5 Ways to Remember Your Favorite Travel Assignment Cities
One of the many benefits of being a travel nurse is the opportunity to travel to new cities and towns.
During your assignment, not only are you doing amazing work and helping others, but you will also meet new people and possibly try out new foods. If you are like me and all about souvenirs, then continue reading for ways to remember your favorite cities that you travel to during your travel nursing career.
Photography
While on your assignment, take some time on your days off to explore the town or hike nearby trails to see all your new town as to offer. Take photos along the way to remember your favorite views. While exploring the city, you can also take photos of your favorite meals at restaurants or the restaurant itself if they have unique architecture. This may be a no brainer as just about everyone has a camera on their phone. However, with the updates made to the latest smart phones, you can adjust the aperture and exposure for better photography. There are a lot of tutorials on the internet for how to use your smart phones to take professional looking pictures. If you are into photography, adjusting the photography triangle (aperture, shutter, and iso), will make your photos really pop. You can also use photo editing software like Adobe Lightroom to really bring out the colors of your photo. Once you have all your photos after your assignment, you can put them in a scrapbook, print for a wall collage, or place them in a journal with fun facts about the town.
Painting
If you are artistic, you may want to try painting your favorite sites. For many, painting is a stress reliever. Pack up your art supplies, visit a nearby local park or a designated hike, and paint the scene before your eyes. Not only will you be spending time outdoors, but you will also be exploring your new town for the perfect views to paint. What better way to remember your assignment than with a painting of your favorite site to hang in your home! If you are not one to paint for long periods of time, take a picture of the view and paint during your time off. You can also use multiple canvases to paint a picture for stunning wall art!
GoPro
For the adventurous nurses, try using a GoPro to remember your favorite hikes. GoPro’s are awesome to create videos of your views while hiking. They are easy to use and have a powerful app to make full length videos. While hiking, you can quickly turn it on and off to record your progress. GoPro has many accessories for you to attach to your backpack or helmet if attempting strenuous hikes. They even have a harness for your pup if they go on hikes with you and want to capture their view. Once you finish your hike, you can connect your GoPro to your phone via Bluetooth to upload all the videos you took throughout the trip. The app lets you merge all those videos, add music, and easily upload them to social media to share with your family and friends.
Souvenirs
If you are not very tech savvy or artistic, purchasing fun souvenirs is another way to remember your new city. Many cities/towns have a downtown area where you can purchase tees, hoodies, key chains, or drinkware. If you are staying in a town with several popular attractions, you may be able to purchase wall art of your favorite sites. For non-touristy items, try visiting antique shops. You may find an interesting piece of décor for your home to remember the city you stayed in. If you are lucky, you could stumble upon some unique items that have history and make that piece even more special.
Books
For my fellow book nerds, books are great for learning about the history or about the sites of your new town. Visit local bookstores to view what they have to offer on information of the city. If you are big into sightseeing or hiking, find a book with information about those attractions and check them off as you visit them. You will appreciate those sites even more once you know their history and how they came to be. If you are big into cooking, look for cookbooks containing recipes unique to that town. Bring a piece of that town home with you to share with your family and friends. Bringing home a book or cookbook will help you build a unique library in your home with different books featuring your favorite towns you stayed in during your travel nursing career.
There are many ways to remember your favorite towns during your travel nursing career. Whether it be through photography or souvenirs, collecting these items can hold a special place in your heart and help you to remember stories about your favorite patients or friends you have met along the way. What are some ways you remember your favorite towns?