How do I even start out this monthly recap? I’m nearly a week late but I feel like I should still share one. Everything else from this month shrinks in comparison to the police brutality the world has witnessed in the United States. There is too much to say here, and I feel like it may be better in its own separate post or email.
I am enraged that George Floyd was murdered and enraged at the systematic racism that runs rampant through the Minneapolis Police Department. This racism is endemic to America and it must end. Racism around the world must be recognized and dismantled. There must be justice for all the BIPOC who have suffered for far too long. Black Lives Matter.
Many of the photos you will see in the news of South Minneapolis—of burning buildings and destroyed properties—are of my neighborhood. Lake Street is where I grew up and my heart hurts for the pain and suffering. Thankfully, my family is safe. The community has come together and will continue to support and help one another.
So to be honest, if I hadn’t made notes from the beginning of this month about what I did, I would have forgotten. The last two weeks my mind has been completely focused on Minneapolis, the protests around the world, and my family’s safety. The last two days were the first that I felt like I could focus on something between updating Twitter and Facebook feeds in an effort to keep up to date with what’s going on.
Being so far away from my family and friends has been so difficult. But there is work to be done, and we all need to work to fight injustice and racism. If you don’t already, you can follow me on Instagram as I’ve been posting regularly on stories there for the past several weeks.
For a day-to-day recap, check out Star Tribune’s article here. There are also some pretty powerful photos by Nat Geo in this article.
As I said in last month’s recap, I wasn’t even sure if I’d do one. The same is true for this one—how can anything this month be more important than what’s happened since 26 May?? But I’ve been doing these for years so I decided I would still. Here we go: my recap for May 2020.
Where I Went
York, Sutton on the Forest, Osbaldwick, Roseberry Topping, Malham, Hole of Horcum (United Kingdom)
Best Moments
Getting back into the outdoors again! In the middle of the month, restrictions were slightly relaxed in the UK. Now we’re allowed to drive for exercise, and some of the national parks slowly starting to open again. We have had some great adventures and gone on wonderful walks! We hiked up Roseberry Topping and around Newton Moor, returned to Malham since the first time we visited in February 2017, and I hiked the Hole of Horcum, one of my favorite walks in Yorkshire. Being able to get out in the countryside and enjoy the scenery and fresh air has been amazing, and has had a huge positive impact on my mental health.
Trying so many new recipes. This month we tried loads of new recipes! Shakshuka, tater tot hot dish, qassatat, bureks, cinnamon rolls, cheesecake, and dal bhat have been just a few of the new ones we tried. Not being able to travel sucks, but it’s been fun trying new recipes from countries around the world at home!
Furlough? Halfway through May, I was notified that I had been furloughed by my company. This means I am not working, but thankfully eligible for the government scheme so I still get 80% of my pay. I have had mixed feelings on this (see below) and still not entirely sure how I feel. But the immediate result is a huge positive change in my mental health. I was so stressed and cried so often about work. It was so taxing and I struggled so much. Not having to worry about work and deal with such an intense workload has been wonderful. I’ve been able to sleep, exercise, and do things I enjoy for the first time in a long time. For that, I’m grateful.
Taco Bell reopened! I haven’t had T-Bell in such a long time… and thankfully this month our York Taco Bell has reopened! It was a small silver lining to be able to eat some of my favorite food again.
Worst Moments
Systematic racism, watching my city burn, worrying for my family’s safety. I feel like I already discussed this above. But this month has been tough for these reasons. It means we need to dig in and fight against injustice even more.
Not going to Orkney. We were supposed to spend the last week of May on an amazing camping road trip to Orkney in Scotland. Obviously, after what’s happened I’m so glad it didn’t happen as I would not have been able to function without cell signal and contact with my family knowing they’re okay. But it was a trip I’ve been looking forward to and planning for so long, and it was disappointing to watch our departure date come and go.
Furlough? As I said above, I have mixed feelings on getting furloughed from work. It was a real shock to get a phone call at 5pm on a Friday to hear that I’m no longer working… While for my mental health I’m grateful to not have to live through the stress and deal with the intensity of my workload, it brings up a lot of questions about job security. Will I eventually get laid off? When will I be able to go back to work? Will I be furloughed for longer than June? What if get laid off, can’t find another job, and have no help as I’m barred from public funds through my visa? It has been very troubling and it’s impossible not to stress about my job security and future life plans. At the moment though, there’s nothing I can do, so we’ll just wait and see.
Funny enough, the day I got furloughed I had a customer shout at me that he hopes my company goes out of business and we all lose our jobs. Pretty ironic that I got furloughed 6 hours later!
Posts Published
I haven’t done very much blog work this month, same as the month before. I only published two new posts in May—both recipe posts! Hopefully in June I’ll have a bit more motivation to start working more at new posts.
Recipe: Bureks From The Balkans
Instagram Top 3
I tried posting more on Instagram this month, but definitely lost all motivation the last few weeks with everything else happening in the world. Here are my most liked photos from May!
Coming Up In June
I honestly don’t know what June will bring, as we didn’t have any trips planned this month (thank God). Most of the month will be spent on daytrips in Yorkshire, visiting different places both new and old. I do want to try to enjoy the time off from work while I’m on furlough. So hopefully I’ll be able to get out on good walks and enjoy the countryside throughout June! Lots of Yorkshire content coming your way!
What was your May like? What did you get up to and are you still on a form of lockdown? Any plans for June?
