In an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19 many people are stuck at home and libraries, cinemas and theatres are closed. While many students still need to learn or write term papers or a thesis, a lot are confronted with an indefinite amount of free time. But what to do with all that time, when you can’t go out to see your friends, parties are cancelled and the cultural scene comes to a grinding halt? We collected a few activities that can be done while in (self-)quarantine. Maybe you find something you like:
Streaming
If you are interested in classical music or the concert business in general, you can now use the Digital Concert Hall by the Berlin Philharmonic for free. Apart from concerts, they also offer video material from behind the scenes, with musicians and around the concerts.
Alternatively, there is also the Metropolitan Opera. They offer streaming of operas on a schedule, meaning that you can plan your “visit to the opera”.
The Vienna State Opera, currently also offers their entire archive for free to stream.
You can also watch a documentary on Netflix or the streaming service of you choice. Now is the time to finally watch the documentary you’ve been staring at for months or the TEDTalk that shows up on your timeline all the time.
Virtual Visits
If you are interested in art & culture you can virtually visit art and museum exhibitions with the help of Google Arts&Culture. You can decide based on art movement, topic, medium and place what you want to see. That way you can playfully learn from the comfort of your bed.
Who has already visited the Elbphilharmonie? As many concert halls are closed, so is this one. To compensate for the loss of the popular house tour through the Hamburg landmark, they created the “zuHausführungen” online. Different parts of the building are presented and explained in short video clips. The videos are organized by section and are published one by one. So when you always wanted to visit the Elbphilharmonie, you can do so without leaving your bed.
Learning Languages
Now is the best opportunity to learn a new language or deepen the knowledge of a language you already learned. Especially for international students, learning German is important. To learn a language is to learn about the culture and mentality of the country in which it is spoken. To improve your German you can try out the Deutsche Welle. With video lessons and a community you can learn according to your own speed and level.
You can also try watching a German film or series with subtitles to improve listening comprehension. Or listen to a podcast on topics that interest you on Spotify, Amazon Music or your streaming service of choice.
Learning Something New
The best thing you can do at the moment, is to stay informed. Of course you sometimes need to unwind to avoid being overwhelmed by the amount of information. One way to stay informed and take care of yourself, is to watch the talks on TED Connects. With talks on different topics surrounding COVID-19 and the current situation, there is something for everybody.
Stay Connected
Stay in contact with friends and family through video chat, WhatsApp or Skype. Especially when you live alone or are really quarantined, it is important to uphold social interaction. With the current digital options you can battle the loneliness, stay in contact with friends and watch concerts, exhibitions and TED Talks for which you usually don’t have time.
Stay safe and healthy!
