Now I am starting to settle down here, I am finding that one of my biggest frustration is boredom. The boredom occurs on many levels:
- the food is boring - why on earth does anyone choose to eat rice three times a day
- my clothes are boring - remember the Conservative tea-party look?
- I’m reluctant to say my job is boring, but in many ways it is - although the research is interesting I'd prefer to have more than one project on the go at once
- and of course there is no entertainment - I don’t have tv or radio, and you will remember that Ruteng has a distinct lack of fun places to go. The entertainment that I do have, books and dvds, are rationed in fear that one-day soon I will run out.
Zoe & I have taken to whinging ‘I’m bored’ like tiresome spoilt children as we wonder listlessly around the house. A good example of our level of despair is that this week's highlight was a party at a home for retired priest’s!
Worse however is that I find the boredom self-perpetuating – it drains me of enthusiasm or drive to do anything other than being bored. I have so much free time here, but the despondency born out of boredom turns a viscous circle and I just feel guilty and lethargic.
Writing this I have tried to think what I would do in the UK if I were bored – probably just turn the TV on & forget about it, letting mind-numbing trashy programmes wash over me. So maybe it’s a good lesson to recognise these feelings, and maybe now I will do something about them… or maybe I'll start tomorrow!
4 comments:
I'm not sure turning on the TV is a solution to boredom. Isn't it simply a way of distracting you from the fact that you're still bored. Unless it's dragon's den, louis theroux (yep he's back on in England - na, na, na-na, na!) or the Hamster nearly killing himself on top-gear.
Anyway, here's my partial list of things to do at home when you're bored, or to stop you getting that way:
- do something physical - learn to do handstands, practice your cartwheels and forward rolls. Remember what you used to do as a kid in the playground?
- do some more grown up excercise - yoga maybe.
- meditate
- make up a song - either existing lyrics to made up song or made up lyrics to existing song.
- go on a nature hunt (come on Karen - that one was your idea!)
- do some origami
- Have an argument. Pick sides that you wouldn't normally take and argue it anyway.
- think up more things to do when you're bored ;-)
- as a very last resort you could try sudoku
And, Karen, I can't believe I even have to mention this one: JUGGLE (tell me if you haven't got any balls and I'll send some!)
Have you tried those? What else have you tried? Maybe it's easy sat here in a place where the problem is more fitting in everything you'd like to do rather than trying to find something you want to.
Keep blogging - it's great to hear all about your adventures.
I was bored alot on my Erasmus year, no real structure of study, no tv, not that many friends. Drinking gin became my key activity. Guess that isn't quite such an option for you at the moment.
Should we send more books?
Cx
Boredom is really a strange word, if there's always something to do, is it not lack of motivation? I have to admit I also sometimes feel bored but why don't I clean out those cupboards? go for a walk? get out that art set bought for me two years ago?? Because I don't want to !!! but why? Would I not feel better if the cupboards were sparkling? feel better for fresh air and excercise? feel better for producing a wonderful piece of artwork (well, a splash of colour on paper) I am a great believer in that if 'things' are bad enough we do something about them, so perhaps we're not quite so 'bored' as we think we are, but just resting !
Hello, can i just add to what Karen has already said by saying that yes we have tried lots of these things to fill in the boredom, but we generally have about 10 hours a day of nothing to fill - yoga, debating, dancing around the living room, reading, cooking, playing cards, can generally stretch to a few hours but we long for somewhere to go out to!!! A shopping centre or a walk where we don't get harassed for being white, a friend's house to go to where we don't just have to sit listening to the priest praying. I guess it will get easier when the language gets a bit easier - but how the hell will i cope once Karen has gone -aarrgghh!
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