Editor’s note: “Landlocked” is

commentary by students from far outside Iowa.

At this time of the year, there are so many exams, papers and deadlines that it seems certain that your professors conspired to put your economics exam on the same day you had your persuasive speech. I know I’ve been striving to get from weekend to weekend, just to hide from deadlines and worries.

Last year, my roommate would disappear from the scene on weekends whenever he needed a break from it all. Since most of my friends and fraternity brothers are from somewhere not so far away, they all have a chance to run away, have some quiet time and do free laundry.

But as the school year drains more and more Cyclones of personality, not everyone has the opportunity to run away. With just under a quarter of Iowa Staters being from outside of Iowa, I decided to put together a little guide of how my fellow non-Iowans should battle the mid-semester blues.

1. Get out of Ames! We already spend pretty much our entire lives here during the school year, so next weekend, pack your bags and leave.

If you have friends with cool parents, spend the weekend somewhere else in the Midwest. There’s a lot to see, and there are different scenes and experiences you can get here that are a total contrast to your own hometowns. I’ve stayed in cities as large as Minneapolis with hustle and bustle, and I’ve also been hosted just outside of Kalona, Iowa, where I got to see just how fast news travels in small towns. When I attended Sunday service in town, people knew who I was, knew that I was the ISU anthropology student from Hawaii staying the weekend in town. They even knew what I had eaten for dinner the night before.

There are so many communities in Iowa and in the Midwest that it is worth it to leave town and take a little breather from school.

2. Bring home to you. In this day and age, technology is readily available and gives us ways to battle homesickness that would have seemed just impossible to the average college student just a decade ago. Cell phone plans with included long-distance for reasonable prices put your family and old friends just a couple of buttons away. Also, the Internet is a wonder of growing popularity. Another great and free way to keep in touch with people is through using e-mail and instant-messaging services. Computers are a great way to stay in touch.

Since Hawaii is located in the mid-Pacific, leaving for post-high school education doesn’t have many nearby options. Of my graduating class of 435, 66 percent moved away to the continental United States to attend school. With students all over the continental U.S., many island-based restaurant and stores operate online stores, such as zippys.com, which sells expensive but well missed foods. The Internet also provides accessibility to hometown newspapers and news stations, and keeps you up to date with all the happenings in your own state or country.

3. Stay involved. If you have too much time on your hands, you’ll find yourself sitting around and dreaming of home, without the freaky Iowa weather that you’ve been spending the semester with. Instead, do something. Get out of your house, join a club, play some intramurals. Be social and meet people.

Get a job if you don’t have one. That is especially cool if you live so far away that flying is the most economically and mentally sound way to get home. Earning some extra bucks will let you take a trip home when your parents may have otherwise been unable to rescue you from the desert that Ames can be. The more you do, the less you’ll think about home.

If all else fails, just give up and pretend to be from Iowa. Just make up some alleged small town; that way you won’t run into any problems. Just make sure that the town doesn’t actually exist.

Robert Baptiste

is a sophomore in pre-law and cultural anthropology from Nanakuli, Hawaii.