“The Real Voyage”

Discussion Questions

Misty sets up her story by providing many details about the travel industry.

• How does that help to characterize the opening days of the pandemic?
• How does it compare to your own sense of the first months of the pandemic?
• Write a list of words/phrases that could be used to describe what it felt like.

Misty was on the cusp of a whole new career—her dream job—which was abruptly halted. As she comes to terms with having so little control over the situation, Misty finds a “silver lining” and begins to discover aspects of the natural world that had gone unnoticed.

• Did you find any silver linings during the pandemic? (Not necessarily in the natural world, but any positive experiences that might not otherwise have occurred.)
• If so, how did they affect your time during lock-down days?
• Did they open up new practices that you have maintained?

Misty talks about going on “Treasure Hunts” during the pandemic.
If you were to create a map of places in Tucson that you frequented or became important to you in some way, what places would be on your map?