Studying abroad is an amazing & fulfilling life experience. But before you embark on this grand journey, there are some things you may want to know before you depart. Here’s a list of tips I wish I had known before I departed on my study abroad program to London!

– Culture assimilation –

1. One of the biggest things that can help with cultural assimilation is learning the language of your host country. Being able to speak & understand basic words/phrases in the language you’ll be surrounded by will not only help in communicating, but it can also help you feel less like a tourist & more like a local! You’ll probably find that the more you attempt to speak the language, the more likely you’ll befriend the locals. 🙂
   • You could go to your local bookstore & pick up a translator dictionary or you could attempt to learn the language with apps & programs, such as Duolingo.
2. Research cultural norms. It can be easy to forget that what is deemed socially or culturally normal in America can be offensive or carry a different meaning in another country. Remember that you are a visitor in whichever country you’ll be in & for a lot of the locals, this may be their first encounter with Americans.
   • For example, Europeans, & Londoners in particular from my experience, tend to be more reserved. It wasn’t that I never had a conversation with a local, but I found that initiating an interaction was much more difficult than it would be here in the States.

– Homesickness –

You will probably get homesick. But don’t fret! I’ve got you covered & wrote a blog post all about coping here. FaceTime & FB Messenger are a godsend!

– Finances –

 I won’t lie. Traveling is expensive. You may be lucky to be studying abroad in a place where the dollar is stronger, but you may not, especially if you’re going some place within Europe. What I was told before going into my trip was that on average, students spend $1,000 per month on basics & everyday spending. They weren’t wrong; I did end up spending around that much per month I was abroad for everyday things. This included food/groceries, eating out, shopping, laundry, etc.

1. Don’t convert your money at the airport! The rates are horrible. Instead, order a small amount of the currency you’ll need from your bank before leaving. Do this at least a week prior to your departure date to allow your bank enough time to order it. £/€ 100 (or whichever currency is used in your applicable country) is a safe amount to travel with and should cover you if anything were to happen when you land & you’d need cash.
2. In terms of everyday paying I recommend a combination of using a travel credit card (to avoid international fees) and cash pulled out of an ATM.
3.  You can use your normal debit card while abroad, but there will be transaction fees. To avoid this, you can sign up for a travel credit card. I’m not a banker or financial expert, so I’ll direct you to this post that I found helpful from the Simple Dollar. Also, while I was in Europe, every time I paid by card I needed to sign, whether it was a debit card or credit card. It can be inconvenient & did encourage me to use cash more frequently.
   • I will note that I personally went for the Bank of America card because they are my current bank & I could easily monitor my spending via the mobile banking app. But shop around & find one that provides everything you’re looking for!
   • Be sure to let your bank know when & where you’ll be traveling to prior to your departure so they don’t count any of your transactions as fraud & close your account/card!

Safety tip: Pull out cash from an ATM in large quantities before you head back to your apartment or homestay. Because of the transaction fees, it’s cheaper to withdraw large amounts of money at once and keep the rest that you aren’t spending back in your flat.

1. You’ll want a travel adaptor that will allow you to use your US plugs. You can find them at any store that has a travel section or online. You can find some that are also a converter, but most electronic devices these days will convert the wattage for you. I found that I needed at least two minimum when I went abroad. One for my phone & one for my computer.
2. If you want to be able to charge more devices or plug more things in at once without having to buy & pack a million adaptors, you can get a power strip to plug into your adaptor! I wish I could take credit for this idea, but I actually got it from my friend Bianca who did this on our London trip.
3. Bring a portable battery pack! Although my phone’s battery usually lasted me the whole day here in the US, I found that with all photos, Snapchatting, & Instagramming I was doing, my phone died much sooner than I’d like. I brought with me my Jackery portable charger. It was able to fully charge my phone 2-3 times, which was handy if a friend also needed to juice up their phone. I relied on my phone for a lot of things while abroad; it was my camera, my GPS, my tour guide, to name a few. I can’t imagine what I would’ve done if my phone died & I didn’t have my charger.
4. Friendly reminder: Your hair tools probably won’t work while abroad! Even with an adaptor, the wattage is different & you’ll probably end up blowing a fuse or breaking your hair tool. Buy an inexpensive one when you arrive or check with your program advisors if they have any you can loan out! At our student central they had a box of old hair tools left by former students. We were allowed to loan them out for the semester for free. Talk about a score!
   

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1. Your phone carrier may have an international plan and you can talk to them to see what they offer.
   • I have T-mobile and they are currently offering unlimited 3G data all over Europe with calls costing 20 cents per minute. Even if you aren’t contracted with them, you can unlock your phone & purchase the international plan for your time abroad. More information about that here.
2. Another option is to unlock your phone & purchase a cellphone plan from a carrier in the country you’ll be abroad in. There are two types: A top up plan or a pre-set plan. This post from Go Oversees explains it better: How to Find the Best Cell Phone Plan for Study Abroad in Europe
   • This is a great option if your US carrier doesn’t offer an international plan or if the plans are expensive. Plus, how cool would it be to have a European phone number? A lot of my friends opted for this while we were in London!
3. Utilize free wi-fi whenever you can! Wi-fi is great & you can make call for free if you’re connected & turn your data off. 🙂

– Packing –

I’m not going to tell you specifically what you need to pack because what you’ll need depends on many factors: Where you’re studying abroad, at what time of the year, how much luggage you plan to bring, etc. However, I will share my favorite tips to keep in mind when packing!

1. When packing your clothes, packing cubes & air compression bags are essential. These were the only reason I was able to fit everything into my luggage. I utilized packing cubes to keep similar types of clothing together, e.g. shirts in one cube, pants in another. Because I had everything compartmentalized, it was extremely easy to unpack. Compression bags are great when packing bulky items such as sweaters or coats. I recommend ones that you can roll the air out of; you don’t need a vacuum which you may not access to anyways!
2. Only pack things you know you will wear. Don’t bring anything that you *might* wear because you probably won’t wear it. If you haven’t worn that article of clothing within the last six months, you won’t wear it abroad. Probably.
3. Pack pre-planned outfits. When I was packing for my trip to London, I kept in mind how each article of clothing I was brining would work together. If that shirt you’re brining only works with that one pair of pants, is it really worth it to pack? Probably not. Packing in pre-planned outfits ensured that I would get use out what I was brining.
4. Also, keep in mind you’ll probably go shopping whilst you are there. I didn’t think about this when I was packing for my trip & found that I bought more clothing whilst abroad than I had thought I would.
5. You’ll probably wear the same 3 outfits anyways… I honestly alternated between three or four outfits whilst I was abroad. It was only when I began to pack for my flight coming home that I realized how much stuff I brought with me that I didn’t even wear.

– Transport –

Does the city you’ll be studying abroad in have a public transport system? If it does, the app City Mapper will become your best friend. Free to download on the app store or Google Play, City Mapper is a great transport tool. You can check bus/train times, get directions, & check for any delays. It’s also Uber integrated & offers bike routing. I was better & more efficiently able to navigate the city with the help of this app. Plus, if you don’t have data or service, it saves the “trip” you are currently on so that you can still check directions without any service!

How exciting it will be to spend time exploring & learning while abroad! I had the grandest of times during my semester in London. These were my pre-departure tips which I hope you found useful. I’ll leave you with this great post from the American Institute for Foreign Study blog about how to make the most of your trip.

http://blog.aifsabroad.com/2016/12/29/10-tips-make-study-abroad-experience/

xo Edinette