How many times have you had that question asked over the last week of your isolation? Sometimes life prepares us well for boredom and in my case and plenty of others I know, this is a sweet ride compared to gruelling hours in a paddock, working agriculture in Australia.

This is a stream of thought article because I think it’s hilarious that I keep being asked about boredom. Suffocated through no social interactions? Yes. Bored? No. Missing Travel? Yes. Starving? No.

My farm family and I worked in country Victoria in Australia, a 20-minute drive and a few hours walk away from the closest town and 5 hours train ride from the closest city (Melbourne). Going for a food shop by foot was out of the equation. Hence a fully stocked fridge once a week.

During the time I cooked delicious meals, being creative with what I had. I never food prepped the same as I do now. I allowed myself to free-flow cook. Is that a thing? It is now.

WALKING IS MY LYNCHPIN

I love my walks. They are my lynchpin. They keep the cog turning. Solo walks are my favourite. We’re lucky to still be allowed out to walk and I’m ever grateful. On the farm you could walk for hours on end… if your body wasn’t tired from a day or a week’s worth of broccoli squats. Marvel, the farm Labrador kept me company during walks through Nyah Forest. Or I’d force myself to go for a jog around the property (I hate jogging).

Sometimes the jog lasted five minutes. Scorching heat involved meant I sweated extra and that’s the excuse I’m sticking to for ending the workouts quickly.

Being housebound is the equivalent of swapping a perk for a perk. At the farm we didn’t have any WiFi (plenty of routine watching Friends and Australian reality television along with spare data for my Duolingo). Now, I have WiFi but I don’t have the endless hours in the fields.

SOCIAL DISTANCING

During our regional work on the farm I believe I was the instigator for gatherings. We’d invite people from town, others helping us on the fields, the farmer’s family. You name it and I was telling everyone to come up to the shack we called home.

I’m an introverted backpackers’ nightmare. And would you believe it if I told you not all my five housemates were as social. They sucked it up for the company, the fun, the food (I cooked) and the adventure.

So much adventure. We went four-wheel driving through the forest after a storm. Bonfires, pizza nights and mud surfing to name a few. We had limited clothes, worn bodies, tested spirits and an unquenchable desire to live in Australia for another year.

SECOND THOUGHTS ON ISOLATION

Writing a list of all the fun things you did in an experience as close to isolation as you’ve ever gotten is not a good idea. Because real isolation does not allow for any of them.

LET’S ALL STICK TO READING, LISTENING TO PODCASTS, JOURNALING OUR GRATITUDE AND APPLYING TO JOBS.