Join My 6-Week Travel Challenge!

Let’s face it. 2020 has been a lousy year for travel. The global pandemic has thrown a wrench into many plans this year and (as much as I hate to admit it) we likely have a bit of a road ahead.

Last year I visited 18 countries. This year, I’ll be lucky if I hit 6. I used to check google flights 3 times a day. Now, it’s barely on my radar. In the past, my life has consisted of traveling, planning, repeat. In 2020, it’s been a lot of dreaming and waiting.

But in spite of this widespread travel ban across the globe, I wanted to find meaningful ways to evoke the feelings and excitement that travel brings to our lives. And I had a feeling others would feel the same. That’s why I decided to start this challenge. So we can keep the travel dream alive by continuing to talk and dream about travel - as well as expand our definition of travel - finding beauty in simple things and our everyday environments.

I just kicked off Week 1 on Monday!!

And this challenge is all around international food and eating! Fun fact about me - I LOVE to eat. In fact, eating is one of my favorite parts of travel…I frequently do cooking classes and street food tours when I’m in a new country. And even before I travel, I typically research the cuisine, making note of all the dishes I want to try.

That’s why I wanted this first challenge to be around food. And I made sure participation was very easy - simply post about your meal on Instagram (stories is fine!) tagging me as well as using the hashtag #2020TravelChallenge. Anyone can do that!

If you really want to embrace the challenge fully though, I also encourage people to go deeper.

What are the traditional customs around eating and food in the country?

What are the primary diet staples?

How is most food produced here?

Can you see the influences of colonialism, immigration, religion, etc in the cuisine?

Because enjoying delicious food is awesome….but there’s so much more to it than the surface level. And if you’re starved for travel - diving in with full force might be just what the doctor ordered.

That’s why I devised a point system where you receive points for participating in the challenge - as well as bonus points for creativity & fervor….taking things a step further. The winner at the end of the 6 weeks will receive a special gift from me!

So if you’re thinking about participating, DO IT. Everything is going to be very simple to complete and is designed to give you a taste of travel right from your hometown. I guarantee you will walk away feeling a little better about the current situation too.

After all, the best we can do right now is to take each day at a time. Be grateful for the things in our life that are going well, remain hopeful for the future, and, in the words of Rick Steves, “be patient and continue to embrace life with the traveler’s spirit here at home.”