January Interim Experience offers students a chance to take an in-depth, intense look at a topic of their choosing, allowing them the time to focus on one class for the entire month.

It also offers students a chance to relax, kick back and enjoy free time before the new semester begins. January Interim Experience is a chance to rejuvenate and re-energize before the start of a new semester.

There are plenty of ways that students take advantage of the free time during this cold winter month on the hill.

There are lots of hobbies and activities that get pushed to the backburner towards the end of fall semester and January is the time to recommit. All day movie trilogy marathons? Check. Sleeping until noon, eating breakfast and then taking a nap? Check. Hanging out with friends you lost to the library during finals week in December? Check and check.

“I like to hang out indoors and play video games, the classics like MarioKart and Super Smash Brothers. I like that [January] term gives me the freedom to read a good book, hang out with friends and do whatever I feel like for a month,” Sophomore Dan Enright said.

Of course, getting active and staying fit are also ways to reconnect with friends and spend an entire day/week/month. Intramural sports like broomball are in full swing and the First Year Olympics are underway. The Peer Assistants are sponsoring classes like Middle Eastern dance, Zumba and Yoga during weeknights in Lund.

The powdery snow isn’t going any where for a while, so outdoor sports like traying, sledding, skiing and snowboarding make for an ideal afternoon and evening. Snow forts, igloos and other icy formations are popping up around campus to the delight of students everywhere.

Unfortunately, with powdery snow comes bone chilling weather. But with cold weather comes creative ways to stay warm. Namely, long underwear and 3-5 layers of shirts, hoodies and coats. And blankets and hot chocolate.

A nice sit in the sauna provides a warm relief from the biting January wind and is a great way to relieve stress, increase joint mobility and rid your body of toxins.

“Saunas are a relaxing and social way to do nothing in particular with people you enjoy in a warm cedar box,” said History major and Sauna Society member Steve Palmer.

There are plenty of options for January 2010 activities, so no matter what you choose, you’re bound to have a good time.