Student Bloggers

This was me at about hour 6 of a 12 hour layover in North Carolina to Dublin. To all of those who have had to face a long layover I know your pain. You don't have any clue as to what to do in the airport and you just want to be at your destination already! I mean Ireland was just shortly beyond my reach and I have to wait because my plane wouldn't be there until evening!!

Here's what you can do to kill some time waiting in that airport:

1. Change Clothes!

Don't be stinky ya'll. Bring a change of clothes in your checked bag. Bring your toiletries and freshen up as well. If you don't, you are going to smell and no one will like you on that next flight ;)

2. Make friends with the flight attendants

I happened to be in line at Starbucks around 7 in the morning trying to get some form of caffeine into my system when I started a conversation with a lovely flight attendant whose next flight would be going to Seattle (where I just came from). She started asking what I was doing and when I was getting on the next flight. When I told her I would be flying to Dublin for study abroad but not for another 11 hours she could feel my pain and hooked me up with the best places to go to sleep in the airport. In North Carolina that would be terminal A's circular section. No one goes in Terminal A. Which brings me to my next option.

3. SLEEP!

You will be jet lagged. You will be tired. You should attempt some sleep. And here's the thing. People do sleep in the airport! When I went to Terminal A, I found a Pilot sleeping by the window on a couch. I took the very next couch and slept for a good couple of hours. It was only 3-4 hours but I would have fared worse without it. Every little bit helps!!

4. People Watch

My spot for people watching was in the main food court in the middle of the airport. Lots of people to observe. People watching kills time and is pretty fun. I watched a group of girls take selfies in the middle of the walkway and take pictures of every little thing that looked interesting. There's a real tree, picture. I've never been to that restaurant before, picture. You get the idea. If you have your iPod, iPhone, old school walkman or cassette player, start listening and look around you!

5. Charge your electronics!

It's a good chance to plug in and charge all of your electronics before getting on the next plane. It does kill time and is fairly useful so that you don't get on your plane and all of a sudden...no music for you! Movies? No way good sir, I decided to die on you.

6. Eat!

For goodness sake consume something! Any layover over 4 hours should have some kind of meal. Don't go for the fast food. You aren't in any kind of hurry. Sit down and order something at one of the restaurants. Have time for dessert? Have it! Treat yourself nicely at the airport.

7. Read a book

Something I wish I had with me when I had this long layover was a good book. I can kill hours when I have a nice book to read. But my bags were packed pretty tight so I didn't think I would have room :/. So expand your mind, get sucked in or learn something new and before you know it, it's time to get to your gate.

8. Hydrate!

Are you drinking water? No?! Get on that! For long layovers you have to remember to hydrate. Jet lag is partly due to dehydration and you can go hours on a plane without drinking any water and not even give it a second thought. Your layover is a good chance to get caught up on your daily recommended amount. I happened to like that at my airport, there were filtered refill stations. I have them at my homeschool which is nice so you are not continually buying bottles of water...or sticking your face in a fountain that thousands of other mouths have been.

9. When in doubt, Netflix

Do you have free wifi or a hotspot and a membership to the greatest of internet things? Go ahead and indulge in some Netflix. Catch up on a show, watch a movie, binge watch House of Cards or Orange is the New Black. Guaranteed to kill time and entertain you.

10. Keep telling yourself it will be worth it in the end

Avoid long layovers if you can, but it happens and you may not be able to avoid it. If you are visiting loved ones, traveling to a new location, or a place you love time and time again or studying abroad like little ol' me, that layover will just be another day but that destination at the end is an experience. You will remember all the people you met, the friends you made, the memories and the challenges you took. I have been in Ireland for a week and that 12 hour layover has been worth it already and I still have 4 months!