blog by zahra

Phew!  After 1 summer course, 2 family weddings, and a very spiritual month of Ramadhan, I’m ready to start year 2 at UBC.  Although this year will bring challenges (I have 11 courses and 2 labs in my schedule), I am looking forward to delving into the deep sea of knowledge!  However, my excitement is offset by the dread of commuting.  Commuting over 3 hours everyday by bus will definitely be testing.  But, of course, I’m not the only one!  To all of you who are going to be starting (or restarting!) to commute by bus/train, here are a few tips in order to be productive during your commute.

1. Study: Use your commute time to review yesterday’s lecture notes or to complete today’s pre-readings.  Don’t want to bring your heavy textbooks with you?  Make cue cards if you can  They’re light, portable, and serve as a great study tool in December!
2. Stay Up to Date: Almost every bus loop and train station has the 24-Hour and Metro newspapers available.  They’re free!  I personally like to occupy myself with the crossword and Sudoku puzzles, and comparing how accurate the news articles are between the 2 papers. 😛
3. Sleep: Although this sounds like an unproductive thing to do, it’s not!  Catching up on a bit of sleep on the bus helps you get in more study time in the evening at home.
4. People Watch: Entertain yourself!  This isn’t necessarily the most productive activity, but it’s good for days when sleep evades you, and you also don’t feel like studying.

My name is Zahra and I’m really excited to be a part of UBC Blog Squad!  I’d love to say more about myself, but it’s already all under the “About Me” page.  Visit it and the other pages to find out more about my blog and useful resources for life at UBC!  I look forward to hearing your comments and answering your questions!