2020 Travel: Winter vs Summer

As you may recall I traveled to San Francisco in January to visit my sister and newborn niece. That was at the start of Coronavirus, and prior to it being designated a Pandemic. I am grateful I was able to get in, and then out, of California before things blew up. If I remember correctly, I departed on February 6th, just one day before California had its first fatality from COVID-19. I returned to Turkey and to work. After five weeks of classes on campus to start our second semester, we were sent into Spring Break three weeks early.  Then we began distance learning/online teaching. We, like much of the rest of the world, found ourselves on various shades of lockdown for three months time–from mid March into June. This carried us to the end of our school year. 

As summer break approached all plans had to be renegotiated and reconsidered. International travel out of Turkey had been suspended in March. However, I found myself in a unique situation. My Colorado drivers license was set to expire on my birthday in November. I had planned to travel to VA this summer to officially transfer my residency from CO to VA–and to return to my maiden name–by getting a new drivers license. And to be registered to vote for the upcoming election. I debated at great length with my mother and watched the news about commercial flights resuming at the end of June. We decided traveling sooner would be better than later as we expected things to blow up as more and more people traveled. UPDATE: This has absolutely proved to be the case!

What can I tell you about travel now?

Well, it has NEVER been comfortable to be on a plane for 10+ hours and the COVID measures in place to minimize the spread of it have only made travel more tedious and uncomfortable. You are expected to wear a mask for the duration of your travel, from departing your home, through airports and time on planes, and then arriving to your end destination, or in my case, into my rental car. For me that was 20+ hours! I understand and respect the need for us to wear masks, but it does not mean I have to like it. It makes your face hot and sweaty, and while I’ve read the reports that SAY it does not diminish oxygen intake, I don’t buy it! Perhaps it is only psychological, but I definitely feel an impact on my energy and clarity of mind while wearing a mask for long periods of time. 

Employees in the Istanbul airport (international terminal) as well as the Turkish Airlines personnel on the flights repeatedly reminded/told/asked travelers to put and keep their masks on. Unless you were actively eating or drinking, it was to be on. On the long flight we were given a box meal one hour after take off and a bag meal two hours before landing. Everything was packaged. There was no drink service. We were told to NOT eat at the same time as the person beside us. I was in a middle seat on the flight to the U.S. so I ate first, then the two people beside me ate. Where I normally LOVE the food distributed by Turkish Airlines, these meals were carb heavy and not great. I knew to expect this and had packed some nuts and other appropriate snacks. Also it should be noted that most food establishments in the airport, international terminal, were not yet open. On the way in Istanbul there were two bakery-like places. In Dulles airport on the return trip there was a Wendy’s open and the quick food for sale in one of the convenience shops. From Dulles on July 8th there were just two flights departing our concourse–one to Istanbul and one to London.

Everything takes a LOT more time than pre-COVID. Airlines recommend you arrive to the airport four hours prior to your scheduled take off time. You will spend more time in lines and things feel as though they move more slowly because of the spacing in lines for social distancing purposes. One upside on my flight back was that TA did NOT weigh the luggage I checked in, they just tagged it! This was a bonus as I know one was 50 lbs and the other was 65 lbs! As an expat abroad we tend to stock up on particular items when we do visit our home country; additionally I was bringing back items for various friends/colleagues. Our temperature was taken before boarding each flight. However, IF anyone had a temperature I’m not sure that anything was done. They simply clicked the temp reading gun at our forehead and we proceeded forward. 

I’ve never been keen on this term “social distancing” as to be social is not, generally, to be distant. In fact it’s quite the opposite. I would prefer the term physical distancing. While I know that we wear masks to protect one another from the spread of droplets (especially as a person unknowingly carrying the virus, aka asymptomatic), I have come to also think we wear them to REMIND ourselves of all the other behaviors we should embrace in this time as they go against our human nature. Leaving distance between one another. Paying close attention to ALL the things we touch and interact with. And to wash our hands regularly/obsessively (I concede we may have been TOO lax on this point before this time!). 

International terminals were far more sparse. In the Istanbul airport upon return the domestic terminal was busy and active. I was NOT instructed to self isolate or quarantine by passport control officials in either country. In the U.S. I was asked only if I was traveling with others (No) and then welcomed home. Arriving back to Turkey I had to complete a “Traveler Information Form” before processing through passport control. It was a half sheet of paper that required the following: name, address in Turkey, phone number, passport #, Country/countries traveled to, flight # and seat #, checkboxes to indicate if I had any of the primary symptoms of COVID, and then you had to sign and date. I assume this is what will/is being used for contract tracing should anyone on the flight present with COVID. I had expected to be tested upon arrival to Turkey; however, with things opened up, I suppose that would be too many to test. Turkey is not requiring tourists to self isolate. As I had been in the U.S. which is a troubled location, I did opt to self isolate for two weeks to respect my friends and fellow citizens. 

All of my flights were 85 to 100% full–despite TA’s declaration when I scheduled my flights that there would be NO ONE in middle seats. Well, as mentioned, I was in a middle seat on the flight to the U.S. and a window seat on the way back (that flight was 100%). While it did make one nervous to be surrounded by so many–you can space out in the airport, but let’s be real, planes are NOT built for any kind of distancing–I do also understand the burden on airlines to try and begin to make a profit once again. These are tricky times for everyone and in so many ways. Note that carry on luggage is severely limited by size and weight. Check with your airline for specifics–on my flights anything that had wheels, no matter the size, was checked at the gate to your destination. I suspect these limitations may be why TA did not weigh our checked bags.

As travelers we are never excited about the small spaces on a plane and with COVID ever present on our minds we are hyperaware of those around us. I know I felt scared to cough or sneeze–for normal things like a throat tickle–because you worry that people look at you as if you have COVID. I toggled between being mildly paranoid in reaction to some traveler’s inability to properly wear a mask, to also having incredible compassion for the mother traveling alone with a child or two and trying to manage so much. It goes against our humaneness, I fear, to not assist the traveler next to us, and yet, in these strange times our lack of contact is perhaps how we most prominently assist them. I did offer to hold my neighbor’s baby at one point; she kindly declined. It was, however, a whole internal conversation with myself (“she needs help! in normal times, i would offer to assist. But now, no way! Wait–am I relinquishing my humanity to fear? Oh shoot, what is the worse that can happen??”)

Well, I think that covers most aspects of travel in this time. Albeit, now the information is nearly three weeks old. Pack your carry on smartly and include snacks to get you through. You will be given a hygiene pack as you board which includes hand sanitizer, alcohol wipes, and a mask. You are told to pack your own before arrival and to have enough masks to change every four hours. That seemed a bit extreme to me–I changed my mask once in the middle of my travel time. If there is anything you’d like to know that I have not covered here, please feel free to ask in a comment. 

In retrospect I am glad I went when I did. I’ll hope to post again and share about my travels within the U.S., but for now I will end with this–my essential travel mission WAS accomplished. I am now a resident of the state of Virginia and have a REAL ID Drivers license that will last me for the next eight years!