How to (attempt to) beat wanderlust during COVID-19

Last year, I began a year of military school, completing a two year program in one (the military loves 40+ hour work weeks - including school lectures). A year of any kind of technical school means that you only get a little time over Christmas to do any traveling, though even then it must be approved and can very easily be denied. Not only that, but you can get called back to class at any time during that break - meaning international travel is off limits.

My family and I try to travel every year. The year before last, I was deployed over the entire Summer break, but we still managed a road trip down to San Diego and Disneyland. Last year would have been our year to make a big international trip happen, but we couldn’t because of my school. We took the hit, knowing that this year-long school would set me up with a better career where I could make more money and we could travel more in the future. I graduated in May of 2020 - right in the middle of COVID. We moved back from San Antonio, TX (good riddance!) to our home in Reno in the middle of COVID, having to forego our plans to drive through Zion and Bryce Canyon and do some hiking because they were closed at the time.

The last time I was out of the country was on deployment, and while El Salvador was interesting, it wasn’t exactly traveling on my terms. We made some random trips around Texas while we were there, and a clandestine trip to New Orleans for a few days for Thanksgiving, and a trip to Oregon over Christmas break (only to make up for the fact that our plans to spend Christmas in Norway were canceled). For a family that travels regularly, this just isn’t acceptable. I dream of going to new places almost every night. Now, unfortunately, it seems it’ll be even longer before restrictions are lifted (or at least lightened up) and we can be free to travel again. I have been attempting to relieve some of this built up wanderlust in the following ways:

1. Plan trips.

I think the biggest part for me about traveling is learning about other places and people. While it doesn’t compare to full immersion, planning future trips, setting budgets, making “must visit”/ “must eat”/ “must do” lists, etc. broadens your understanding of that place. When you’re done, learn some more! Pay attention to how your understanding changes, or how the things you want to do there change. Sometimes you see a resort in a tropical place and you want to go there because it seems magical, but then you investigate what else there is to do there and find out that the resort is so far from the actual culture of that destination. Figure out what you actually want to experience, but also leave some time to roam around and get lost.

2. Read about journeys.

There’s a big subgenre of action/adventure and nonfiction/biographical books that covers journeys. Some of these cover the places and people along a journey and are simply good travel writing (Vroom with a View by Peter Moore is one of my faves for its easy reading and description of the Italian countryside). Others verge on philosophy (like the Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, or one of my favorite books: A Time of Gifts by Patrick Leigh Fermor [a journal by a man who walked across Europe from Holland to Constantinople in the 1930’s… and later became the inspiration for James Bond]). I’m currently reading Between the Woods and the Water by Patrick Leigh Fermor, in which he continues his walk across Europe, where he is just now in Transilvania; and Wild by Cheryl Strayed, about a woman who hiked the Pacific Crest Trail in the 1990’s. Whatever you choose, read good travel stories. It gets you more in the mood to travel, yes, but it also gives you a slight feeling like you’ve been somewhere.

3. Get outside in your local area.

I live in one of the best places for outdoor activities in America. On my days off this Summer, my family and I have gone camping, been to four different lakes, and hiked to the top of a mountain. We’ve seen eagles, woodpeckers, hummingbirds, tadpoles, frogs, tons of ladybugs, a marmot, and loads of other wildlife. We’ve also gone to local parks and explored there too. Getting out of the house makes you stop being lazy and boring. That’s what traveling does too.

4. Make strange food.

I currently have a can of escargot (snails) in my kitchen. I also have fresh-baked rye sourdough beer bread. These are both new developments from the past week. Last night I made a German-inspired meal of sausage, potatoes, cabbage fried with onions and dill, sauerkraut and Bavarian mustard. The other night, we had Norwegian chopped-steak with wild mushroom and goat cheese gravy. We’ve had Indian, Mexican, and Italian food this past week too. Get creative in the kitchen. Often, many of the foods you regularly eat can be tweaked to give you meals inspired by other countries.

5. Watch international movies.

Movies and TV from other countries can be strange. They can also be jarring if they depict things that are taboo or inappropriate to your culture. They are most often, in my experience, awkward, quirky, and interesting though. Traveling to other countries tests your ability to accept that things are different outside of your comfort zone. Movies and TV shows tend to show the extremes of cultures in order to be interesting to their market audience, and as travelers, we can take away a lot of information from them as well. Get used to reading subtitles, or just pick a movie and try to understand the nuance without using the dialogue. Either way, it’ll make you feel like you had an awkward encounter outside of your own culture - another staple of traveling.

6. [EXTREME] Pick a week and a place and make the whole week about that place.

Alright, I haven’t done this myself (yet) but the idea is that you travel to a place while still going about your life at home. When you cook, you only eat meals made with recipes from that location. When you watch tv, you only watch tv from that country or about that country. Listen to music from that country in the car while running errands, learn about traditions from that country, eat snacks from that country, etc. You get the idea. This takes a little planning and commitment, but ultimately, you will be getting out of your comfort zone, trying something new, and experiencing a different culture.

While some of these are obvious, it’s a challenge to keep up some of them for long. I’ll also admit that these things can help and hurt you. My dreams of going to new places haven’t changed (if anything, they are just more accurate now that I have researched where I’d like to go), but at the very least they have made my life more interesting.