Social distancing or self-quarantining at home provides a lot of time to self reflect. A lot of time. I’m actually quite content to be quarantined here in Kuwait, because honestly, my life pre and post-quarantine has not changed too much. There isn’t too much to do here to begin with, so I have to self-entertain a lot. I think it would be a lot more difficult to be forced to stay at home in a more exciting city, such as Shanghai or Chicago.
I’m actually quite enjoying myself these days and am slowly trying to make better use of my time. First of all, I started this blog! I’ve been thinking about and saying I’d start a blog for years, but I never get around to it, not because I don’t have the time, but out of sheer laziness. Oops.
I’ve also started working out again. I’ve worked out about 3 times in the last week, which is more than I’ve worked out in a long long time so I feel pretty good about myself. I’ve been doing Barre exercises at home by watching Youtube videos. I recently found Barre Centric and am really enjoying their videos! I like Barre because it is so fast-paced, and I hate working out so I lose interest very quickly and count down the minutes until the end of class. Having a class that switches up moves every 8-16 counts makes time pass by so much faster.
I’ve also started to cook again! I always make my own food, but I realize that I haven’t actually COOKED in a long time. I’ve just been heating things up or boiling things and adding ready-made sauces to dishes, not actually making my own sauces or combining different ingredients.
I also tried to bake my own bread, which kind of failed again. I’ve tried baking bread in Kuwait about 4 times, but for some reason, it is not rising as it should and the bread comes out a lot more dense than I’d like it. And I know it’s not the recipe because my mom tried it and got great results. Sigh. I blame the oven. My apartment here is equipped with a gas oven that you actually have to light with a flame, and it just doesn’t have the same effect. First of all, I can’t control the temperature, really, and the bread doesn’t actually brown. Even if it is fully cooked, it comes out looking very pale and unappetizing. I did buy more flour and will probably give it another go at some point.
What are you all doing to pass time in self-quarantine? Will take hobby recommendations!
Travelling Gazelle 