I've been around the globe a time or two, not as much as many people these days, but I have wisdom and advice I think may be useful for other people, and I'm always here to share.
One of my best travel memories was my study abroad semester in Rome, Italy. I was lucky enough to spend 4 months romping around the Eternal City and other parts of Italy and Europe. When I was chosen I didn't exactly know where to go from there, like what to pack and how to prepare for the long stay. You can't just pick up and drive or fly home whenever you want, so it is essential to get everything right before you leave.
I learned a lot from the study abroad office at my school, along with other people who had gone before me, and of course my own mistakes. So without further ado here are a few things to do before leaving on your international adventure.
1. Getting all the necessary papers.
This is pretty much mandatory or your trip isn't going to happen. Your study abroad office at your school should give you everything you need from the beginning, so when you attend all those orientation sessions, dear God keep all of those papers. They'll give you folders filed with information on what to do when you arrive, how to get a room assignment, who to talk to, basically everything. Do not lose these.
Adding to that more importantly, STAY ORGANIZED. Seriously, it's the number one thing I did wrong in preparation. Keeping everything in one place will make it so much easier on yourself. Get a calendar and mark all of the appointments you'll be going to. Going to the consulate to get your visa, picking up your passport, orientation sessions; stay on top of everything because if you don't get it done, you're not going.
2. Passports and Visas
Having a passport is obviously not a choice. If you don't already have one, do it now. Like, right now. It takes a while to get them processed so the sooner you jump on this the better. Along with that you'll need a passport photo. You can get them taken at a post office, Walgreens, CVS, or any other place like that. It takes 10 minutes and they'll give you 2. Hold on to them because you'll need to send them in to get the passport.
Now that visa, depending on how your school does it, you'll be doing one of two things. 1) absolutely nothing because the school will take care of it for you, or 2) like me you'll have to go to the closest city (it was New York for me) and get everything taken care of yourself. The latter is such a pain in the ass, but here's how to do it. You're gonna make an appointment over the phone (they charge you by the minute so do it quick) with the consulate of the country you'll be traveling to. On the day of you'll have to bring your passport and the other papers your school will tell you to bring, dress professionally, sit in a waiting room for a half hour, get yelled at by someone in a terrible mood at the front desk when you finally get called up, and they take your stuff to be processed.
They will tell you when to come back and pick it up in person. This all must be done a certain amount ahead of time, I believe it's 90 days but I could be wrong about that one. It's a necessary evil.
3. Packing
Ah yes. You may only be permitted one suitcase and you're probably thinking how on earth am I going to fit 4 months of clothes into one suitcase. Don't fret that's what I'm here for. There are these beautiful, wonderful things called space bags that save a butt-load of space. They are plastic bags that you stuff everything into, zip them tight, and roll out the air. For me this freed up twice as much space.
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| Get them at Bed Bath and Beyond |
Pack for warm weather and cold weather, I don't care where you're going just do it. Obviously though if your going to Mexico in the middle of the summer you don't need 5 sweaters, but bring one or two light jackets and a pair of jeans. Places have air conditioners, and things cool down at night.
I strongly advise against a ton of hair products, because you might (like me) be sharing an apartment with 5 other girls who have decided to pack a whole beauty salon with them. Walking shoes are necessary in Europe, I brought a few pairs of flats and burned through them all by the end of the trip. Europeans walk plenty of miles a day so get good shoes and keep up.
I aimed to be fashionable, but savvy. One good warm coat was enough. I got sick of seeing it, but only packing one meant I could pack so many other lighter layers. For me I planned on the fact that I knew I was going to be throwing out something by the end of the trip. This meant I could squeeze souvenirs in there on the way back because I freed up that space. I suggest this if you plan to do the same.
Also, don't forget to get an adapter and converter because the outlets will be different than the ones where you live. They make 2 in 1 adapter/converters now to save space.
4. The money situation
I spent way more money that I expected to in my study abroad semester. If you have parents that are helping you out, great! You're a lucky kid. For me I was spending on average $100 a week. This covered food, museum and monument passes, tours, souvenirs, bars, and drinks.
If your school schedule allows it, get a job for the year or semester before you go. Save every penny. Put down that Ben and Jerry's now and you can gorge yourself on gelato later. You'll be kicking yourself if couldn't see the Colosseum because you were a few euros short.
Many people like to travel for the breaks, and in somewhere like Europe that's incredibly easy, and usually fairly cheap compared with anywhere else, but it stills costs something. My budget only allowed me to leave Italy once (Greece for spring break) but my roommates were traveling here and there every weekend without me because I couldn't swing the money. I still have regrets to this day I didn't save more and travel with them. Don't let that be you.
5. Stay up to date with the news
It's good to know what's going on somewhere before you go live there, that's just good sense. For instance, before I went to Greece for spring break, I found out there had been dozens of fires in Athens and huge political and economic turmoil. Not that that stopped me from going but I'm glad I knew to be extra careful when walking around Athens.
Know before you go.
6. Roommates
If you find out who you'll be rooming with before you leave, it might be wise to contact them via email or facebook and try to coordinate who can bring what. For instance, if you say one of you can bring a hair straightener and one can bring a curling iron, then you'll both save space in packing and wont have too many appliances laying around.
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| My beautiful roommates |
Another great reason to reach out would be to get to know them of course! Find out what kind of things they like and make some plans on what you should visit together. Bonding with roommates is one of the greatest college experiences and getting to do that in a foreign country is that much more exciting. I still speak with all of my roommates and we try to get together once a year.
7. Understand things will be different
This is a good idea for all forms of travel, but if it's your first time out of the country for an extended period of time, just understand it's not like home. You won't have the same appliances (I had to learn to live without a microwave and dryer), the language is a huge boundary if you don't speak it so learn a few phrases, you will have to adapt to the means of transportation, and the overall culture shock of a different way of life.
It's all what makes travel so exciting and mysterious. Just be ready for a change and open to new opportunities and you'll be fine.
If anyone ever has questions I am always open to them!
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