Flying home in a pandemic

Tackling tests, paperwork, and conflicting emotions while flying across the world to Nepal

2020 began well for me. I had started a new job, got an apartment in Lincoln Park, Chicago, and joined a yoga studio. I made plans to come to Nepal in the spring, and I was ready to start a new chapter in life.

Then Covid-19 took over the world.

My yoga studio shut down. My plans to come home were shelved, and I spent many hours staring at the walls of my apartment while working from home.

Every state and city in the United States came up with its own set of restrictions regarding Covid-19. Chicago went back and forth between closing and re-opening businesses, depending on the number of people who tested positive. Many establishments had to shut down permanently and millions lost their jobs.

Most countries around the world were under lockdown. Nepal had also suspended most international flights from March 2020.

Fast forward to September when flights resumed in Nepal, but with the new protocols in place, I would first need to do my research on the new rules and precautions.

When I bought my tickets, only Nepali citizens, ex-pats, and mountaineers were being allowed to fly in. No one else. Everyone had to submit a negative PCR test result, done within the last…