What to Really Pack When You Study Abroad

So, a few months ago, I had a major life crisis.  It was called: what do I pack for study abroad?  I consulted every list on every website I could find, and I couldn’t get a straight answer out of anyone.  So without further ado, here are a few edits and explanations I would have made to the generic “clothes, space for souvenirs, and a way to call your parents” list.
 [ pagebreak ]
First things first, things I should have brought and didn’t:

Fun paper to leave myself notes on
Back home, I’m a compulsive note writer, and no, not the type for class; the “you have this due in three days” kind.  I love, love, love making lists.  Imagine my horror when I realized the best thing I had for lists was Google tasks.  It’s great on its own, but being a paper product-aholic, I found myself at a loss.  Heads up, if you’re as anal about paper as I am, try and find out what kind of paper is sold wherever you are going to.  For example, in France, all the paper is 1) a different size, and 2) really hard to find in a plain white or solid lined fashion.  They love graph paper over here.
 
Medicine 
This seems totally obvious.  I remembered to bring the things I take frequently, and heck, I even left my boyfriend some Tylenol back home in case he was ever feeling too sick to go out and get some, but I didn’t bring any for myself.  Duh, me. Just bring a few bottles of things you might need: a fever/pain reducer, antacid, and cough drops and you should be set.  On the other hand, I brought band-aids and have yet to use a single one.
 
Some non-perishable food that will clear customs
Up until the hour before I left, my mom kept asking if I wanted to bring any peanut butter or anything, and I kept saying no, largely because I don’t really eat peanut butter and didn’t have any room in my suitcase.  But let me tell you what, there were certainly days where I just wanted some ramen or a chocolate chip cookie, or just any food where I didn’t have to read the label 3 times over. (See travelling with food allergies)
 
A sewing kit
It might seem a bit domestic, but I’ve lost a couple of buttons and torn my jeans more during my 2 months here than I have in my life and I definitely could have used a teeny pair of scissors a few times as well. I guess this just goes to show that the Boy Scouts had it right with “Be Prepared!”
 [ pagebreak ]
Things I brought but other people didn’t and wished they would have:

Flip flops
When you’re in a gross hostel and you don’t know who or what was in the shower last, these are a must have.  Also great for when you’re meandering down to the kitchen or vending machine in your pjs and don’t want to put on real shoes.
 
A reusable water bottle
Bottled water abroad can be pricey!  Save a few bucks (and the environment) by bringing your own sturdy bottle.  If you can find one that fits into all of your purses, even better!
 
A small blanket
Another shout out to my mom for this one.  A small fleece blanket (and ex-airport blankie does fine) has been so useful!  In between keeping me warm in bed before the heating kicked on, giving me something to use for a superhero cape for Halloween, and being there for the time I spent the night at the airport to catch a 6:00am flight, it has more than compensated for the teensy bit of room it took up.

A laminated map
You can generally find these wherever you are, but I would highly suggest getting one.  They fold more easily, won’t get soggy in the rain, and you can write on them with a Sharpie (bring one of those too!) if you want.  I bought one in Berlin and it’s been one of my better life decisions.
 [ pagebreak ]
Things I brought and didn’t need:

Too many guidebooks
I have a ton of guidebooks.  I read them all before I came, and thought they all needed to come with.  Wrong.  I should have downsized to maybe the most useful one or two, and brought those instead of my entire collection.  They’re definitely helpful, but so is the internet.
 
Exercise clothes
Over the summer I was doing okay with sticking to some semblance of a workout schedule, so I thought I could keep it up here.  Nope.  Don’t get me wrong; there has been some usage, but not enough to warrant bringing more than one set of exercise clothes.  My recommendation, unless you’re hard-core about sticking to your work-outs, leave it at home.
 
Textbooks
This might be more UChicago specific, but I should have checked with the Center here to see if they had a copy in their library before buying and bringing a course textbook.  Granted, everyone else did the same thing, but it would have saved me about $75 and 5 pounds to not bring it in the first place.