380 Pandemic Travel and Big Life Changes

It's (somehow!) six years ago that we started to learn about this new virus and then find ourselves caught up in a global pandemic. While there were some truly tragic parts to that crisis, it turns out there were also some good results, too. Quite by chance recently, two guests in the space of a couple of days told me stories about huge changes in their lives brought about by their travels around Covid times, and these stories were so interesting I quickly decided to create a whole episode on the topic. First up, I chat with Shannon O'Brien, an international school teacher who was actually working at a school in Shenzhen, China, at the start of 2020. During a school break for the Chinese New Year, Shannon flew to Sumatra, Indonesia, for a short holiday. Spoiler alert: it became a very long holiday! I then speak with Eva Westerling, a German doctor who in 2019 had decided that it was time for a big change and was contemplating a permanent shift to Morocco. When the pandemic hit, she and her partner were in the earliest stages of setting up a tourism business in Morocco, and then of course, no tourists came. My final guest is Eryn Gordon, who was working a corporate job in the United States when the pandemic began, and she soon found herself out of work. Instead of laying low like many of us did during Covid times, Eryn instead decided to get a new qualification and move to the other side of the world, to work in Seoul, South Korea. Links: Shannon O'Brien - Shannon's memoir Stray - Eva Westerling's blog Not Scared of the Jet Lag - Eva's tour business in Morocco, Berber Adventure Tours - Eryn Gordon's website Earth to Editorial - Eryn's TEDx Talk on "What it means to be a good traveler" - Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - Sign up for the Thoughtful Travellers newsletter at Substack - Show notes: *Full disclosure: Amazon Services LLC Associates Program NotABallerina.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Support the show:

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380 Pandemic Travel and Big Life Changes is an episode from The Thoughtful Travel Podcast by Amanda.

This episode is 25:26 long.

This episode was published on Jan 27, 2026.

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