How to cope with the lack of travel

Despite the vaccine’s arrival a couple of months ago, it will still be a while before regular travel becomes a thing. Many countries still are looking at another month or two of strict lockdown. Some estimates say we will be good to go by the middle of this year, and others say it will be the end of this year, and there are more conservative estimates that say it won’t be well until next year. I’m not going to place a betting game on this. I really hope I can finally take off somewhere this spring or even sooner to close by somewhere. I think the best is to take things one week or month at a time instead of being either overly optimistic or borderline fear-mongering. Winter does not really make it better. So what are some ways to bring travel to you in the meantime? This is what I’m doing.

Watch DW documentaries

DW ( Deutsche Welle) is probably my favorite news by far. Many don’t realize that they also make some excellent documentaries about places from all over the world and touch on many of the contemporary issues going on. They are very informative and beautifully done. They are also free to anyone. You can access their documentaries on youtube and their website. Of course, you can access many documentaries in German and even some other languages such as Spanish.

Here are some of the last ones that I’ve watched: A Journey through Mongolia, Traveling the Silk Road, Thailand, and the fall out of mass tourism.

Buy one of those silly boxes

You might have seen these ads for boxes from around the world that contain various treats and products from various countries. They pop up on social media all the time for me. I thought they were rather silly, but I decided to cave in a couple of weeks ago and order an ” Ararat box.” It is a box that contains 10-20 Armenian treats and souvenirs, depending on which box you select. The proceeds go to help displaced Armenians from the war in Artsakh. I bought my brother a box from a site called “snack crate.” These boxes include snacks from random countries. They are probably overpriced and silly, but they can help make more people interested in other countries. It could be a fun idea if you are stuck virtual schooling your kid. I might order a Korean box next month for myself just because. These are just a few examples. There are dumber ways to blow 15-40 bucks.

Some suggested boxes: Ararat Box , Inspire me Korea, Snackcrate

Brush up on a foreign language

Have you ever visited a country and were bummed out that you could not speak the language very well, so you vowed to study the language to speak it when you return. Well, now is your chance! Watch some foreign films. Use a language learning app. Duolingo and Bussu are both great. People seem to trash Duolingo, but learning vocabulary and getting people interested in a language is fantastic. More native speakers English speakers people are using this app than ever before. Native English speakers are admittedly worse at learning languages if Duolingo can help raise the enthusiasm good for it. Busuu is also nice because you can practice your writing skills and have a native speaker correct them.

If you want to practice your speaking skill, you can look at the options of taking online lessons with professional teachers of your target language. It is honestly much less expensive than people perceive. A lady in Guatemala that helps me with my Spanish charges 10 USD/ 8.50 euros a lesson. This is less than what people spend on two beers in a bar in many western countries. If you are interested in learning Spanish from an experienced Guatemalan native speaker, comment below, and I can put you in touch with her. You can directly contact language schools all over the world and ask for online lessons. You can also go to certain platforms such as Lingoda, Preply, and Italki. A couple of French NGOs have developed a program where people worldwide can practice their French by speaking with older people who feel isolated.

There are just some things you can do to contain your travel itch. You can also volunteer for a cause. You can take this time to become informed about global issues as well, so you can learn more about the situations in the countries you would like to visit. Plan some trips for the future. This is not going to be a forever thing. It might cheer you up. If you still can’t take it anymore, go on a trip, but make sure it is covid safe. If you need some ideas, look at my last article.

I hope this helps! Tune in next time to see what where I will write about next