The world has changed. And our lives have changed with it.

Hard to believe, but it was only last spring when a big chunk of the world's population went into lockdown because of Covid-19.

It's now autumn. And as seasons come and go, we remain hopeful that, individually and collectively, we'll continue to adapt to the new world of global pandemics. (We’re even more hopeful now that Pfizer has announced a new vaccine with 90% efficacy.)

After seven months of hunkering down in Silicon Valley, we decided to go to live in Oaxaca, Mexico, for a while.

Like everyone else, we’ve missed many things. But not having the privilege to travel and gather with friends around the world hosting the Gastronomad Experiences has been a serious bummer for us.

Still, we’re among the lucky ones. We feel so humble and grateful for the tremendous support from our Gastronomad community across the world and, especially, you, our Gastronomad family. You have shown us patience, trust and understanding. Thank you for your willingness to wait for the right time for each of the Gastronomad Experiences to become feasible.

There’s so much unpredictability surrounding the pandemic. We’re trying our best to navigate these challenges as pandemic outbreaks keep re-emerging in different parts of the world.

There’s promise in the air, however. We have a new president elect and a vice-president elect who are competent, and I'm sure will do all they can to fix what’s broken.

A great deal of things have transpired during these past eight months for me and Mike as a couple and as a family business.

Frankly, the seven months we spent sheltering in place in the US meant a drastic change for us. I experienced a profound loss of belonging, as most of the world closed its doors to travelers, especially from the United States, where the pandemic was grossly mismanaged. It’s not something we ever imagined could happen.

As digital nomads, we chose the world as our home -- not a structure with walls -- but whatever country or place we happen to be living in. The pandemic created the strangest of circumstances. Our digital nomad lifestyle meant we had no home of our own. And the travel bans meant we had no place to go.

When we returned from Mexico City last March after hosting our only Gastronomad Experience this year, we were lucky enough to be able to go into lockdown with our oldest son and his family in Silicon Valley.

Personally, Mike and I tried to make the most of our time under lockdown. Still, I cried too much, I’ve spent too many sleepless nights feeling the weight of everything. It crushes my soul that there are so many people suffering everywhere. I’ve felt heartbroken about all the people deeply impacted by the pandemic and the wildfires in California.

But we did our best to cultivate joy and to adapt to our new pandemic living situation. We cooked a lot, ate delicious homemade meals, grew an edible garden, enjoyed backyard picnics, listened to music and danced. We had Zoom parties and reconnected with beloved relatives. We even took a few socially-distant road trips to Oregon, Washington and Los Angeles.

We took so many long trips that we almost finished off our old 2006 Toyota Prius. So we got a new one so we could keep driving long distances.

And we also bought seventeen and a half acres of forest land in Washington State. We’re not ready to settle down there, or anywhere. But after experiencing the shock of sudden bans on travel, we decided to buy a place that’s ours.

We’re so deeply grateful to our son, his wife and our granddaughter for sharing not only their home with us but also their family life with us. It’s in situations such as these that you learn what unconditional love is.

We’re also profoundly grateful to relatives in New York, Oregon and Washington who offered to open their homes to us despite the pandemic. I feel forever indebted to them for their kindness and selfless gesture in willing to take their chances with us in the middle of a pandemic.

And while there’s no question that this terrible pandemic has been awful, there has also been a silver lining. We’ve been forced to find new opportunities, to reinvent ourselves, and to adapt and grow.

After all, life is fragile and our time is limited. I have felt hopeless at times. But then I find my way again, realizing that my best path is to live by our values to the best of our ability. All we can do is to not let fear rule us, and to try our best to live with courage, compassion, kindness and joy.

And in that spirit, Mike and I decided to emerge from lockdown in Silicon Valley by traveling to Oaxaca, Mexico. We did a lot of research and talked to our local friends here before coming. We also did major research on how to travel safely. It’s been incredibly rewarding and fulfilling living here in Oaxaca.

We’re following all our Safe Travels guidelines. Yet I feel an enormous sense of liberation and freedom.

We know that others don’t have the privilege to do what we do. But we're trying to reclaim our life, which we've been cultivating for the better part of 14 years.

These are strange times that have forced us all to put our travel dreams on hold and postone all the Gastronomad Experiences scheduled for all of 2020 (prior to Covid-19). Our promise is that all of the Gastronomad Experiences will happen, not until it’s safe. Your safety is of our top priority (followed by your joy and delight).

I find some comfort in the fact that our approach to travel, our travel philosophy, is not only a healthy way to explore the world but also more relevant than ever. It’s a sustainable, mindful and more environmentally friendly way to travel. Inherently, the Gastronomad Experience is the safest way to travel in the post-pandemic era.

We go to a place to learn about the local culture, we live like temporary locals, we honor local traditions, we look for the paths less travelled, we explore slowly and with purpose and we immerse ourselves in the community wholeheartedly adopting the locals’ way of life as best we can. We try to discover the unsung foodie heroes and also embrace the well known food visionaries and stewards of the Earth.

So many years of living across the world wandering freely and never imagining that an event such as Covid-19 would force us to quarantine with no option to travel for a time. Not having the freedom to live the life we chose. It’s definitely been a poignant and significant lesson. It made us appreciate everything even more and with different perspectives.

Sometimes it takes almost losing what we love to understand how lucky we are to still have it.