If you’re going abroad, you’re inevitably going to spend some time in airports, just sitting there and waiting for a plane to whisk you away. As boring as the flights can be sometimes, sometimes waiting for the flight is even more annoying, simply because you’re not making any progress. Here I present a number of solutions to your layover boredom, in the hopes that they brighten your long days of travel just a bit.

1. Try to get the free WiFi. Sometimes this is easy, sometimes this is tricky, and sometimes there simply is no free WiFi, but if you can get it, that opens up a whole world of possibilities for entertainment!

2. Document your boredom with multiple Facebook statuses. Yes, for one day you can be that annoying person who uses his/her status as a journal, except that you’re going someplace awesome so it’s kind of acceptable.

3. Window shop (or actually shop). A few ideas for shopping:

• Try to “create” the best three-course meal possible, across whatever food options are available (buying and eating said items is optional).
• Assess the souvenir options.
• Try to find the tackiest item available (and consider purchasing it as a souvenir).
• Test out any gift shop item that lights up or makes noise.

4. Survey all of the other flight options and make sure your trip is to the coolest location ever – if not, see if a switch is possible! ;)

5. Repack your suitcase so everything fits better – you have time, right? 

6. Read The Hunger Games. Trust me, it won’t take as long as you think, but when you’re absorbed in it, you’ll be complaining that it’s time to board because you won’t want to put it down! If you’re going abroad, you’re inevitably going to spend some time in airports, just sitting there and waiting for a plane to whisk you away. 

Continued…

Old Glory. The Stars and Stripes. The be-all and end-all of Betsy Ross's oeuvre. Call it what you will, the American flag was not something I was expecting to see flying from practically every floor of every building in the Plaza Moyúa in downtown Bilbao. Nevertheless, there it was! It didn't make sense.

Continued…