few months exploring the beautiful coast and getting my open water diving certificate at the Great Barrier Reef. My time here in Australia is coming to an end as I plan on heading back home to Thailand in late May. My time here has been wonderful, and I could stay much longer but after two years my backpacking days are coming to an end.
Heading back home to Chiang Mai will not be easy. At the moment, it looks like I will have to get a certificate clearance from the embassy, health check, and a COVID test just to board the flight. Once I’m in Thailand, there will be a mandatory two week quarantine. It’ll be a shock back into reality as a leave this sanctuary.
Lisbon, Portugal:
Applying for Residency in a New Country
Becky decided to apply for residency in Portugal during the pandemic and is now based in Lisbon. (Photo couresty of Becky Gillespie.)
Name: Becky Gillespie
Nationality: American
Current Location: Lisbon, Portugal
Instagram: @tokyobecky
Travel Podcast: theschooloftravels.com
The past six months have been more eventful for me than I would’ve expected during these tough COVID times that seem to be never ending. I spent seven months of 2020 in Japan where I have permanent residency after going there, by chance, for a business trip at the end of January. While there, I finally finished a book about the Tokyo neighborhood that I lived in for nine years called Shimokitazawa and self-published it on Amazon!
By August, though, I was really wanting to try to get to a different country because Tokyo can be quite expensive when you don’t have long-term accommodation set-up. I had been in a small bedroom in a guesthouse for four months by then and didn’t even have a private bathroom (not the safest situation during COVID but thankfully no one got sick during that time). By August 2020, I decided to leave Japan because I was worried that I would become a resident for tax purposes if I stayed much longer. By sheer luck, because Japan had such a good COVID record over the summer and a flight I had booked in early 2020 happened to be the only airline going to Europe in August, I was able to use a travel voucher to fly to Lisbon, Portugal from Tokyo and only pay $100 extra for the whole thing.
I had visited Portugal in both 2018 and 2019 and had started considering getting residency there even before COVID as a potential way to gain access to the EU and live in Europe long-term after so many years in Japan. I wanted a base that was closer to my family in the U.S. and also in a place that was well connected to so many other places. Lisbon seemed to check a lot of boxes for me, and I knew that I might have a chance if I could apply for the D7 visa, which many freelancers apply for along with retirees from the U.S. Once I got to Lisbon in August, I quickly learned that it was best to apply for this visa from your home country, which in my case was the U.S. Although I was really scared to visit the U.S. with so many COVID cases at the time, I managed to stay safe, went home, applied for the visa to Portugal in five days, and then went to Mexico for two months to wait for the visa to be processed and avoid overstaying my time in the U.S. and being taxed as a US resident, which happens if you stay in the U.S. for more than 35 days/year if you are regularly living and working outside of the U.S. as a nomad.
I had applied for a second U.S. passport in 2017 for a trip to Israel and it had six months before it expired, which allowed me to go to Mexico and wait for the other passport to be processed in with the Portuguese visa in the U.S. (Pro tip: U.S. Citizens are legally allowed to have two passports at the same time, though the second one is only granted for special reasons and is only good for four years.) Once my visa was processed, I returned to the US, picked up my passport and went to Portugal where I am now, slowly getting everything in place for my meeting with Portuguese immigration in March (fingers crossed).
Back in August in Portugal, many people were not wearing masks and shops and even bars were open. There were some restrictions like no more than two people to an Uber and you had to buy food with your alcohol after 8 p.m. in bars and restaurants, but now, in February 2021, we are in lockdown here in Lisbon and restaurants are only open for takeaway. Uber still only has two people per car (except Uber XL) and all gyms and non-essential services have closed. Now, about 95% of people wear masks on the street.
While I was still in Portugal over the summer, I actually reconnected with a fellow nomad I had met in 2019 who had also recently arrived in Lisbon. We kept in touch while I was in Mexico and we have now been reunited in Portugal and are in lockdown together. I was definitely not looking for love, but somehow it found me in the middle of a pandemic!
London, England:
The Lockdown Continues
Jackie has made the most of her time in London with a few short trips to Italy during the summer/fall.. As a side project, she grew her travel Instagram account following 10K from 4k in just six weeks!
Name: Jackie Rezk
Nationality: U.S.
Current Location: London, U.K.
