Student Blog

Wondering what else to do during the stay-at-home period? Or are you bored doing the same activities all day long and you simply do not know what to do after an online class?

Hi, my name is Abigail Kezia. I'm from Indonesia and a third year student. I am here to offer you ideas that may help you avoid boredom or discover something new and explore yourself deeper. During this pandemic, social distancing has been the number one rule where each individual should do their activities on their own and must be six feet apart from another person. This is why activities like gardening, drawing, home workout, and baking are suitable during the stay-at-home period, especially for APU students, as they are easy to do, accessible, and most importantly affordable. Each activity will be explained further in the article.

１.Gardening

If you are passionate about nature or interested in starting to plant small plants on your apartment’s balcony, gardening is the right choice of activity for you. Gardening is provides surprising health benefits, such as, gaining exposure to the sun, which helps you produce vitamin D that is good for your bones, boosting your mood, burning calories, and of course it helps you to eat healthier from your harvest. You do not have to worry about obtaining gardening tools because you can access them in 100-yen shop and supermarkets. In these stores, you can find shovels, various flower seeds, soil, fertilizer, garden forks, and gardening pots. The price of flower seeds ranges from 100 to 500 yen, while the price of the gardening pots varies according to the sizes. Below are some detailed pictures of the gardening tools provided in Beppu.

2. Art

Moving on to art lovers, the 100-yen shop provides not only gardening tools but also art tools, such as different options for drawing books and stationery. Since it is a 100-yen shop, the items are mostly 100 yen, including the art tools, such as markers, coloring pencils, crayons, origami paper, etc. Now what are the advantages you can get from creating art? First, it improves your creativity, it releases your emotional feelings as you are able to express them through your drawings, thus this can be a stress reliever activity. Moreover, you become more observant and detailed as you pay more attention to small things when doing art in order to reach your expected goals and satisfactions. Lastly, it also boosts your communication skills because painting or creating art helps you to conquer your personal limitations.

3.Workout

For workout enthusiasts or students who want to get their body healthier and in shape, you can do a home workout after class because as we know, APU gym is currently closed due to the pandemic. The workout tools are also available and affordable at the 100-yen shop, such as yoga mat, training tube, stretch pillow, handgrip, and dumbbell. To achieve your body goals and get the right information on exercise, it is recommended to watch videos from YouTube or download a workout application, like Nike Training App.

4. Cooking

Lastly, the most favorable activity done by people nowadays is cooking or baking. Baking materials can be purchased in the supermarket, including baking pans, aluminum trays, whisks, spatulas, mixing bowls, measuring cups and spoons, baking sheets, until rolling pins. Besides that, you will also find cake toppings like chocolate chips, almonds, peanuts, sprinkles, and raisins. Here is an easy recipe on how to make Dalgona Coffee, the most popular coffee on social media that is originated from Korea. First, make sure you prepare all the ingredients and tools: coffee powder, sugar, hot water, milk, a mixing bowl, and a whisk. It is recommended to use instant powder coffee as it will blend easier, you can purchase it in supermarket for 750 yen per 180 gram. Next, take 3 teaspoons each of the coffee powder, sugar, and hot water then mix it until it thickens. You can serve the coffee hot or cold, according to your preferences. If you like it cold, add ice cubes to your glass before pouring the milk and the whipped coffee. If you like it hot, boil the milk and then add the whipped coffee on top. The amount of milk will differ according to your preferences. Enjoy!

I hope you get inspired and try these activities at home alone or with your roommates. And, do not forget to stay safe and productive!

SPA student staff take turns writing this column in the hope that readers will be able to develop a greater understanding of and appreciation for APU even with the existing restrictions on movement due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abigail Kezia

Hey readers! This is Kezia from Indonesia and I am currently an 8th semester student majoring in Strategic Management and Organization. It's been a tough year experiencing this new normal, going hand-in-hand with the pandemic. However, as the APU community that pursues shaping the world, we are all in this together, never apart, maybe in distance, but never in heart. Let's keep in touch virtually through SPA's blog.