TRAVEL

CO-EDITOR ELISE DIXON

To Over Pack or to Under Pack?

BY LAUREN

To overpack or to under-pack that is the question… Not quite Shakespeare though and I’m sure he never thought about this question. But here I am to show you the advantages and disadvantages of each. Firstly, overpacking can be so useful sometimes. Only when you pack the right things. When you overpack you are ensured to have all the items you need in case of any emergency! Such as having loads of clothes in case of weather or accidents with food or generally anything that could ruin your clothing. But when you overpack, coming back home with that bag or suitcase is a nightmare! Especially if you have bought things whilst being on holiday/ being away that needs space in that overpacked suitcase… It’s not going to be easy. As well as this lack of space for new things, it is always harder putting everything back in the suitcase the second time around than before when you were packing to go away. Always harder when you are packing to go home… or maybe it’s a sign you should stay on holiday! Secondly underpacking can be a nightmare, as when people tend to under-pack it means they have left important things at home and have a mad rush to find shops with items they needed but never bought with them in the first place. However, on the other hand, buying new items and clothing won’t be a problem when packing at the end of the holiday. Personal opinion, I am an overpacker as I hate the thought of not having enough clothing options and underwear and toiletries, just everything you can possibly think of, I’m worried I might need it. I have always struggled with getting everything back into the suitcase the night before going home, the panic to find space for newly bought items, the stress this causes in general. I would love to be an underpacker, but that will probably never be the case! What kind of packer are you?

How soon will you travel abroad after the Pandemic?

BY LAUREN

Seems like everything we do now is always met with considerations for how it’ll affect our health and the pandemic overall in our everyday lives. Want to go out shopping? How will you travel? Take the bus, even though it increases your risk of catching COVID19? Go by car or even more so.. just stay at home and do online shopping. However, travelling within your own country during a pandemic and travelling abroad is a whole different level of taking safety into consideration. From countries having different lockdown rules, and different countries dealing better or worse with the pandemic… it’s quite hard to plan if you want to travel across Europe for example. Personally, I will not be travelling or even begin to think and plan travelling yet, as to end the pandemic we need to work together as a global and worldwide society to overcome this. We see in the news how some influencers have been irresponsible when travelling abroad when it’s been unnecessary to travel. I think for quite a few people they believe that if they have COVID19 it only affects themselves and their closest group and family. But having COVID19 has ripple effects. We potentially put other people in danger (though with the vaccine being given to more people, it’s becoming safer, but never guaranteed to be fully one-hundred percent immune), it potentially placing more stress on the NHS and every area of life. We aren’t being asked a lot to just stay at home or limit the people we have contact with. As many of the people who break the rules, tend to be the ones complaining about lockdowns and not being allowed to travel abroad yet. But, for me, I don’t feel comfortable travelling, as it’s not just the stress we place on our own country if we go abroad and bring more COVID19 back into the country… its placing stress on countries which may be less fortunate than ours due to economic reasons as well as not having vaccinated as many citizens as we have. The pandemic will not stop, if we have many people travelling around the globe again, as it promotes new strands and variants to thrive and spread even

more. Another factor to take into account when deciding whether or not to travel is to protect our own family members from harm. This seems like an obvious factor, but I feel that many people overlook this a lot because we have never lived through a pandemic before (duh!). As well as our own family members, what about our friends’ families or partner’s family? It will also affect them, even if we have no contact with them directly. When people meet in big groups, those friends can take COVID19 back into their home and potentially if they have to help out with elderly family members, you are putting their lives in danger. Personally, I can’t in good conscience affect my family in this way by travelling abroad, and affecting other people’s families like strangers’ families due to public transport etc. At the end of the day, it just puts fuel in the fire, that make the pandemic more dangerous and worse, let alone the fact it’s not needed for most people to travel. In conclusion, I really don’t feel it’s necessary to travel. It doesn’t just affect our own health. It affects our families’ health, our friends’, and partner’s family and to foreign families that live abroad. May be a quite controversial opinion, but I think it’s selfish if you travel abroad at this time, if it’s for a holiday. We need to solve this pandemic as a globe and take care of each other like a true global society. When isolating, look after your mental health, this is your friendly reminder! Whilst we are taking care of the physical health of our loved ones, we need to be able to take after ourselves too. When we look after ourselves we can take care of our loved ones and the country and the world. Soon, activities and businesses will reopen to be able to socialise and be amazing for our mental health. But for when you need to isolate or if you are shielding, we can get through this together!

HOW TO DEAL WITH BEING HOMESICK WHEN ABROAD

BY LAUREN

Being homesick abroad is tough sometimes, but there’s ways to overcome it as it can ruin the experience of being away if you let it get out of hand (speaking from personal experience). One of the best things I can recommend is staying in frequent contact with your loved ones. As they can remind you that the experience/ holiday or whatever the situation is, that it’s amazing you have this opportunity. You can discuss what you did in the day and have updates from home or school. It can make you feel as if you have the best of both worlds, by both appreciating the experience and holiday as well as making it feel like you are at home. Another piece of advice I can give is staying busy. The most cliché advice ever, however it’s a cliché for a reason… because a lot of the time it works! By being immersed in activities and visiting places, you force yourself to focus on learning or just enjoying yourself because of the new surroundings. As well as this, it gives you way more to talk about with your family and loved ones!

Video calls rather than messaging! This feels like an obvious but there’s no better way to help with being homesick than by feeling you are actually with your loved ones. Whilst messaging is instant and can happen 24/7, video calls are so much better as you feel like you are talking properly to your family and friends. Never forgetting to video call to see any pets you have for a little bit of happiness! Though, if you do decide to video call, check any bills you may pay, and have time zone consideration!

When I’ve previously been away, I tend to forget to message my family or used to barely video call them but as I’ve travelled more and have suffered with being homesick badly before. I understand what works best for me and how to combat any negative feelings. So, just try out what works best for you!