During this pandemic, many individuals have had to put off their plans. Some of them have not been able to gather their families together for birthday parties, graduation ceremonies, weddings, and even funerals. It’s sad that so many people have not been there for monumental family events.
Travel is another thing that most families have not been able to do. Some countries will not allow Americans in right now because we’ve been unable to obtain widespread coronavirus control.
If you can’t go on vacation at the moment, you’re probably sad about it. In the meantime, there are different ways you can simulate an exotic vacation without heading overseas. Let’s look at a few of them right now.
You Can Order Some International Foods Online
One thing you can do is order some international foods from an online seller. For instance, you can check out Yummy Bazaar’s online Italian market, where you can get things like cookies, crackers, olive oil, candy, pasta, and more. If you’re not into Italian meals or snacks, you might try:
- Indian
- Mexican
- Irish cuisine
Each of these countries has its own delicacies, and you can buy many of them online. You can pretend you’re in their origin country as you sample these tasty treats.
It might not be quite the same as hanging out in a café right next to the Eiffel Tower, but it should tide you over for the moment.
You Can Order Some International Clothing
You can also order some international clothing to wear to further simulate the overseas experience. For instance, if you wanted to go to Cancun, but you can’t do it right now, you could order:
- Some sombreros
- Some guayabera-style shirts
- Some festive dresses
If you wanted to go to Scotland, you could shop for kilts online. If you wanted to go to Tokyo, but you can’t do that right now, you might do some online kimono shopping.
You can look on eBay or Amazon, or you might buy from smaller retailers. Supporting smaller businesses is great, so any time you can do that, you definitely should. You can enjoy wearing traditional ethnic garb as you sample some international cuisine.
You Can Order from Local Ethnic Restaurants
Maybe you are not much of a cook, but you’d still like to try some ethnic foods. You don’t have to order raw food items online if you don’t think your culinary adventures will produce anything edible.
You can let some local restaurants do the cooking. Perhaps you’ve had plenty of tacos, fried chicken, and pizza lately, but now you want to try something new.
Maybe you’ve never tried Indian food before. If so, you can start with something simple, like some nice garlic naan and curry. You can order a milder version or get it spicy if you dare.
You might try sushi for the first time or Ethiopian. Maybe you’ll sample some Thai dishes.
This is an excellent horizon-broadening opportunity. You can look on GrubHub or Uber Eats and see what’s available in your area.
You Can Watch Some International Films
Maybe you want to check out some international cinema. You might decide to do a Japanese movie night and watch some anime films. There are some great ones you can discover, like “Akira.” You might watch Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai” or “Rashomon.”
If you have a streaming service like Netflix, you can use the search engine to locate some of the best foreign films they have on there, or you can rent some.
You can watch classics like Fritz Lang’s 1931 film “M.” Maybe you’d prefer Jean Renoir’s masterpiece, “Rules of the Game,” featuring old-world European commentary that still rings true today.
You Can Learn a Foreign Language
You might also sharpen your foreign language skills by learning some basic Spanish, French, or Italian. You might tackle Japanese or something equally challenging.
Travel will resume at some point. Think how exciting it will be if you go on that long-anticipated vacation and you can order food in a restaurant or talk with some of the locals about the weather.
You can involve the whole family in these endeavors. It’s a chance for your kids to learn about foreign cultures. It’s far better than them playing video games all day.
These staycation experiences might not be ideal, but you can still have some family fun if you set your mind to it.
