Happy New Year, Wesleyan! This blog post is coming all the way from sunny Singapore, where everyone is preparing for the upcoming Chinese New Year festivities.
After spending my last two weeks in constant 90°F (32°C) weather and super humidity, it’s hard to believe that Middletown is in the middle of winter! During my time back home, I’ve been able to spend some great quality time with family and friends and eat LOTS of my favorite local foods, pastries and fruits (chicken rice, asam laksa, ondeh ondeh, sotong hitam, rambutans, mangosteens, allll the dim sum…) Seriously guys, if you haven’t yet experienced Southeast Asian food, I encourage you to read up on/try some of these wonderful dishes.
My time in Singapore is quickly coming to an end, however, as I fly back to North America on January 14th. While I’m excited to get back to friends, classes and of course the charming PANGEA family, I can’t say that I’m looking forward to the long winter ahead.
This will be my second winter at Wes (and the second year I’ve lived in a country with seasons in general). Last year I had a really tough time during spring semester, with the constant snow and general lack of sunlight taking an unexpected toll on my mood and motivation. Knowing that I tend to get a major case of the winter blues, over the break this year I have prepared and purchased some items that will hopefully help me better get through this coming semester.
Firstly, I read up on Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a type of depression that is related to the change of the seasons as the weather gets colder and the sunlight hours diminish. (A great place to read up more on SAD is here.) This sounded a lot like how I was feeling last winter, and so I actually bought a light therapy machine for me to take back to school with me. While these machines can tend to be pretty expensive, there are some cheap ones out there on eBay and Amazon (they don’t have to be new! pre-owned machines in good condition will work just fine.)
In addition to my light machine, I also gathered some trinkets and spice mix packets to bring back with me. Sometimes I find that having familiar items around can make me feel a lot better and provide motivation on days when I’m not really ‘feeling it’.
Lastly, in order to prep for this coming semester, I made a New Year’s resolution to exercise at least three times a week. I’m actually planning on also joining Wesleyan’s Boxing Club, which I’m really excited about, as it will not only ensure a good workout twice a week, but also it’ll be a nice opportunity to get to meet some new people. Joining a team or a club will help to ensure that I get some exercise and social activity during the gloomy winter months, and so hopefully this, along with the two other things mentioned above, will help keep my spirits up over the next couple months.
I hope that perhaps some of these things will get you thinking about what you can do to maintain and enhance your own happiness and positivity this coming semester. Remember, if you ever feel like talking to someone about any concerns, friends, family, CAPS and 8-to-8 can be great resources.
That’s all from me right now, folks! I have to start packing (and praying that my suitcases aren’t overweight with all the yummy snacks I’m bringing back). I hope that you all had a wonderful holiday season and a great start to the New Year.
With lots of love and sunshine,
Brighten Kaufman
After spending my last two weeks in constant 90°F (32°C) weather and super humidity, it’s hard to believe that Middletown is in the middle of winter! During my time back home, I’ve been able to spend some great quality time with family and friends and eat LOTS of my favorite local foods, pastries and fruits (chicken rice, asam laksa, ondeh ondeh, sotong hitam, rambutans, mangosteens, allll the dim sum…) Seriously guys, if you haven’t yet experienced Southeast Asian food, I encourage you to read up on/try some of these wonderful dishes.
My time in Singapore is quickly coming to an end, however, as I fly back to North America on January 14th. While I’m excited to get back to friends, classes and of course the charming PANGEA family, I can’t say that I’m looking forward to the long winter ahead.
This will be my second winter at Wes (and the second year I’ve lived in a country with seasons in general). Last year I had a really tough time during spring semester, with the constant snow and general lack of sunlight taking an unexpected toll on my mood and motivation. Knowing that I tend to get a major case of the winter blues, over the break this year I have prepared and purchased some items that will hopefully help me better get through this coming semester.
Firstly, I read up on Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a type of depression that is related to the change of the seasons as the weather gets colder and the sunlight hours diminish. (A great place to read up more on SAD is here.) This sounded a lot like how I was feeling last winter, and so I actually bought a light therapy machine for me to take back to school with me. While these machines can tend to be pretty expensive, there are some cheap ones out there on eBay and Amazon (they don’t have to be new! pre-owned machines in good condition will work just fine.)
In addition to my light machine, I also gathered some trinkets and spice mix packets to bring back with me. Sometimes I find that having familiar items around can make me feel a lot better and provide motivation on days when I’m not really ‘feeling it’.
Lastly, in order to prep for this coming semester, I made a New Year’s resolution to exercise at least three times a week. I’m actually planning on also joining Wesleyan’s Boxing Club, which I’m really excited about, as it will not only ensure a good workout twice a week, but also it’ll be a nice opportunity to get to meet some new people. Joining a team or a club will help to ensure that I get some exercise and social activity during the gloomy winter months, and so hopefully this, along with the two other things mentioned above, will help keep my spirits up over the next couple months.
I hope that perhaps some of these things will get you thinking about what you can do to maintain and enhance your own happiness and positivity this coming semester. Remember, if you ever feel like talking to someone about any concerns, friends, family, CAPS and 8-to-8 can be great resources.
That’s all from me right now, folks! I have to start packing (and praying that my suitcases aren’t overweight with all the yummy snacks I’m bringing back). I hope that you all had a wonderful holiday season and a great start to the New Year.
With lots of love and sunshine,
Brighten Kaufman