Hello Everyone!

I know it has been a long time since I’ve updated the blog. The last time there was a blog entry was on July 24, 2020. I just want to use this time to let my beloved readers know that I have not forgotten about “Traveling with a View.” I just want to give a brief synopsis of what I have been up to since the last time I posted.

Like the entire world, COVID has changed life in many different ways. In some ways, there were some positive changes, and in other ways, there were not so positive aspects.

In terms of traveling, that had been essentially derailed for me since February 2020. Before COVID swept the globe, I was actually scheduled to visit my 100th country in March 2020. However, as things got worse, I decided that I could not risk getting stuck or stranded some place with my work responsibilities. Therefore, a few days before I was scheduled to leave, I cancelled my flight to the destination (I am still keeping it secret).

It turned out that cancelling my flight was the best thing since literally two days before the flight was supposed to leave, the airport in the city completely shut down. The airport would remain closed for several months. I then found myself sequestered in my location for the remainder of 2020 like most of the world. Although the airport has now been open for several months, and vaccines are available, I need to work and do not have time off.

By far though, the biggest positive change and life update is that I have returned to school. When the world went into lockdown, I decided to use this down time from travel to improve myself. In June 2020, I applied and got accepted into graduate school for a Master’s in Education. This is will be my 2nd Master’s degree, and while I really enjoy it, it is definitely challenging doing the program and working full-time, but this is something I have considered doing since around 2011/2012. I am so glad I finally took the definitive step and did it. I knew that if I did not do it, I would always continue to think about it. Currently, I am finishing up my second semester, and the program is scheduled to complete in May 2022. I have learned a lot of important information that will definitely help me in my career, and I am extremely thankful I decided to do this.

Because graduate school and working full-time take up most of my time, I have not been able to travel the way that I have in the past (COVID has also played a very significant role in this too). Despite this, I have not lost my passion for travel. In fact, in a way, it has been good to look at my future travel goals in a slightly different way. In the future, I am looking at doing some more “theme” types of travel, but that requires a bit more research.

Even though international travel has been put on hold for me for the foreseeable future, I have recently been able to rediscover my love for travel by doing some domestic day trips in the country I reside in. It’s amazing to me that I let these places go for all these years without paying them any attention.

Since work and grad school are demanding in themselves, I do not anticipate doing as many international trips due to a lack of time. Yet, I am going to try and focus on doing more local day trips since there are truly some beautiful places in the area around where I live, and I would love to share these places with my wonderful readers across the world.

This is just a short update on what I have been up to. Again, I have not given up on “Traveling with a View.” It is just that other life responsibilities have demanded my time and attention. However, I still plan on updating when I can.

How have you been spending your time lately? Have you learned any new skills or thought of going back to school? I’d love to hear your thoughts!