10 Productive Things To Do During Desk Warming Season: Part 2
Now that desk warming season is in full swing, I hope you were able to keep busy last week with the 5 productive activities to do at school during your free time. This week I have 5 more activities to share with you to prevent your brain from turning to mush during this long and lonely time at school.
This is a two-part series. Part 1 is here.
6. Plan Your Spring Lessons
The last thing you’ll feel like doing after an entire winter semester of teaching is lesson planning, but your future self will thank you once classes start up again. You won’t have to worry about taking work home, and you’ll never miss a beautiful spring day because you’re stuck indoors planning lessons. Even if you do only the tiniest bit of lesson planning during your desk warming, every little bit pays off. Trust me on this one, friends.
7. Take A Free Online Education Course
“Learning never exhausts the mind.” Leonardo da Vinci had the right idea in mind regarding life long learning. When presented with the opportunity to learn something new, you should always accept the offer. During this free time, why don’t you take a free college course online? Websites like Coursera.com offer hundreds of college courses online at no cost. Any subject from math to literature can be found, and they are all taught by licensed university professors. I can’t think of a better way to spend free time then learning something new and challenging yourself daily.
8. Learn To Cook Korean Food
One of the toughest adjustments I’ve faced since moving to Korea is the confusion I face in the kitchen. Back home in Texas, I love to cook. The problem with cooking here is that there are too many ingredients I’m unfamiliar with and don’t understand how to use properly. After living off take out and restaurant dates for months, I decided it was time I learned my way around a Korean grocery store and kitchen. By pure luck I stumbled across Maangchi.com, a website dedicated to teaching the art of Korean cooking and cuisine. The website is chocked full of recipes, video tutorials, and photos. It’s easy to follow and fun to watch as a form of entertainment. I’ve spent countless hours pouring over her recipes during desk warming season. A word of caution, though, her tasty dishes will make you hungry. It might be best to wait until after you’ve had lunch to browse her delicious food porn photos.
9. Write A Travelogue About Your New Adventures
As an English teacher, I have a feeling you might have an inclination for writing. If that is the case, why not write a travelogue about all the adventures in which you’re finding yourself? It’d be great writing practice, allow you creative freedom, and it’s always an option to publish your story once you’re done. Anything is possible. Who knows where your writing endeavors could possibly take you? You might have a best seller lurking in your brain just waiting to be set free. Use your time wisely and write, write, write! I like to write my own personal travel stories on my blog, and some of my best and most popular pieces were written during desk warming sessions.
10. Skype With Friends and Family Back Home
Your new life in South Korea is fun and exciting. You have a new job, new friends, and a new country to explore. Sometimes, whether you realize or not, you will get caught up in your new experiences and lose touch with those you love back home. It’s inevitable, but it’s not a terrible truth. Those you love will understand that you’re enjoying your new adventures. Instead of zoning out on Buzzfeed articles and quizzes, take the free time to reconnect with your friends and family back home.
Skype, Facebook message, or FaceTime with all those who love and support you back home. Let them know you’re thinking about them even though you’re an entire country apart. Just don’t forget to ask them about what’s going on in their lives as well. I’m sure you’d love to tell everyone about your new Korean language skills you’re learning and the amazing Korean dish you wish they could taste, but don’t spend an entire Skype session talking about your experiences. Remember to be just as supportive of your friends’ lives as they are of yours. The whole “listen to me talk about Korea forever” conversation will get stale, I promise you.
Now that you have an idea of what desk warming is and how to prevent yourself from going mad with boredom, which activities from the list will you try this winter? Let us know in a comment! I’m actually about to go ahead and start writing my travelogue today. That best seller isn’t going to write itself, after all!
