Travel is always stressful for me, but the first few days of my study abroad experience were the worst. Not only was I jet lagged, hungry and in serious need of a shower, but I had also been thrust into a new country where I didn’t know the language, my way around or a single person on the program. While it was new, exciting and thrilling, it wasn’t easy. Looking back, there are several things I could have done to make my experience less stressful. Whether you are studying abroad or just taking a vacation, I hope you can use my list of how NOT to travel and learn from my mistakes.
DON’T: Wait until the night before you leave to pack your suitcase. Nerves, denial, last minute Target runs, trying to see all of my friends before I left—these were several factors that contributed to my horrible decision to wait until the night before I left to finish packing my suitcase. But because I waited, instead of spending my last night at home with my friends and family, I was packing. Take it from my experience and pack early, so that you will be able to relax and enjoy the last few days that you are home.
DO: Take half as much clothing as you think you will need. In our orientation meeting before I left for Spain, the panel of students told me this advice and once I arrived at my host family’s apartment I understood why. The closet in my room is small, and I have to share with my roommate, so I get half of it and two tiny drawers to fit all of my clothing. I have to keep some of it in my suitcase under the bed. I could honestly do without half the clothes I brought from home. Spaniards dress much more formally than we do in the U.S., therefore I don’t wear any of the T-shirts or sweatshirts that I brought. I also ended up buying more clothes once I got here. Trust me; it’s not necessary to bring your entire wardrobe with you abroad.
DO: Take twice as much money as you think you will need. No matter who you are or where you are traveling, you will always spend more money than you intend to. The little things that I had to buy when I got to Spain — shampoo, toothpaste, tampons, snacks, make up — added up quickly, especially since toiletries are more expensive in Europe than they are in the US. You will also inevitably end up buying more clothes. My downfall was rebajas, the wonderful time in January and the beginning of February where every store in Spain cuts 50 to 70 percent off the price of everything in the store. When you can buy boots for 20 euros and a shirt for only 1.99, it’s easy to get carried away.
DON’T: Stuff things into your carry on bag at the last minute. The morning that I left I stuffed all the things that I had forgotten to pack the night before into my carry on bag. My coat wouldn’t fit, so I ended up tying it to my little rolling backpack. I wish I would have realized what a pain it would be to cart my heavy, bulging carry on bags through the airport. My coat kept falling off the backpack and getting caught under the wheels, and ended up tearing in the arm. My backpack wouldn’t fit under the airplane seat in front of me, and the flight attendant came by four times to tell me that it had to be all the way under the seat. Then once the plane took off, it was nearly impossible to pull it out again and dig through all the stuff I had packed at the last minute to find my iPod and book.
DON’T: Bring more than one guidebook. Or more than three books in general. My family had been to Europe before, so we had a few different guidebooks already in the house in addition to a few that people gave me for Christmas. Each one was different — one on Spain, one on just Sevilla, one on Barcelona, one on Europe in general — so naturally I thought it was necessary to bring all of them. This was in addition to the books I brought to read for pleasure, my Spanish-English dictionary, the textbook for class, my Bible and two different journals. My suitcase was overweight, so I had to put most of my books in my carry on to avoid a $40 excessive weight charge. Carrying a bag full of books through the airport was exhausting and unnecessary. And although it’s nice to have a guidebook when you get to a foreign country, one is enough. To top it off, students who had previously stayed in my apartment had left dozens of guidebooks there.
DO: Bring lots of tissues to the airport. And spare makeup too. Yes, as I said goodbye to my parents and boyfriend, I cried. A lot. My mom was smart and brought a tiny packet of tissues to the airport, but for some reason I didn’t take them with me when I left and went through security. As I waved goodbye from the gate and rounded the corner, I broke down. I had to go to the bathroom and dry my tears with paper towels. I hadn’t put any spare makeup in my carry on, so I had to go the next hour with a red, blotchy face.
DON’T: Forget your things at security. This was the most stressful part of my trip. As I got off the plane in Madrid, I ran into another girl from my program, Carly. We had about 40 minutes until the departure of our connecting flight to Sevilla and about 20 minutes until it started boarding, so we leisurely began to stroll through the airport towards our gate. After about 10 minutes of walking, we saw a sign that said “Gate J, 40 minutes away.” We went through customs, then had to take four escalators and a metro to security. In security, there was a massive line; at this point we realized we might not make it. We started picturing ourselves sleeping on the cold tile for hours waiting for another connecting flight. The security guards made me go back through the scanner with my laptop, so Carly told me she would gather my things for me so we could make a dash for it once it I finally got through. I grabbed my things and took an elevator to the main part of the airport and started running — no seriously, running — toward our gate. But just then I realized that Carly had forgotten one of my bags — the one containing my passport, license, visa, all my money, iPod and plane ticket. It was the bag I had kept close to me at all times, and then taken off at the last minute to pass through security. Carly took my bags and went to hold the flight as I ran back through the airport and took the elevator down to security, where luckily my bag was still there. I ran back through the airport again and made it to the gate, where Carly was holding the flight. As I ran up the flight attendants asked, “Are you María, are you María?” and all I could do was nod in embarrassment. The flight left about eight minutes late because of us.
Studying or traveling abroad is an incredible experience and something you will remember for the rest of your life. It’s an opportunity to experience a new culture, learn a new language, make new friends and have the time of your life. However, the travel won’t always be easy. Take my advice, learn from my mistakes and hopefully you can have a more relaxing and enjoyable travel experience than me!