Some Thoughts.

As you all know, the world has changed quite a lot in the past year. People are increasingly skeptical of outsiders, policies have been challenged, and borders – both physical and psychological – have been reinforced. This all came to the surface last week when Donald Trump (I flat-out refuse to call him president) implemented a ban on immigrants coming to the US from seven Muslim-majority countries (Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen) and halted any Syrians seeking refuge in the States indefinitely – directly reinforcing Islamophobia from the top down.

This website was never meant to be political in nature, and I apologise if you came here looking for fluffy travel reviews by a 28 year old girl from the UK. However, I can’t wholeheartedly sit here, posting cutesy reviews about ice cream and airport transfers, and pretend that none of this is going on. Because it is.

The United States of America is a country I adore – I’ve seen a hell of a lot of it, lived in it, and some of the best people I know are there. It’s on my bucket list to visit all 50 states, and I have 29 to go (21 by the end of 2017!). It makes me angry to think that this amazing country, with all of the opportunities it can provide, is restricting access to some of the neediest people in the world based on ignorant pre-conceived ideas about their religion. Unfortunately, I only see this getting worse as more countries start subscribing to a right-wing ideology (keeping an eye on France’s election in May).

This blog is proudly liberal, and proudly supports immigration – two things that the world currently is not. It may be slightly difficult to keep doing what I’m doing given the current climate – and to be completely honest, I’m really reconsidering my trip to the States in April/May out of solidarity with those who are banned through no fault of their own. However, as long as I can travel freely, I will. I just hope that others who are not Christian and Caucasian are allowed the same.