Ever since my spring break I have been at home. Only leaving it to come back to my home country Brazil. For that reason, I have basically been at home for two months straight now. Online classes do occupy most of my time, but I also picked up old hobbies and developed new ones. I hope that by sharing five of my favorite hobbies I can give you ideas of what to do with your time. Well, apart from spending time with family and annoying my pets.
1. Reading lots of books
Throughout the last decade I have picked up reading. From 2011 to 2019, I have read more than 200 books. Just this year, I have surpassed my reading goal as I read 25/20 books since January. Reading is a big part of my life and I’m really happy to have picked it up again. Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of physical books, so at some point, I might have to re-read some of my favorite books. Not complaining, though. If you’re looking for something to take your mind off things, then this is the ideal hobby for you.
Current read: Loveboat, Taipei by Abigail Hing Wen
Current audiobook: Turtles All the Way Down by John Green.
2. Watching Netflix and Asian Dramas
On social media, you can see people turning to Netflix as a source of comfort in this difficult time. And I’m not an exception to that. I have basically finished all the TV Shows I was watching previously and more. Besides that, I’ve watched some movies and started rewatching one of my favorite TV Shows ever, Gilmore Girls. Asian dramas have also been making a comeback in my life. I’m currently watching Chicago Typewriter with my little sister and loving every second of it. Much like reading, watching TV is a great escape, which is perfect for the current situation.
Current TV Shows: Gilmore Girls and Chicago Typewriter
3. Writing
As a journalism major, writing is one of my biggest passions. I love writing articles, organizing my thoughts and feelings in writing and writing stories for fun. One of my friends also loves writing, so we’re writing a romance together. Being at home all day gives me time to develop our story and characters better. I’m really excited to finish this story as it will involve romance, culture and even make allusions to my own experiences in Asia. I stopped writing as a hobby a few years ago and to be honest, I felt a bit lost. So, picking up writing was a must and I’m so glad I finally did it because writing is very important to me.
4. Advancing in Mandarin Chinese
For anyone who knows, I’m a big language geek and Mandarin Chinese is my third language. I’m at intermediate level and I was fortunate enough to study abroad in Shanghai, China last semester (before all of this craziness). Mandarin is a big passion of mine. For that reason, I’ll give it my all to get fluent in it. However, I know that’s a very hard thing to do, especially because I’ve been learning it for three years now. In February, I bought a HSK 3 course – Chinese Zero to Hero – so I can study for the intermediate level proficiency exam and take it in about a year. With the course, I had to buy a textbook and a workbook. Since Mandarin is the future world language, I’m happy I got this far.
5. Studying Chinese Medicine
Since a young age, I have always been interested in Asian culture and Chinese Medicine in particular. Considering that this is the last month of classes for the spring semester, I decided to open Coursera.org and find a course to take. I was pleased to find a Chinese Medicine course from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. I’m on week 2 and enjoying it a lot. I recommend anyone who wants something to occupy their time. There are courses from top universities all over the world, including ivy leagues. You can either get a certificate of completion for 29 USD or just do it for free without a certificate.
Stay safe and do things you enjoy!