Although many students at Case Western Reserve University went home over fall break, I stayed on campus. It didn’t make sense to travel home, stay there for two days and travel back in a random week in late October. I thought I’d be in for four days of procrastination, laziness and apathy toward anything that dared to interrupt my sleep schedule. I was very wrong.

Fall break on campus ended up being a more varied experience than I expected, and it was overwhelmingly positive. I took the time for some much needed rest and relaxation by way of Netflix, food, video games and a museum exploration. The only major downside was the closed eateries around campus. While it makes perfect sense that most food places around campus were open for less time than normal, I found that the hours that Leutner followed (dinner only) were strange. I’ve already used two of my portable meal swipes this week, and I’ve made a habit out of getting food from The Den on Wednesdays and Fridays.

However, this complaint is mostly a frivolous one. The altered dining hall hours ended up exposing me to new flavors and experiences around me. Because most of the cafeterias and restaurants on campus were closed, I was forced to try food in the area, mostly in Uptown. I didn’t realize the sheer number of restaurants in the area. I obviously didn’t eat at all of them, but after this weekend, I can confidently recommend Dunkin’ Donuts, Bibibop Asian Grill and Indian Flame.

Bibibop has so many possible combinations of vegetables, meats and sauces, I probably couldn’t try them all even if I went once a week for the next four years. Dunkin’ Donuts is on the meal plan as a portable swipe, and they have a wide selection of delicious doughnuts, as well as filling breakfast sandwiches and tasty hot chocolate that helped get me through the falling temperatures. If you’re looking for good Indian food that’s practically on campus, Indian Flame is the way to go. Their lunch buffet (which ends at 3 p.m.) is absolutely worth the 10 dollars.

After this fall break, the only concern I have is that I’ll run out of CaseCash before I can try all the different restaurants in Uptown.

I also got a chance to bond with some of my fellow residents in a setting we don’t normally get to experience. Living in a dorm is normally a loud, chaotic and distracting mess, but over fall break, only about seven of the people I regularly hang out with in my residence hall remained on campus. The rest went home, and while it’s easy to feel left out because of that, I found that I’ve grown closer to the few people who also stayed back. We created superheroes in “DC Universe Online,” went to Mitchell’s Homemade Ice Cream together, watched “Spider-Man: Homecoming” and exhaustively argued about whether Marvel or DC is better.

Since I was free from classes and obligations, I finally had the chance to venture into Cleveland’s museums, which ended up being the most interesting part of my weekend . I spent the better part of a day with a friend first at the Cleveland Botanical Garden and then at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Going to museums alone isn’t exactly my idea of a good time, but when I’m with someone else or a group, it becomes way more engaging. I personally recommend the Egyptian collection in the original building of the art museum and the more contemporary parts of the collection in the newer building.

I don’t know that I’d recommend staying on campus for fall break over going home if it’s feasible, but I can definitely say that I enjoyed this break. I may stay back again next year.

Zubair Mukhi is a first-year student who is planning to study computer science. He writes opinion pieces bi-weekly and is probably binging “Voltron: Legendary Defender” and “Stranger Things” or playing “Destiny 2” if he isn’t doing homework. He feels like this blurb makes him sound too interesting.