Hey! Do you need new ideas on what to do in your free time? Here are my top five favorites! 

Go for a walk 

I live in Otaniemi and the best part of it is its nature! Otaniemi, where Aalto University is located, is only 20 minutes by metro from Helsinki city center. From my home, it takes 7 minutes to walk to school but only 5 to the sea! I often go to the seashore for a walk since there is a magical walking trail and beautiful sunsets. There is a bird watching tower in this trail so you can also climb up to spot some birds. Sometimes you might even see foxes, owls or minks when you walk past by the forest near campus. 

Watch Netflix

Watching Netflix helps me relax and my thoughts away from school. If you want to watch Netflix with your friends but you are located in different places, you can try the Netflix party. There you can watch the same screen and share the experience. Great movies for this are Lucy, Enola Holmes, The Intouchable, Inception and How to train your dragon. If you want to try some new series then try my favourites: The Office, Black Mirror, Orange is the new Black, Rick and Morty, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and You.  

Remember to do your schoolwork first before you open the TV because you will be hooked! 

Try cooking something new 

Have you tried Tik Tok recipes like folding a tortilla wrap or making a mug cake in the microwave? If you are out of ideas you can invite your friends over and ask them to bring food that they have in their fridge and combine your ingredients together. (or you can try to make a pizza and put the leftovers on that). My friends and I created this “four teekkari’s dinner” -concept where we all invite and cook something for each other. This way we can try other people’s favourite food and enjoy four delicious dinners but only have to do one dinner’s dishes. Little secret to you guys: my favourite food is actually instant noodles.

Have a game night 

With a deck of cards you can already have multiple games but have you tried playing some games on your computer? Among Us is one of the games that I play weekly. Other online games that are popular are Skribbl.io, Catan and Ticket to Ride. You can play these games alone or with your friends. After watching the Queen’s Gambit on Netflix, you might want to try playing chess, too! You can also borrow board games from the library or the club room of your building.  

Apartment crawl 

What would be more fun than seeing other people’s places? Arrange an apartment crawl with your friends and plan a map of the home’s you are visiting. Don’t worry that you don’t have any interesting things in your home because people just want to have a place to enjoy great company! Everyone can offer something small to eat or drink at their places and maybe some program like a Kahoot or party game would be entertaining. You can also create a theme like “Finnish tourist” so people can dress up according to the theme and offer karjalanpiirakka or salmiakki.  

Thank you for reading this. Follow me at Instagram @an_cong for more free time ideas!

An Cong
Information Networks
Aalto study options
Contact email: aaltosquad(at)aalto.fi