Host an all-day social at your house where people can pop in and out on their schedule.
Depending on where you live, there may be a miniature version of other countries, right there in your city. In Los Angeles you have Koreatown and Little Ethiopia. In New York you have Little Italy and Chinatown. Many large cities have foreign populations that have built up rich and immersive communities where you can find grocery markets carrying their international food, and where you might even mostly hear a foreign language spoken. Just park your car in one of these areas and experience an afternoon there – shopping in a market, grabbing some lunch, and enjoying a café. It might feel like a visit to the real place.
Do your friends have blogs? Podcasts? Web series? Did one friend write a book? And have you failed to really look at any of this work your friends produce? Maybe you don’t have time to listen to all of their podcasts, all year long, but you can take a day to listen to an episode from each one.
If a day of vacation doesn’t go the way you’d hoped, you won’t let it go. You wanted that sense of nirvana—that release—and you didn’t get it. And that day alone cost you $200 between the hotel and the food so you’re inconsolable. You set the expectations very high for each day, so it’s very easy to be disappointed.