Hey There, It’s Been a While!

How in the heck are you doing?! Have you survived the ups and downs and craziness of the past year? I know a lot has happened in my life since I last posted — and I’m sure the same goes for you.

After publishing my last blog post in June of 2020, I decided to take a little break from blogging. But here I am, 14 months later, tip-type-tapping my way across the keyboard again. And, swiftly approaching, I’ve got my first international trip in nearly two years (!) — reminding me that the last time I crossed international borders was in October and November of 2019, on a twenty-five-day, five-country jaunt through Sicily, Berlin, Riga, Vilnius, and Tallinn. What a whirlwind of a trip that was. And what a whirlwind we’ve all been through in a year and a half.

Photo Flashback…

Wowzer! When I took that trip in October–November of 2019, little did I know then what was in store for us all in 2020. My nostalgic 2019 travel detour ends here, though, because the purpose of today’s post is to get reacquainted and to share some highlights from my time offline. I know it’s been a tough time for so many people in communities all around the world. Globally, we’re all still finding ways of coping with new life norms during a pandemic.

But I’d like to focus on the positive things. I’ve found that there’s plenty to be grateful for, and I hope you’ve found grounds for gratitude, too.

Still Working in Travel — And Thankful

Firstly, I’m thrilled to be employed! [Insert happy emojis here.]

I’ve got a job I love, working for a great company within the travel sector — a sector that COVID-19 has pummelled. So, I feel especially fortunate to be employed. In order to make it through as a company, we’ve been working reduced-hour work weeks with additional required furlough days on top. But I’ve taken it all in stride and am soaking up the sunny side of this situation: three-day weekends every single week? Um…yes, please. And even the extra furlough days, I see as a blessing. They allow me more time for my own goals and projects. (And heck — those required furlough days have been a big impetus for my upcoming trip, which I’ll get to below!)

We stopped working in the office on March 16, 2020. Here we were, the last time Rick called us all together for an impromptu meeting behind the blue “Book Haus” (not visible here — it’s where our guidebook editors do their magical thang):

Healthy, Helpful, Happy Habits

When we started working from home, I just happened to be immersed in “Atomic Habits” by James Clear. What a boon of a book! It helped alter my modus operandi, providing tips and tools for adopting mindful new practices and re-shaping how I live my day-to-day life. Maybe you’ve heard of it? Or read it yourself? I give the book credit for many of the positive routines I’ve established since the pandemic hit.

Here are a few of those healthy, helpful, happy habits:

Every Day I’m Journaling

Guess what?! James Clear helped me rekindle my passion for daily journaling! Back when I was still a young thang living on Kauai at the age of 20, I was very disciplined about journaling. (One of these days, I’m going to read through those old journals as a means of time-and-space travel, so I can peek into the thoughts and dreams of a young woman trying to make her way in the world.)

Sadly, once I moved from Kaui to Germany, I stopped journaling. How I wish I’d kept it up through all these years — especially throughout my adventures working on cruise ships. But, hey — instead of regretting anything, I’m just happy I’ve picked the habit up again now.

Yoga On The Daily

When I started working from home, I knew I needed an anchor to keep me from becoming a sedentary blob, to keep me from losing my momentum, from succumbing to the inertia of a situation where you roll out of bed, walk ten steps to the kitchen-office to start the workday in pajamas, only stepping away from the laptop to head to the fridge or maybe take a few more steps to the bathroom before returning to the laptop-kitchen-office yet again. What a scenario!

You may recall, though, that I opted early on for a 30-Day Yoga challenge instead! And thank goodness for that decision. I’ve been practicing yoga practically every single day since and am so thankful for my now no-longer-new habit. It’s become like brushing my teeth or drinking my morning coffee — it feels weird if I don’t spend at least ten minutes on my mat each day.

If adopting a daily yoga practice is something you’ve been thinking about, I highly recommend it! It’ll make your mind, body, spirit, and spine oh-so-happy! And after a year-and-a-half of yoga from home, I’ve gotten to know many instructors. Here are my favorite YouTube yoga channels to help get you started:

• If you’re new to yoga, Yoga with Adriene is a fun, easy-going place to begin.
• If you’re looking for a variety of shorter 10-15 minute sessions (or longer), SarahBethYoga‘s got you covered.
• Want to up your game with a more intense challenge? Join Bre and Flo for some Breathe and Flow yoga.
• For motivational ballet-based workouts beyond yoga, Action Jacqueline is there for you.
• And, my personal favorite over the past year+ has been…Yoga with Kassandra! Enjoy.

Hmmm, I realize my list is lacking in diversity. Do you have any POC YouTube yogis you could recommend? Thanks!

Travel Without Leaving Your Front Door

I love to travel. But I haven’t been bored staying home. Not at all. I’ve got so many interests and projects going on all the time, so I’m always engaged in something. One of my many interests is language learning. To give you a little background, I studied abroad for four years (at the turn of the century!) in Germany, where I earned a BA in German Language and Literature. You could say I attained a pretty high level of proficiency at the time. But, as years passed — and after being based back in the US for more than a decade now — I’ve gotten pretty rusty.

But last October, I started another happy habit via an app called italki:

My italki Teachers

Since October of 2020, I’ve consistently been doing two italki sessions per week. I started with two half-hour sessions a week (a half-hour with each of my two teachers) but quickly switched to two hour-long sessions of German conversation with native speakers (Mandy and Sabine) each week. (I selected my teachers after watching their intro videos on the italki website.)

Let me give you a quick intro: With a German dad and an Ecuadorian mom, Sabine grew up completely bilingually. She finished her schooling in Germany but now lives outside Quito in Ecuador. Mandy, on the other hand, is straight-up German but had been living in London for quite a few years at the time we started our weekly German conversations last October. However, as soon as London announced it was going on lockdown last year, Mandy and her Spanish boyfriend quickly expedited an already planned move, and now they live in the Canary Islands!

So, not only do I love being able to practice my German each week (I’ve noticed a marked improvement in recall and fluency over the past eleven months), but I have so much fun chatting with these two lovely ladies at each and every session. Seriously, it’s always such a hoot! I love hearing about their lives in far-off destinations. In a way, it’s been a form of vicarious travel for me throughout the pandemic.

And, if you’re thinking of taking up a new language or brushing up on an old one, I can wholeheartedly recommend italki to you too!

Vaxxed and Ready for My Next Adventure

I could really go on and on about other positive things that I’ve been up to in the past year, but I realize this post is already pretty long! Ha. So, I’ll save the details of my upcoming international travel for my next post. However, I will say that it’s coming up very soon! Like, in an hour. I’m at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport now, waiting to board my flight.

I know the decision to travel — especially internationally — is a tricky one these days. But I’m fully vaccinated, and my COVID-19 PCR test (which is required by the country I’m traveling to — and which gives me peace of mind that I’m not carrying the virus abroad) came back negative. (Woohoo!) I’ve got a month-long Airbnb apartment rental arranged, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that everything will go smoothly. Flexibility is going to be the name of the game, and I can’t wait to share more with you soon. Watch this space!

P.S. The goal of my trip is more language learning. Wanna take a guess at what language (besides German!) I’ve been practicing these past couple of months?

As always, thanks for stopping by! I’d love to hear how you’ve been doing down in the comments. Do you have any trip plans of your own coming up?