Nothing to Do… Everything to Do

无聊对你有好处. 是的，你没看错. 无聊对你来说并不是坏事. In fact, when experienced in an unfamiliar or alien environment, it’s rather helpful. 无聊是好事.

In the blistering humidity of the 罗马’s inner city streets, Boredom was the occasional guest that wafted in and out of my apartment’s open windows like a warm breeze, 之间是否, 之前, 或者课后. It was never particularly welcome, but it reminded me that there was a world outside of my comfortable couch and dusty laptop screen. Almost as soon as I noticed it, the feeling would leave and I would be left with a desire to chase it. Halfway across the world in a foreign place with hostile heat and traffic, it can be (and was) tempting to stay inside and revel in the comfort of familiar amusements. Instagram looked particularly attractive at times, but got repetitive quickly. Twitter was a dose of my native language that I looked forward to reading, but became stuffed with political arguments. Snapchat was a reliable way to kill time, but the six-hour time difference made it difficult to communicate. Familiar time-killers become insufficient.

A real adventure would begin when Boredom would arrive, uninvited. It would take me by the hand and lead me out of my stuffy apartment and onto the cobblestone streets, 把电脑丢在家里, 手机充电器, 我的食品柜里有糖果, 还有WiFi. It would then accompany me on a small, random adventure with no aim or responsibility, 一段时间后, would drop me off at my apartment steps…sometimes empty-handed, other times with a bag of exotic foods, 一条新围巾, 或者吃饱了. Boredom quickly became a friend.

As the days passed and my study abroad experience came to a close, I looked back at my experiences with Boredom. 正因为如此, I had the opportunity to embark on a variety of adventures throughout 罗马 that would enrich my international experience. Once the more heavily-trafficked sites of the Eternal City (i.e. 万神殿, 罗马圆形大剧场, and Vatican City) were visited, Boredom and I would seek out more reclusive and locally-centered excursions; I ran around the beautiful Villa Borghese parks to the north, bought fresh peaches at the market of Campo de Fiori, had a glass of local wine at an art gallery/bar, and marveled at the cascading, flower-laden walls of Trastevere. All of these experiences were inexpensive and more worthy of my time than staying indoors all day!

A valuable lesson can be learned from this, whether at home or abroad: though it may appear unexpectedly, Boredom is not to be dreaded; it should be welcomed as a helpful force that will inspire you to seek out new and enriching experiences. 无聊是好事!