15 Ways to Enjoy the Journey from Home

Note: I had originally posted a version of this at the end of my previous post, but kept adding to my list, and it got overgrown. So here it is in its own separate post for your convenient reference (when you’re getting cabin fever!). Enjoy! And coming soon will be another post about two more women with amazing journeys, called “Two Young Queens.” Stay tuned! 

For those of us who love journeys and adventures, this Coronavirus Quarantine we’re all in is tough, even if we’re lucky enough to not be sick or laid off work right now. My heart goes out to all of you who are affected by Covid-19, and I do want to take that seriously. I imagine that many of you are looking for new jobs, caring for sick relatives, trying to home-school your kids since school is out, or other important tasks, and of course just trying to survive emotionally with all the isolation. As for me, my hours/income has been cut in half and I’m trying to figure out how to teach online. It’s tough, but not as tough as it is for those of you on the front lines (health care professionals, grocery store workers, social workers, etc.) I’m praying and cheering for you! Safety is first, of course! But we all need some fun, too, in order to make it through this. So this list of fun activities is for any of you who are feeling the Coronavirus Quarantine Cabin Fever.

When I lived in a conflict zone in Central Asia, we had fun ways of dealing with “compound fever” when we weren’t allowed to leave our school/home compound for extended lengths of time due to security situations in the city. I think our favorites were playing Wii Just Dance, having fun parties (masquerades, murder mystery parties, themed movie nights, etc.), planning trips and outings for the future, and of course keeping busy teaching our awesome students. For your amusement or benefit in any way, I’ve made a list of things you can do to tide you over until you can get out. Some of these have more educational/cultural value than others. But they’re all fun. And they can even be done if you’re sick, with Covid-19 or anything else (but I sure hope you’re not!).

15 (at last count) ways to enjoy the journey from the comfort of your own home: (in no particular order)

1. Make a dream/wish/bucket list of all the places you want to go. Choose one that is possible to go to in the next year. Plan the trip. For big trips, make a savings plan, and if you haven’t been laid off work, start saving. If you’re not able to work, plan to start saving when you can.
2. Go for a walk in your neighborhood, if you can. Try to notice something new you’d never noticed before. This one, of course, is dependent on the level of the “stay at home/shelter in place” policies that your city/state/province/country has placed you on. Don’t do anything you’re not supposed to do.
3. Watch travel shows or National Geographic episodes online.
4. Watch movies or read books that take place in areas of the world that you’d like to visit (preferably by people who have actually been there). Since my previous blog post was about Afghan women, I highly recommend the book A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (the man that wrote The Kite Runner). I also recommend the film “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” with Ben Stiller, where he travels around the world (including Afghanistan!). Another option: read a book by/about a real person who has been on a journey. I’m currently rereading Berlin Diaries by Marie Vassiltchikov, a Russian princess who worked in Berlin during WWII. And hey, if you need books, consider ordering online from Powell’s City of Books (in Portland) instead of Amazon. They were at risk for closing for good because of the stay at home orders, but good news; everyone who bought online helped them hire back all their employees! Here’s a link to a site with a button at the bottom to order in a way to help their Worker Relief Fund: https://ilwulocal5.com/?fbclid=IwAR0MsxRl4hOQylBLV5b2vJxhILD92TjyYDYC1BIvz9Gx_Uba8ZNaNUnzgMg
5. Chat on the phone or online with friends who live far away from you and ask what it’s like there. Don’t forget to chat with your close-by friends, too! We all need each other right now! And of course, take time to call people who may be extra lonely right now, including those who have lost their job/livelihood, people living alone, and the elderly.
6. Take this time to organize your collection of travel things: maps, brochures, postcards, etc. Okay, maybe you don’t have an extensive collection of these things like I do. I may or may not be a hoarder of such things. I’m sure there’s a 12-step group out there for people like me. “Hi, my name is _____, and I’m a compulsive collector of maps and other things related to travel…” If this is true of you, perhaps set aside some items that can be given to others.
7. Order some photos online, break out your old scrapbook or art supply stash, and make some scrapbook pages, greeting cards, or other artworks of places you’ve been. Remember when we used to do that? Before we just posted photos on Facebook or Instagram? Reminiscing about past travels reminds us how much we’ve gotten to experience already, and can help us be content during this time of staying home. If you’ve lived/traveled places with other people, call them to reminisce together.
8. Break out that puzzle you got years ago of some beautiful place in the world, and put it together. I recently did a Dollar Tree puzzle of Strasbourg, France. My parents have been there.
9. Do lunges and other workout activities to keep in shape for hiking/exploring. This is good for you anyway, even if you’re not missing traveling. Of course be safe and consult a doctor first if you should.
10. Break into your kids’ toybox (or your own stash) and build a Lego replica of a place you want to go. My friend Chris just finished Big Ben, which he’d been working on for months.
11. Visit famous museums virtually! Or other cool places! https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/ten-museums-you-can-virtually-visit-180974443/
12. “Explore” the world on Google Earth. It’s super fun to zoom in on a famous place and look at it from different angles. Several years ago I made a geography “passport” project for students based on this. I’m not sure where I have the digital files for it, or I’d share it. But I remember it involved writing latitude and longitude for the places they “visited” (and drawing them, because that’s fun), and a map in the back that’s divided like a coordinate plane (X and Y graph like in math class) and some questions to get them thinking geographically.
13. Journal what your life is like right now! It’s part of your journey. Write about your thoughts, hopes, fears, relationships, and anything else that’s part of your life. Don’t be afraid to write about the trivial things: what little (or big) things are you doing to cope with being cooped up?
14. Check out these activities about USA’s national parks that you can do from home! https://www.nationalparks.org/connect/blog/park-activities-you-can-do-comfort-your-home
15. Explore my home state of Oregon! Whether you’re from here, been here once, or only dreamed of coming here, this is one way to check out some new places.    https://traveloregon.com/things-to-do/trip-ideas/parents-guide-oregon-activities-home/

Whatever you do with your time, you have my best wishes for your health (mental, physical, emotional, etc.) and happiness. Enjoy the journey, however you can! And please share your ideas for doing so in the comments below! And in case you’re wondering about the photo, that is my neighbor’s goat, peaking his head through the fence by my apartment. It has no official purpose for being in this post besides being adorable. And I’m glad he’s right next door so I can see him during this worldwide quarantine!