Website: joujoutravels.com;
Instagram: @joujoutravels; Facebook: joujoutravels
I was able to escape to Italy twice in 2020. Once in July for three weeks then October for three weeks. The summer trip was to the Puglia region of Italy and the Amalfi Coast for my birthday. I traveled solo there and had an incredible time. It was definitely less crowded and the Puglia region in general is less known to tourists. I was able to connect with the locals even more so given the circumstances. For example, the restaurant owner in Positano was able to sit and chat with me after I remember going to the same place three years prior and not even being able to find a seat. He talked about how sad the situation is especially for tourism and a business like his own. What I love about traveling is meeting the locals like in this example. It was a really nice escape because things were open even though it was less crowded and I could kind of avoid reality.
I came back home and just wanted to get back to that escape because things were not so great in London. I was feeling really down and literally bought a ticket to Milan the next day and packed my bags and left suddenly. It was really spontaneous and I didn’t have the next weeks planned at all, but it felt right. I went to Venice and had never seen it so empty. I also went to Florence and stayed in the coolest airbnb ever – the window was literally to the Duomo. As soon as I got back in October, we went into lockdown again (and so did Italy so I left at the right time).
Then, in December, the new mutation was announced in the UK and things seemed to get worse. Countries started blocking UK visitors and we went into a stricter lockdown similar to March. However, more people seem to be out and about than in March as it seems people are sick of the whole situation.
I also lost my job in December due to restructuring at work, which was accelerated by COVID. This puts me in a tricky situation because I want to continue living in London but can’t without a new visa sponsor. I am allowed to stay through June legally and have been doing a lot of interviews with hopes that they can sponsor my visa and I can stay. If I am unable to find something, I’m not sure what I will do as I really don’t want to move back to the U.S. – I am only two years away from being able to live here without sponsorship. So right now I do continue to be in London.
During this lockdown, everything is closed except for essential shops and restaurants for take-away only. It will be this way until at least March! I definitely can’t wait til things return to more normalcy again.
I’ve had a lot of extra time being in lockdown and not working so I’ve been really expanding my blog and Instagram presence (grew to 10k! 🥳 from 4k in only 6 weeks – my many viral videos are to thank for that). I feel like I have picked up some nice new hobbies because of this all but can’t wait to get back to traveling again soon!
I still have not even been able to see my family in over a year as they live in the U.S. but thankfully they were able to get the vaccine. The only travel I have planned is hopefully seeing them in spring time. And when we are allowed to travel again I plan to go anywhere I can!
France:
Moving to Europe From Bali
When the pandemic started, Ashley was in Bali where she met her partner. They both recently moved to Europe to look for jobs. (Photo Courtesy of Ashley Clawson)
Name: Ashley Clawson
Nationality: U.S.
Current Location: Bali, Indonesia
Instagram: @bearnomadic
I have travelled throughout Indonesia, the UK, France, and Italy over the past several months. I’ll talk a little bit about what travel has been like during the pandemic.
I travelled throughout Indonesia from February to December of 2020. I booked my flight from the United States to Indonesia before I heard much about the coronavirus, and certainly before the coronavirus was declared a global pandemic. Initially, despite the news of the virus, life in Indonesia continued on normally. Slowly, though, some public attractions closed down or put restrictions in place, and many of my friends’ booked flights from Indonesia back their home countries were cancelled (many friends were offered vouchers in place of refunds). My flights from Indonesia to Australia were cancelled and I had to call the airline to get a refund. Due to the issues we had with flights, my friends and I decided it was safer to stay in Indonesia, and it honestly felt calm and free during the time we were there. Additionally, we were able to travel throughout the islands of Indonesia as long as we tested negatively for the coronavirus, wore masks, and practiced social distancing.
I met my now-partner in Indonesia. I am a U.S. citizen, and he is a French citizen, so we contacted the U.S. and French embassies to determine if we could both travel to either the U.S. or France together after leaving Indonesia, but we received vague answers. We heard, from friends, about US citizens being declined entrance into several European countries, but being allowed to enter through the UK. So, we decided to travel to the UK to gain entrance into Europe, and then to travel to France to stay in his hometown. When I booked my flight to the UK, I had to fill out a form declaring the address I was quarantining at. When I arrived at UK customs, I didn’t have to talk to a customs agent, to have my passport stamped, or show negative coronavirus results. However, I had to quarantine in the UK for two weeks at a location of my choosing.
After our quarantine in the UK, we almost immediately travelled to France. The day after we left for France, the UK went on lockdown, and people were not allowed to leave the country. We were honestly very lucky to leave when we did. When my partner and I arrived to border control in France, I received a passport stamp, but I wasn’t asked to show negative coronavirus results. At one point, we breifly travelled to Italy, and we didn’t even see an agent at the border. However, my partner, his family, and I did take coronavirus tests before coming into contact with one another. If we came into contact with new people, we took new coronavirus tests. Additionally, in the UK, France, and Italy, we observed mandates to wear masks and socially distance in public spaces.
