The one thing I was sure I wanted to do in college was study abroad. I didn’t know what I wanted to major in for my first two years, but I knew I wanted it to take me places- literally. So when I finally decided to major in Journalism, I applied for Semester at Sea even though I thought it was kind of a long shot. By some miracle, I was accepted and the rest is one of the best experiences of my life (so far at least).
However, as someone who had only left the country a couple times, the four-month voyage was definitely a learning experience for me as a traveler. I wouldn’t change a thing about my experience (okay, maybe I would pack less), but there are definitely some things I would say to people who are thinking of going on their own international adventure.
But, I thought, you don’t just want to hear my advice. That’s why I reached out to my fellow SAS alumni and girls who love traveling (Join this group if you want in on that: https://www.facebook.com/groups/GirlsLOVETravel/). Here is the best advice I received:
“Pack less, talk more to locals, and take lots of photos cause it goes by faster than you want” –Noble Nolen, University of Florida.
“Don’t be afraid to take an afternoon off sightseeing! If you don’t give yourself time to rest you’ll burn out, and taking half a day off will help you enjoy the time you do spend sightseeing way more than if you just gogogo” –Hannah Latham, University of Virginia.
“Be open to going anywhere, even if it’s not a well known place. Sometimes me and my friends will go somewhere just because the plane or train tickets are under 20 euro round trip. More often than not those end up being the coolest destinations. It doesn’t need to be a big name place to be an amazing city” –Meredith Linn, New Hampshire. (Studied abroad in Belgium, Switzerland, and the Netherlands)
“Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone. The best experience and memories come from the moments when you mentally, spiritually and physically challenge yourself” -Natalie Aleman, Florida Southern College.
“Moving from NZ to Toronto for a semester of study was a huge step for me in my travel life – it was my first solo trip and my first few days there were pretty emotionally trying for me. My advice would be: don’t make any rash decisions when you first get to your destination. You’ll be jet lagged (even if you broke the trip up like I did), a new city is overwhelming even if it is in a country that speaks the same language, and you WILL make tonnes of friends. I nearly moved out of my housing because it wasn’t what I expected, I felt completely alone and just wanted to hide in my room, it pretty much sucked. But, a few days after my arrival I went to the uni for the exchange student orientation and my whole perspective changed. I met so many great people, we all went on a tour of the campus and ended up at a bar. It was just what I needed and set me up for an amazing visit.” –Leah De Luca, Tauranga, New Zealand.
“The best advice is KEEP A JOURNAL. No matter how incredible and unforgettable you think an experience is, there will be another one. Don’t forget them.” –Lee T. Guzofski, NYC (SAS Fall 93’)
“…I’d also like to say to people considering studying aboard to just do it. I was really nervous to go on my own and couldn’t get any friends to go on the program with me. Because of that I almost didn’t go, which is crazy that I almost missed out on one of the best experiences of my life just because I didn’t want to go into it alone. Also some of my best friends today are people I met on the trip so there you go! So I would just say to people to take a chance and go and to be open to whatever comes next.”- Katherine Vasiliev, Seattle Pacific University.
“For me the best advice I received while traveling abroad is to carry only a small amount of cash. In every country I was able to find an ATM and use that which has a lower exchange rate than most places you’ll find and it was way more convenient for me. Plus if you get robbed or something you won’t lose all that cash and somebody is way less likely to bother taking your wallet and stuff if you don’t have any cash or very little cash. Obviously there are downsides to everything like if you do lose your card it’ll be tough to survive. Also get a good card for international travel like the Chase Shappire Preferred, which is great BTW I’ve got it… definitely pack less I for sure over packed and ended up having to pay hella fees for my baggage being overweight when I flew home.” –Anthony William Whaley, San Francisco State University.
“My advice? Do the thing. Everyone has that moment on their trip when they are considering something crazy. Do that thing. The one you would never have done at home. The one that seems so crazy it just might work. Like eating a star fish…sky diving…taking a midnight taxi ride just so you can see the sunrise on the beach in Myanmar…do the thing”- Madi Cannon, Texas A&M University.
I agree with all of this advice, and although there is much to be said about the benefits of taking chances and discovering the world, there’s also a lot of logistics and paperwork behind every big trip.
That’s why I’m going to give you some of my best travel advice:
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Point-and-speak books will save your ass when you’re lost in Japan and can only say “Thank You” (Arigatou gozaimasu) in bad Japanese.
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Beware of rugs in the desert because you will trip and break both your ankles.
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For the love of God, PACK LESS!
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As advised earlier, keep a journal and write down interesting things you noticed about the different countries and cities you visited and write down the names of everything so you can look back on it later. Also, I splurged on a Polaroid camera to add pictures to my journal as I went and it was a great decision. Seriously, even if you’ve always been terrible at keeping a journal, make yourself write in it!
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Invest in a good travel bag with a waist strap. Rolling bags are a pain and will only bring you misery.
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And lastly, traveling is worth all of the paperwork and visa applications. DO IT!
I hope some of this advice helps you on your next adventure, and if you’re considering studying abroad or traveling I hope this convinces you to do it. I promise you won’t regret it. Now, go out there and make it a great day! ;)