Today was such a beautiful day here in Vilsbiburg, Germany.
We ate breakfast outside, sat in the backyard for extended periods of time, and even took a walk in the late afternoon. We did another load of laundry and hung it up outside, too. I think it hit sixty degrees Fahrenheit today (which feels like eighty degrees here)!
There is this hilarious and wonderful thing happening during the quarantine.
People are learning how to spend their time, and even how to have fun, all over again.
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I want us to remember how hopeful and positive we feel right now, though. Because I am aware that the feelings we have on Day 5 might not be the same on Day 15, and hopefully we do not have to find out what even later may feel like.
But we can push forward and let our new ideas lead to more new ideas. Our ideas will not exhaust themselves because we can tap into our latent creativity and find that the well is actually overflowing out of our minds and hearts.
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I think we are finding out that people are actually interesting. Finally.
If you need more knowledge to be more interesting, hit up "Jeopardy" reruns on Netflix.
Last night, we did end up finding the movie I mentioned on Day 3, Testament of Youth, about World War I. Very, very thought-provoking and beautiful, and it's a war movie, so Marc liked it, too. It is on Amazon Prime, at least where we live!
I also want the record to show that the Apple Crisp that I made on Day 1 did indeed last until Day 5!
We are currently controlling ourselves through taco rationing. We skipped avocados today.
To answer two more of the questions posed to me via Instagram...
1) How is COVID-19 impacting your view of travel?
I think my answer to this question is going to evolve over the course of the pandemic. I can say that in this first week of being affected by CoVid-19, I did have to cancel all of the France trip plans for the first two weeks of April. That was a huge bummer. I can count on one hand how many trips I have canceled...like, this might be the first time EVER. I do a lot of research and love making travel decisions, so I am not the type who usually recants my plans.
As far as my views on future travels go, I normally should fly to the USA in early June, but am aware that might not work out. I will wait until much later in May to make the final decision on that. I have some halfway-made plans for Spain in July, but I will wait to cancel or finish those until much, much later.
I am usually about nine months planned out in my calendar, so having to now go day-by-day and not really getting to nail down what I'll be doing in a few weeks or months does force me to adjust my perspective.
In general, I would say, at this point, that I still plan to travel like I have been as the situation abates. I am not going to whine about the first-world problem of "not getting to take my trips because people have the flu," or something like that. I am taking the pandemic seriously, and I am content to wait it out. I spent most of my life not vagabonding around, so I can revert to that version of myself pretty seamlessly.
[Now running off into a tangent, hang in there...]
How is it so simple for me to backtrack like that? Well, I think there are two main reasons. One, because I have been writing about my experiences since I was ten. Now I am thirty-four. There is a lot of self-reflection in writing (and in twenty-four years), and I can "time travel" whenever I want back to who I have been.
Two, when I had less resources and opportunities to physically travel, I always went all over the world in books. I know that a book can take me wherever I want to go, and I can also time travel in that sense, too. So, all that to say, I was not an unhappy person when I wasn't traveling as much, and I can remember how to manage that kind of explorative curiosity through reading and writing.
You can read more about the books to faraway places that I love here.
(I am also realizing I have never written an official post on my favorite travel books, or even favorite books in general, so noting that for the future, too.)
UPDATE: FAVORITE BOOKS VLOG HERE!!!
2) What are some fun things to do, so we are not only commiserating on what this world is coming to?
Reading and writing. HA!
I know not everyone clicks with all that word jazz, so here are some other options.
Ideas I have seen posted from other people: make a photo album online (AKA finally organize all your phone photos), celebrate the random holidays that are on each day, take social media connecting to a whole new level, photo challenges in WhatsApp groups, and return to non-digital activities like board games, puzzles, cards, and so forth. Crafts with just the stuff you have lying around the house are also a good challenge. You can start "Corona Christmas Gifts" (this belongs in the next category).
Ideas I am currently using: working out, walking, laying in the sunshine, chasing hedgehogs, reading, writing, blogging, organizing finances, cleaning, scheduling Google Hangouts and Zoom meetings for my teams, supporting social media connections, and practicing wearing my glasses.
The quarantine will only be as good or as bad as we make it!
You can follow all of my daily updates during the CoVid-19 quarantine here.