2020 has been a year for me, just as it’s been a year for everyone else.

I had a lot of high expectations for 2020. It was my first full year in the UK with my husband, with lots of plans of where we were going to travel in the European and Northern African region.

But covid-19 hit. My husband essentially had to evacuate from Shanghai instead of being able to move on his planned date to the UK after CN New Year. He abandoned almost 3/4 of his belongings and evacuated to the UK before flights and borders were closed due to the coronavirus outbreak.

We watched the spread of covid-19 spread across the world and hit Europe by a storm. We were locked down in our London apartment for 1 month, that then felt like 3 months, which then felt like 10 years. I believe we were locked in our flat for ~3 months in total. Or even more. It all became a blurr.

We were able to travel a bit during the summer as covid restrictions were lifted, but not to the extent I was planning. But that’s life.

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Due to a number of factors and circumstances that were made worse by covid-19, my husband and I decided to move back to the SF Bay Area this year, ending our 3 year whirl-wind of living abroad.

I’ve appreciated my time abroad. I’ve had so many experiences, saw so many places, ate amazing food, met great people and made lasting friendships. And most of all, I got to explore the world. I would never trade this experience for anything else.

I don’t see this move back to my hometown as the end of my explorations. I see it as the new phase of my explorations: National parks, US cities, exploring the Americas. When I am able to, spending time in Europe, Africa and Asia in longer-leg trips instead of weekend trips that I’ve gotten accustomed to.

I’m itching for the day when I’ll be able to get on a plane, land in some new place, explore the area, meet the people, eat the food, and expand my horizon.

But until that’s possible, thank you to all of our doctors, nurses, hospital workers, scientists, public health officials, etc. who are working day-in and day-out to help better this situation.

Until then, I’m ready for my next exploration.