“Travel while you’re young!”
“Studying abroad will change your life.”
“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.”
We’ve heard it all.
From our wise, well-traveled grandparents to the girl who won’t stop posting pictures from her amazing summer studying abroad (ahem, me), there are constantly people in our lives encouraging us to pack our bags and just go.
While these suggestions all come from a place of good intentions, many times the reality of the situation is that studying abroad or just traveling in general seems impossible for the average college student.
We’re broke. We’re tired. We’re overwhelmed with school, work and planning our girlfriends’ waltzes.
We’re also really, really good at making excuses, putting things off until the last minute and living vicariously through other people. We’re what I like to call full of sh*t.
As someone who just traveled to seven countries for three full months with under $1,000, I’m here to call all of you out. I’m talking to you, girl who has 50 pins of Paris on a Pinterest board titled, “Someday!” And you, guy whose study abroad packet has been collecting dust on the dresser for weeks.
Here are a few of the steps I took, tips I wrote down and lessons I learned in order to backpack through Morocco, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Cinque Terre, Barcelona and Madrid this summer on a college budget.
Courtesy: Sara Gomez
1. Take advantage of your financial resources.
The number one response I hear when I tell people to study abroad is “I can’t afford it.” I get that. Not everyone can afford to drop thousands of dollars on traveling for a long period time, and as a student, you really shouldn’t have to. While you’re in college, you have access to hundreds of resources, scholarships, fellowships, grants and programs that can pay for part of, if not all, of your traveling expenses. Look into programs like Global Scholars for the opportunity to score a scholarship to intern and volunteer abroad and check out the Undergaduate Scholarship Bulletin for hundreds of scholarship applications. A lot of them can be used toward doing some sort of research abroad, but you can always use the leftover funds to travel on your own. Most students have the idea that they’ll never get chosen for a scholarship so they don’t apply. You could be the one kid that applies and, voila, you’ve got $1,000 in your bank account.
Use Go Fund Me! Call your grandparents and your parents. Call your parents’ friends and your friends’ parents. Be annoying—trust me, it works. You’d be surprised at how many people in your life will be inspired by your willingness to go out there and just ask for help, even if they can only donate $5 or $10. A lot of older people really want to travel but actually can’t (because they have a REAL job, you know, that thing you’ll have in a few years? Yup.) and they’ll gladly donate so you can do something they never had the chance (or guts) to do.
2. Invest in yourself over time.
I don’t mean splurging at Forever 21 on a really bad day. I know they have cute clothes, but the flea markets in Europe have nicer (and cheaper) ones. Trust me on that one. Get a job and make a bank account just for your future travels. I know it sounds easier said than done, but this one is actually pretty easy… practice self-control and dedication, and before you know it you’ll have enough money saved up to at least purchase your own plane ticket. If you save $5 each week for eight months, you’ll have $1,200 saved up. That’s more than enough to cover a round trip plane ticket to most places in Europe, Africa, Asia and definitely the United States.
3. Prepare to pack light and live off of necessities ONLY.
No, a blow-dryer is not a necessity. Neither are heels, pajamas, laptops, makeup and so many other things we use on the daily in our regular lives. Backpacking is rough, tiring, sweaty and often times incredibly smelly. But it will be the most rewarding thing you’ve ever done in your whole life—and when you’ve got to carry all of your belongings in one backpack, I promise that you’ll want that thing to be as light as possible. My roommate and I ended up spilling all the contents of our backpack out in a London train station and throwing about half of our belongings away about five hours into our trip. When people you don’t have to impress and places as amazing as the Eiffel tower and the cliffs of Cinque Terre surround you, your physical appearance and material objects become the least of your worries. You come to realize that no one really cares if your eyeliner is on fleek or if you’ve been wearing the same shorts for the past week. It literally does not matter. If you can remove yourself completely from your material items and personal vanity, your experience will be so much better. Splurge on deodorant and anti-itch cream, though.
Courtesy: Sara Gomez
4. Seek out places to get free or cheap accommodation.
This is the part where everyone tells me I’m “sketchy.”
I bet you’ve never imagined yourself sleeping in a French guys apartment while his roommate is out of town. Well, maybe you have… but probably not because you found him on the Internet on a website called Couchsurfing, right? I learned about this gem in a hostel in Tangier, Morocco, from a hippie named Nicky who’s traveled the whole world. If you go about couchsurfing the right way, it is a wonderful opportunity to meet travelers and stay in some awesome places for free. Each couchsurfer and host has references on their profile that tell the public how many people they’ve hosted and where they’ve stayed, and how the visit went for both parties. Some people have over 1,000 references and have been part of the couchsurfing community for years. Many of them will even show you around the city, take you to the best restaurants and bars and overall provide a very unique experience unlike anything you can find in a guidebook. And the best part? Couchsurfing is completely free. Remember, Collegiettes—safety is number one. As long as you’re smart, aware and plan at least a little in advance, couchsurfing can save you about $500 in accommodation.
For those of you sketched out by couchsurfing, there are other options available. Besides calling everyone in your phone book and networking across the world to find family and friends with a bed, couch or floor to crash on (that’s what I did), you can also check out Airbnb and hostels in your chosen city or country. Both of these are much more affordable than any hotels. Many of the best memories I have from being abroad take place in hostel common rooms where travelers from all over the world come together to tell stories about their hometown, past travels and so much more. You’ll come to realize how small the world really is from these conversations.
5. Get used to a very plain diet.
I don’t know about you, but most of my money goes to food. Pizza delivery here, Panera there, Starbucks in the mornings and Yogurt Mountain at night… it just happens that way. But when you’re traveling, you want to spend every penny on doing stuff. Going on a boat ride in Venice and climbing to the top of the Eiffel tower are both possible, but they do cost money. I can’t even tell you how many ham and cheese sandwiches I had this summer, but I can tell you that I didn’t mind when I was able to camp out in the Sahara desert (which by the way only cost me about $50 total) because I had enough money leftover to do so. Also, saving money on food gives you the opportunity to splurge on an expensive meal every once in a while, like when you’ve just camped out in front of the ocean in Italy for two nights and everything hurts. (Yeah, that happened.)
Courtesy: Sara Gomez
6. Stop being so scared.
If I had to give you one piece of advice only, it would be this: you are braver than you think, stronger than your scrawny little arms appear and smarter than any exam you’ve ever gotten 100% on can prove. The hardest part of traveling when you’re young is getting rid of the crippling fear of being alone, broke, tired, homeless and hopeless in a foreign country. I’ve been all of those before and I will gladly be all of those again someday because that level of self-reliance pushed me to be resourceful, creative, inventive and, most of all, brave.
The world is a wonderful place and even the scariest alleys have Wi-Fi. (Unless you’re in Germany. Then you’ll have to get on the train and find a McDonald’s at 4 a.m. to tell your mom you’re alive.)