Fortunately, my partner and I have ultimately been able to travel to each of our intended destinations, although it has undoubtedly taken significantly more research and planning than during pre-coronavirus times. We are now located in France and are planning our next steps. We were initially looking into living in South Africa, Dubai, Canada, or the UK because based on our research, these locations have many English-speaking work opportunities and provide work visa sponsorships. However, because my partner and I luckily spent just over two weeks in the UK before December 31, 2020, he was able to apply for a pre-settled status in the UK. So, we will likely re-locate to the UK, as he will have the right to work in the UK, and I will be the only one required to obtain a work sponsorship.
With a lot of luck and patience, everything has seemed to fall into place for us so that we can remain together. Wish us luck with building our future in the UK – or wherever life takes us next.
Colorado:
Evacuation Flight Home After a Year of Travel
Jodie was in the middle of a year-long trip around the world when the pandemic hit and returned to the U.S. in July 2020 from Argentina. She’s now returned to Colorado. (Photo Courtesy of Jodie Mohrhardt)
Name: Jodie Mohrhardt
Nationality: American
Current Location: Colorado
Website/Social media: @Jodiemohrhardt & thefoxandthetoad.com
The transition from living life abroad and traveling for nearly a year to coming back home during a pandemic was both exciting and incredibly difficult. Life is quite a bit faster now. We left behind easy mornings spending two hours sitting by the fire chatting and drinking matte in Argentina. No more spending two hours making dinner and loving every moment of it because it was time spent cooking and sharing food with friends. No more long walks with new friends trying to communicate and laughing the whole time. No more endless days of practicing Spanish and painting for hours on end. No more long walks up into the mountains or adventures into the snow of Patagonia. Life is a little bit faster now, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad.
It was hard to come home, but I had to return to work two weeks after I landed in the U.S. leaving just enough time to quarantine. We got a bus out of El Bolson that was scheduled to take 25 hours to get to Buenos Aires. Instead, because of the snow, we ended up sitting on that bus for over 32 hours with only one stop and more than eight kids sitting way too close to our seats. We were wrecked when we got to B.A. As we drove into the city on the freeway in the middle of the night, we came upon a group of people burning tires in the middle of the highway, and as we tried to drive around it, they stepped out with huge guns to block our way. I started putting my shoes on as fast as I could as the bus started speeding backwards to get out of there. Finally, we made it to our hotel for a quick few hours of rest and then went to the airport where it would be another long day.
In Michigan, we stayed in a trailer by my parents house and spent two weeks trying to social distance and wearing masks. My family all lives together, and I mean all of them so this was not an easy task. We all have 40 acres of land that is all connected and within that there are now nine homes including my grandmas. So, we wanted to make sure after a four-day journey back to the U.S. that we were being safe since the virus was still so unknown. After two weeks, we came back to Denver where we saw some friends and settled back into our van and our friends’ place where we lived.
Returning to our friend group was both wonderful and hard, it’s nearly impossible to sum up life changing moments and extraordinary experiences with a few sentences. Very few people want to sit down for an afternoon and relive memories with you that they don’t have. I have traveled enough in my life to realize that people ask the same questions, “How was the trip?” or “What was your favorite part/country?” It’s hard to sum a year up into a sentence.
Back in Colorado, COVID was rampit and things were closed down, I started teaching again but it was basically a whole new job as I had to try and teach a hands-on visual subject (art) through a computer. I went through a terrible loss of a close friend that shattered everything and getting back into the swing of things through all of that felt overwhelming and impossible. Eventually with the support of close friends, I was able to find a new normal.
So now, things are back to how they were, same same but different. I fell back into some of the same routines that I once had. But I do them in a different light with new insight and experience. I have stayed vegetarian and close to vegan (only cheese is my weakness). I continue to make my own granola, oat milk, and cashew cheese, and I cook all my meals with delicious vegetables and with lots of love just as I did in Patagonia. I have also brought back a new energy from my travels to grow my jewelry and art business once again (www.thefoxandthetoad.com), started climbing again in a gym and being a weekend warrior, and bought a house big enough for a separate apartment that we can rent out. That last one has been the most change. I went from being without a permanent place and spending barely any money for over a year to purchasing a house and all the things that go in it. (and there is a lot that goes into a house!!) But it’s all part of the journey and the plan to make this happen again. To feel the freedom of taking a year off and enjoying life fully without worry.
So while I still miss traveling and climbing around the world, I am excited to pour that energy into our new home, my business and making memories close to home.
If you missed Part 1 of the series, read it here! For more blog posts, sign up for my email list below to have them delivered straight to your inbox!
