Attention Summer Jetsetters:
Spending four months in a foreign country can seem a bit nerve-racking at first. The second you set foot in your study abroad destination you are ditching your comfort zone and engaging in a completely new experience. In order to get the most out of your stay, you must adapt…quickly! Speak the language, eat the food, partake in the customs–do it all. If there is one thing I learned while studying abroad, it was that time flies–don’t waste a second of it!
Here are a few tips and tricks I learned from my stay in Europe:
1. Buy a mini-lock. Pick-pocketers are the most strategic and tricky people out there, so lock your zippers together everywhere you go. (Available here)
2. Bring a pre-stocked medical bag.
3. If you’re a shopper, leave room in your suitcase ahead of time.
4. Collect something from each city you visit.
5. Blog or keep a journal.
6. Bring a reusable filtered water bottle.
7. When traveling on discount airlines, wear your heaviest clothes on the plane to save packing room. Yes, airline check-in, I am wearing 5 scarves and two pairs of pants.
8. Splurge, you will regret not doing something more than you will regret spending the money. So go everywhere.
9. Unlock an old phone and buy a European sim-card.
10. Skyscanner should be your new homepage.
11. Charles Schwab offers a debit card that doesn’t charge extra at ATM’s.
12. The bread at tables is not free. (Neither is the water…or the bathroom)
13. Be social. Meet people, make connections, and keep in touch.
14. Getting lost is encouraged.
15. If you’re not getting fat, you’re not having fun.