What to do during summer vacation?
Hi, Hawkeyes, I’m back! I started off sophomore year with a bang as an International Student Small Group Leader for international student orientation. I’m not beginning rehearsal for Dancers in Company, the touring dance company of the University of Iowa Department of Dance. You can definitely say that I’ve been really busy, which is why my first blog is coming out a week after we’ve been back in session… sorry for the delay! But now that I’m back, let’s get into the video.
So, to get into the point of this blog post… what should we do during summer vacation?
Summer vacation is great. Three months off from university to do whatever we want. But three months is actually a really long time and if we don’t do something useful or at least find a method of occupying our time. It can get boring really fast. So here are some options that will help during your next summer vacation… or maybe even winter break!
- Take summer courses!
Okay, so I get that summer courses don’t sound extremely appealing. After 15 weeks of university, with one random public holiday thrown in the mix (Malaysia has tons more; that’s one thing that I miss about my home country), taking a summer course sounds like the least fun option ever. But there are many great things about summer semester courses. If they are online courses, we can do them at our own pace (even though there are still deadlines to make). If they are in-person, well, the classes tend to be smaller and we get more individualized attention to focus on excelling in these courses. Some classes, like the one I took in Summer 2019, Dance and Society in Global Contexts, was not offered in Spring 2019, although it will be offered in Spring 2020. But because it’s a prerequisite to Dance History, I’ll be ahead and be able to take Dance History in Spring 2020 while all of my fellow sophomores will be taking Dance and Society instead.
Some of the students in Dance and Society in Global Contexts also taking the summer dance intensive at the University of Iowa with Threads Dance Project! - Get a summer job!
Again, working over the summer doesn’t sound like a vacation. I mean, who wants to stand behind a counter in Starbucks and make coffee for people who give complicated orders like “a creme frappuccino base with 3 pumps of caramel syrup and 3 pumps of toffee nut syrup topped with caramel drizzle with almond milk instead of whole milk” (That’s the recipe for a Starbucks version of a Harry Potter Butterbeer). But working gives you the opportunity to make money and you can contribute it towards activities or holidays that you want to participate in. For example, I taught ballet at the University of Iowa Youth Ballet during Spring 2019 for both the experience and to save up money to pay for my ballet intensive at Nolte Dance Academy. Working definitely has its benefits…and since you likely wouldn’t be working from 9-5, you’d still have plenty of time to relax.
Me dancing in Ballet Week I intensive at Nolte Dance Academy, paid through my working money. - Go on vacation!
Now I know that some of you are probably thinking, Emily, are you crazy? Holidays are super expensive! And they are, don’t get me wrong. But holidays are also a great way to spend time with family or friends and relax. And the holidays don’t have to be someplace exotic and wildly expensive like Greece or Thailand or Egypt. Going to the beach for a day constitutes as a break. Going to a rural farmhouse with your family and staying off the internet counts as a holiday. Take some time during your summer break to really relax and recuperate before the fall semester starts again.
Me and my family outside Westminster Abbey!!! - Learn something new!
Now that sounds super vague, but what I really mean is take up a new hobby. It can be anything from learning how to swim to taking cooking classes to learning how to knit. For example, I picked up a new dance style over my summer break – I learned tap! It was challenging, but super fun. As university students, the long summer breaks we have are numbered. Treasure them while you still have them!
My new tap shoes…which had to be glued together after three days!!! I guess I practised a LOT!!! - Spend time with your friends and family!
While some of us have family living virtually next to Iowa City, some of us live super far away (myself included since it takes a total of 48 hours to travel from Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia to Iowa City, Iowa). Summer break is a great time to rekindle old friendships and to catch up on everything that you missed while you were away from your family. I loved having roughly two months (only two because I spent the first five weeks of summer break still in Iowa City) to spend with all my family and friends back in Malaysia. It made coming back here for my second year so much better because I was able to catch up with my family and friends back home. While I have friends here, it is extremely comforting being able to reunite with people who have known me forever. I’m sure that the same can be said for all of you.
While I loved my summer vacation, I’m super happy to be back and I’m sure all of you are too. Summer is a wonderful time to chill and relax, but here at the University of Iowa, I get to dance every day, take the most amazing writing classes, interact with people who love the same things that I do…the possibilities are endless. If you’re new, welcome to Iowa City and if you’re a returning student like me, welcome back!!!
- Reunion with some of my Iowa City friends the day before classes started! (And also my birthday HAHA).
Go Hawks!!!