Why I Decided to Start My Travels During the Pandemic

Travel is my favorite form of therapy, and honestly, I really needed it this year. My deferred globetrotting dreams were beginning to fester and swell while I was sitting at my mother’s house. After being in the house for so long, I just needed to step outside, experience a former love, and find my new normal.

I wasn’t quite ready to go back to a 9 to 5, even if that 9 to 5 was remote. I realized that my fear of covid-19 was crippling my plans a bit, so much so that I was staying in a country I didn’t want to be based in. I knew my new normal wasn’t in the United States. If you all remember, I planned on going abroad just before the pandemic hit. Continuing to quarantine in Ohio was not getting me any closer to any of my professional or personal goals. It was no longer serving me or my purpose.

So, after thinking and rethinking, I bought my ticket to my first stop, Kenya! Why did I choose Kenya as my first stop? Well quite honestly, I have friends who either live there or are from there, and the ticket price made sense. I also had a gracious friend that could serve as my emergency contact and reliable host.

Also, covid-19 cases were significantly lower in most of Africa compared to the U.S., I felt more comfortable there. This became part of my travel plan, only travel to countries with low case counts and get the required covid-19 tests within 48 hours of travel. I also followed covid-19 news closely and canceled countries with rising cases and variants (i.e. South Africa).

So now, here I am — I’m on the continent of Africa, slowly making my way through a couple of the countries that have been on my travel list for some time. I’m in my new normal while abroad, still realizing my current goals but in a comfortably cautious way.