The Current | Vol. 31 Issue 27

March 23, 2021 | nsucurrent.nova.edu 4 Virtual travel: Your key to anywhere With trips postponed, travel plans upended and many international travel restrictions still in place, it’s hard not to think back with nostalgia to the days when a passport was a key to a world of possibilities. Whether you had been planning a trip before the pandemic or have a long list of places on your destination bucket list, it’s understandable to be disappointed in the uncertain future of travel. Luckily for us, we live in a technological world that provides us with a plethora of experiences and opportunities at our fingertips. While it may not be the same to browse a virtual gallery as it is to take a leisurely stroll through the Louvre while sipping on Parisian coffee, there are still plenty of ways to satisfy your wanderlust. Take a virtual tour It may be a while before you get to recline in a comfortable airplane seat en route to an exotic international destination, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make the best of the options you have while you are at home. One great way to experience the world from the comfort of your couch is through virtual tours. From museums and national landmarks to hiking trails and outdoor adventures, virtual tours give viewers the option to explore to their hearts desire. In recent years, many travel destinations have made it possible to experience places via a virtual platform, and no time is this more relevant than during a global pandemic. 360-degree virtual tours are now being offered for virtually anything you can imagine, from scuba diving to a safari experience and everything in between. Whether you want to tune in to a live theatre performance or take a virtual tour around a country’s most famous landmarks, there are countless websites and companies that make it possible. Try your hand at cooking While an authentic Italian dish is best experienced from a small colorful cafe overlooking the Adriatic, trying your hand at creating different international meals can be another great way to connect to a culture of a destination that you might not be able to travel to right now. Get a taste of travel by making one of your favorite dishes from a country you have visited or think ahead and try following a recipe from somewhere you hope to go when the pandemic is over. Take a stroll Is there a place you have always wanted to go or a destination you are dying to go back to? While looking through old pictures from a past trip may be enough to take you back to a simpler time before the pandemic, virtually strolling down the street in a different country can be a great way to transport your mind to another place and time. Try the Google Maps street view feature for a fun and engaging way to explore a new city. We live in an unprecedented technological era and there are ever increasing ways for us to explore the world around us. While it is disappointing to see flights cancelled and trips postponed indefinitely, you can still explore the world from the comfort of your home. It may not be the same, but until we can travel again, make the most of the world of online options. Emma Heineman Features Editor Features That time I... went ziplining in Roatan, Honduras Ana Maria Soto is a sophomore communication major with a focus in strategic communications and a minor in psychology. My family and I have been fortunate enough to cruise through the Caribbean each Thanksgiving -- with the exception of 2019 -- for the last seven years. On these vacations, I realized that I wasn’t as adventurous as I wanted to be. I would spend my days tanning, reading on the deck or on the beach when we were docked, but I wanted to try something different. When we docked in Roatan, Honduras, I decided to join my family with whatever they were planning for the day. I didn’t know it was ziplining until we were buying the tickets and signing the waivers in case of injury. The ziplining excursion was made up of 16 lines that also included a portion at the end that let us play with monkeys, which I was most excited for. We hiked over a mile on the side of a rocky hill to reach the first line, and I didn’t realize how taxing it was to hike until that moment, especially while wearing vans. To say the least, it was not my proudest moment, my heels were on fire and I could feel the blisters forming. We got the harnesses on, were told how to hold the rope and were shown which kind of tricks we could do. My anxiety did not allow me to do any tricks for the first few lines. I was too scared of having a near-death experience, even if I knew the fear was irrational. By the twelfth line, I felt freer and began to actually let loose. So, I decided to hang upside down. I felt like I was flying as the air breezed around me. This line was one of the longest, so I hung for longer than any other lines. When we finished, we headed down to play with the monkeys and I felt like I had truly lived. It was an indescribable feeling to truly allow myself to break free and enjoy something for one of the first times ever. I was not concerned with deadlines, finals or even society as I felt myself fly through the air. I was just me, smiling and laughing. The feeling of flying was my high of the day, but getting peed on by a monkey was a close second. Every person on this planet deserves to feel the freedom and unconstrained joy that ziplining gave me. May everyone have an experience that truly makes them feel alive. Ana Maria Soto Contributing Writer With permission to print from A. Soto