It’s here: winter break. Finals are finally over, you’ve survived the semester and your mind is on a one track path towards home. Unfortunately, we aren’t in a world where teleportation is possible, so that means whether it’s in a car, a train, a bus or a plane, we will all have to travel some distance to get to our destination and spend our break!
There are tons of things to do on a long trip home: the two obvious ones are sleep and read, but many people have trouble falling asleep while traveling or feel sick while reading in a moving vehicle. Here’s a look at some fun things to make the time pass. These all don’t involve the Internet because you can never rely on WiFi or cellular data when you’re on the move.
1. Watch a movie or TV show
If you download a movie from iTunes or Amazon Prime, you can save it to a phone, tablet or laptop and watch it whenever you want. The fact that it’s saved onto your device means no buffering! You can watch it from beginning to end without fear of the Internet failing on you and leaving you with an unwanted cliffhanger.
2. Listen to music
This may seem like another obvious one, however being on a long trip is a great opportunity to sit down and truly listen to a new album or artist that you were meaning to give a chance but didn’t have time for as the semester was ending. A lot of music has been released in the past two months. If you were a fan of Nick Carter on the most recent season of Dancing With the Stars, check out his new album, “All American.” Jenny Lee Lindberg of the band Warpaint just released her first solo album, “right on!”, if you want something a little more mellow to get you through your journey.
3. Do a puzzle
As in a jigsaw puzzle. Don’t worry, I’m not asking you to pull out one of those 500-piece puzzles and somehow manage to balance them all on your airplane tray table. There are tons of puzzle apps on the Apple app store. All the pieces you need are right there on your screen! They can be tough and take a while to complete. You’ll be surprised at how much of your trip has gone by as you do these puzzles.
4. Word searches
You can get cheap word puzzle books anywhere from a dollar store to a chain bookstore. These are great, because they’re another way to work the brain without requiring too much energy. I’d say get a word search or crossword puzzle book, but if you’re like me you may sometimes need to cheat and Google a clue, which may not be ideal if you’re somewhere with no Internet connection, like on a plane.
5. Color
One of the newest trends is adult coloring books. Get your mind out of the gutter, you’re not coloring those types of pictures. Nope, these books feature intricate images designed for adults, who have more patience than kids, to color. The purpose of these is to reduce stress and let the mind relax. Pick up one of these books, sold at practically every bookstore, and a pack of colored pencils and get to work!