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Free Time: Yes, you will have it.

Before I went on my first Race, I heard some people say that you’ll have the most free time you’ve ever had in your life while on the field. Other people said that wasn’t really true. 

So, I’m just gonna tell you my experience with free time. If you do the Race, the amount of free time you get may look similar to my experience, and it may not. The truth is, all World Race experiences differ and a lot of it depends on what countries you go to and who your host is. 

My experience has changed from month to month. 

On my first race there were months when I had so much free time that I really didn’t know what to do with myself. I was also in a location where there wasn’t a ton of “adventure” things to do and I kind of got tired of doing the same things over and over again, day after day. There were also months when it felt like I barely had any free time at all and I was exhausted all the time. Most months, I had the same amount of free time I had at home while working a normal job in the U.S. (time after work and two days off). 

Although, sometimes on the Race it feels like much more free time because there isn’t as much to do as there is in the States. You don’t have your car so you can’t just drive wherever you want. Most of the time there aren’t movie theaters around. The movies to watch at home are limited to whatever you have downloaded and the games you can play depend on what you are your teammates packed. 

So here are some of my favorite ways that I have filled my free time while on the World Race: 

Books 

I loved reading before the Race and I love it even more now. I bought a kindle because I knew I couldn’t bring all the books I would want for an entire year. At first, I didn’t think I would like reading on a kindle because I never enjoyed reading on my phone or an iPad. I was wrong. I absolutely love my kindle. I also  pay for kindle unlimited, which has a decent selection of books. The nice thing about it is that I can have up to 10 books downloaded at a time so I never really run out of books to read (even when offline). 

Games

I love playing games with my teammates. There are so many different card games that are fun and they’re the easiest to pack. Last time I brought SkipBo and Uno and this year I brought Uno and 5 Crowns. Between the rest of my teammates we have lots of games to play. From Monopoly Deal to Dutch Blitz, games are a great go to (especially on ministry days when work is light). 

Movies 

I don’t watch a ton of movies, but I do enjoy one every now and again. Download movies you want before you go. You can download some on your phone or computer/tablet, or you can being an external hard drive with movies on it. There are opportunities to download more if you get wifi, but most of the time they take a while to download. 

Podcasts 

What I’m currently listened to is “Chasing the Beauty” by Mike Donehey, “Bema” and “Bridgetown.” There are so so many though that you can download before you leave and you’ll be able to update your library when you get wifi. 

Coffee Shops

I hardly ever go to coffee shops in the U.S. I go to them a lot on the World Race. I’ll go for wifi so I can talk to my family back home, post blogs, and download new books, podcasts or movies. I’ll also go to just sit and be somewhere other than whatever house we’re living in. 

There’s lots of other things you could do with your free time or on your off days, but those are much more dependent on where you are (such as going on hikes or other fun adventures). 

So yeah, you will have free time on the Race. What you choose to fill that free time with is up to you. Something I’ve learned is to fill it with things that fill me. I try to be intentional with my free time and use it for things that won’t make me feel like a lazy potato. I try to be intentional and I try to be present. Sometimes I succeed. Sometimes I fail and I end up feeling really lazy, but that’s okay. There will be more free time to fill it with something better next time.

Blessings, 

Kaci