I’ve been reminiscing about travel a lot lately. It’s been such a huge part of my life in recent years and the absence of it now, in the times of Coronavirus, is certainly felt. I keep thinking of starting to plan a new trip, for when this is all over. Or to make some nostalgic blog post, sorting through adventures of the past for my Top Ten Trips. But rather than simply highlighting some awesome times, I figured better to provide something more useful. The lessons learned through these trips and adventures. Some tips and tricks for when we can get back out there. We may be sheltering in place now, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and we will be traveling again in the future.

It is so, so frustrating, especially as a “writer” to not be able to say what you want, or to have to speak so poorly. To be getting words or grammar wrong all the time. It’s exhausting having to use my brain so much to say something so simple. I found myself worrying that the foundation I have (the words and phrases and structures I’ve learned) is not strong enough to be building new grammatical structures and words and verbs on top of it. I wondered for a second: “Am I in over my head?”

We were sitting at a wobbly aluminum table, topped with a beer tower for two, on the sidewalk outside a restaurant on Bangkok’s famed Khao San Road when she approached. Dressed in too many layers for the summer heat in Thailand, she was selling black wooden frogs in assorted sizes.

I’d been wanting to start volunteering in Mexico in some way, shape or form, since I finalized the idea to come and live here. It’s a good way to become more involved in the community and to feel a connection to the people of the city. It could be a way to make new friends. And of course, great practice for my Spanish-learning. So, why didn’t I start sooner?

What is the craziest thing that has ever happened to you on a flight?
This is the NUMBER ONE thing I’m asked when people find out I’m a flight attendant. It’s a natural thing to wonder. This is a life that many people never dream of living, a job that many people couldn’t imagine doing. Well, today I’m spilling the beans. Be warned, it’s messy.

There I was, standing at the edge of a cliff, looking down at the deep blue of the Agean Sea and the jagged tips of the white rocks that would surely kill me along the way down.
The bronzed stranger I’d come with was treading water below.

I’m two weeks into my stay in Medellin and I am Loving. Every. Minute. Mi español es still muy mal, but I’m understanding a little more every day. And I’m learning lots of other things along the way.
Here are some of my Second week takeaways:

1. Friends are the Enemy.

I love quarantine.
No, I’m not kidding.
I’ve been enjoying my time off in quarantine so much that I requested to take another month of voluntary leave for August. I figured I may as well “round out the Summer,” enjoy the best of New England, keep carving out headway in the various projects I’m working on.
But the universe had other plans for me. Schedules were published for August and, as it turns out, I’m going back to work.

We all face pressure. High pressure jobs, pressure from our families, societal and cultural pressure. But often the real pressure comes from within. Sometimes things happen and I’m struck to realize that, while I might be face-palming those external pressures, I’m still carrying my own self-induced burdens.
One of these things happened recently, when New Guy asked if he could come to Mexico City.

I’ve just finished my first week of group Spanish classes at Toucan Spanish School in Parque Lleras, and so far it’s going swimmingly. I was concerned about spending too much time with my English-speaking classmates (Have I told y’all about [...]