ENTERTAINMENT

7SOCIALLY DISTANCED ACTIVITIES TO DO THIS FALL While COVID-19 may have canceled the fun plans you made for this fall, don’t worry. Here are seven activities you can enjoy while keeping yourself and others safe.

BY HELEN ZHANG ART BY SILA DURAN DESIGN BY ZOEY GUO

VIRTUAL PARTIES

Hang out with your friends over Zoom, Google Hangouts or the Squad app. You can also use browser extensions such as Netflix Party, Amazon Prime Video Watch Party and Hulu Watch Party to stream movies and TV shows together while staying safe in your own home. Virtual activities that don’t require paid subscriptions include Buzzfeed Quiz Parties and Jackbox Games.

SOCIALLY DISTANCED PICNIC

Meet your friends at a park or any large outside area. Make sure everyone brings their own food and picnic blanket and follows proper social distancing guidelines. Have fun chatting and if it gets cold, consider starting a bonfire.

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ENTERTAINMENT

APPLE PICKING

Wilson’s Orchard & Farm is still in business this year. You can collect fresh apples on their farm, but face masks are required when you enter their market. It is recommended that you stay six feet away from other guests and do not eat apples in the field. Besides apple picking, you can pick pumpkins and purchase their delicious cider and baked treats. Wilson’s ensures that their staff follows sanitation guidelines and provides hand sanitizer to guests.

SOLITARY OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES

Get some fresh air and become one with nature. Going outdoors is a great way to pass the time you might normally spend with other people. Take a walk, go on a hike, do some biking or even try roller blading. Explore hiking areas such as Lake MacBride State Park, Woodpecker Trail or Terry True Blood.

OUTDOOR MOVIES

Offering a blast from the past, drive-in movie theaters allow you to enjoy a movie in the safety and comfort of your car. The Blue Grass Drive-In Theatre and 61 Drive-In Theatre can both be found in Iowa. If you’d rather skip the long drive, though, an alternative activity is watching a backyard movie. Set up a projector in your backyard and enjoy a movie while leaving a safe space between you and others.

HALLOWEEN AT HOME

Trick-or-treating and Halloween parties may not be the best way to keep our community safe this year. Instead, have a virtual costume contest with your friends or send them Halloween care packages with candy and other goodies. With your family, bring out the spooky movies and pumpkin carving tools and have a fun and safe Halloween.

DRIVE-BY PARADE

Want to celebrate a holiday or your birthday with your friends or family in person? Plan a drive-by parade party. Invite guests to drive by your home with car decorations and signs. For a birthday party, guests can roll down their windows and sing the happy birthday song.

ENTERTAINMENT

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SUPER STRANGERS

Members of the West High community share how random acts of kindness have impacted them and why they feel it’s so crucial to be kind. BY KATHERINE SHOPPA

THE SANDBAG SAVIOR

When social studies teacher Anson Kritsch was 16, he often drove his “junkie truck” to school. However, on an icy winter day, his usual drive was disrupted. His truck suddenly started swerving and eventually completed a full 180 on the ice. A stranger asked if he needed help, and Kritsch explained what happened. The stranger went to his car and returned with sandbags to place in the back of the truck, which kept the tires on the ground. The man blocked traffic while Kritsch turned his car around. When Kritsch offered to pay him for the sandbags, the man declined and told him to get to school on time and drive safely.

“It was more than just a random act of kindness; he was the exact person in the exact place at the exact time as me with the exact thing necessary for me to drive safely. It was one of those things that make you feel like it couldn’t have just been coincidence,” Kritsch said. “Just good people doing good things. That’s what makes the world better.”

THE SILENT SUPERHEROES

English teacher Katy Nahra and her husband went out for dinner with their toddlers. They both tried to entertain, feed them and hurry out of the restaurant so that they didn’t “continue to disturb the other patrons.” When they asked for their bill, the waitress told them it had already been paid for by another customer.

“These acts of random kindness have a huge impact on me,” Nahra said. “These strangers who chose to be kind and generous have inspired me to give unconditionally. I do not give gifts with expectation of repayment. I try to give to others whatever I can because we all need a reason to smile and feel loved once in a while.”

COFFEE KINDNESS

When Mara Caylor ‘23 was at the Coralville Starbucks with her mom, the person in front of them paid for their order. The small act caused a ripple effect, as Mara and her mom ended up paying for the person behind them. “We felt like it was a nice deed for someone to do randomly, and it made us feel good because we paid for someone else’s,” she said.

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ENTERTAINMENT ART BY KAILEY GEE DESIGN BY RACHEL SWACK CHECKING IN

When Erin Schmidt-Rundell ‘24 was having a bad day at school, a student in the hallway asked her if she was okay.

“It made me feel better because I felt noticed and I felt cared for,” she said. “It also made me think that there are other people around who see you and care about you.”

Schmidt-Rundell feels like she checks in on others more often after her encounter and encourages others to do the same.

“I think that it is important to [check in] because you never truly know what is going on,” she said, “Sometimes even if you do check on them, they might not tell you the truth, but they might feel noticed or important.”

A KIND COMPANION

While living in Indonesia, Spanish teacher Ashley Lorsung decided to visit a town called Yogyakarta to see Borobudur, a Buddhist temple. She rented an Airbnb outside of town, and when she arrived, she was greeted by her host, Nouri, who would be staying with Lorsung. Nouri spoke Indonesian and very little English, which proved to be no barrier to her kindness.

One day of the trip, the two were riding around town when Lorsung’s skirt got caught in the wheel of the bike and came right off her. The traffic around them stopped, and they both started laughing.

“Nouri tried giving me her sweater to cover up, but because she was so much smaller than me, it just barely covered my bright yellow, polka-dot underwear and, in fact, just made it worse,” Lorsung said. “I was the most outside my comfort zone I’d been at the time, but with Nouri’s company, I felt safe and at home.”