It’s week 5 of lockdown here in the Netherlands, meaning that despite the beautiful spring weather, we can’t spend our free time chilling in the Noorderplantsoen or on a terrace in the city centre. While it’s also the first week of the last block of the school year (meaning we probably all have enough to do) I still thought it would be nice to share some inspiration for virtual things and places you can enjoy while on lockdown. I don’t know about you guys, but I have so much more free time now and don’t always know what to do with it.

1. Go to a concert!

A sad side effect of the corona pandemic: we wave goodbye to many festivals, concerts and other events we had planned for this spring. Luckily, lots of bands and artists are giving free online concerts to soften the blow, so that you can transform your bedroom into a concert hall. Billboard posts livestreams of artists performing from their homes regularly, like Josh Groban, Hozier, Miley Cyrus and Skip Marley.  There are even online festival platforms like Uncancelled, where there are daily livestreams of multiple artists. This Saturday, April 18th, Global Citizen in collaboration with Lady Gaga will organize a online festival with 70+ of your favorite artists, the One World: Together at Home festival. You can join to watch artists like Green Day, Billie Eilish, Elton John, JLo and over 70 others perform from their homes. 

Want to keep it closer to home? Join a livestream live from Simplon on Friday or from OOST this Saturday.

2. Learn a new skill 

Do you have a guitar that's been laying in your room for far too long without ever having really learned to use it? Follow a free Spanish Guitar Lessons stream! Or use this time in lockdown solitude to work on your mindfulness on a weekly basis. For all of you who have been living in Groningen but still haven’t mastered your Dutch skills, or if you want to learn Dutch before moving here, join the free virtual Dutch lessons with a certified teacher! You can also learn almost every skill via websites like Skillshare. 

3. Work out 

There are countless Youtube videos where a way-too-fit person gives a “20 minutes to rock hard abs!” class. It’s week 5 and unless you are just as fit as all of the Youtube sports influencers, it's pretty demotivating (especially when you can just pause it and come back later). Following a livestream workout is so much more motivating because just like a real workout class, you can’t just pause it. Local gyms like TrainMore or BasicFit host daily workout sessions on their Instagram Live. Not a fan of doing burpees and lunges in your student room? Try a morning yoga livestream class.

4. Go out to eat (in the comfort of your own home) 

Just because all of the restaurants are closed, doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a nice meal that isn’t home cooked. In these hard times, we need to support our local businesses and at almost every restaurant, you can order a takeaway. Many restaurants also offer the option of ordering a whole three-course meal, for only a fraction of what you’d pay in the restaurant. Seize the day and make use of this! It’s a great opportunity to enjoy some fine-dining while helping the local restaurants still receive some income and use up the excess products they had bought pre-lockdown to combat food waste. 

5. Take an online class 

Realizing that you have a lot of time left next to your classes and want to extend your knowledge even further? Take an online class! MOOC  or FutureLearn have countless online classes from universities all across the world. 

See? There is still so much to do despite our lockdown. What will you be doing this week? Let us know! 

Stay safe everyone!