As the school year winds down (only 1.5 weeks until my Facebook ads are in English again), I wanted to share a list of things I wish I’d known before setting off into the great unknown.
1. Banks suck. Even after you dutifully call your bank to notify them that you will be abroad, your account will be frozen the first time you try to use an ATM. Be prepared – take money out of your account ahead of time and have the international calling number for your bank in your wallet at all times.
2. Do not fly RyanAir. It’s cheap for a reason — just try to bring a reasonable sized carry on and see how cheap it really is. Fly EasyJet instead, it’s still cheap, but the restrictions are much more reasonable.
3. Plan for unexpected expenses. That Eurail pass sounds like a great idea (and traveling by train really is amazing!), but be sure you check the costs of train reservations on all the trips you want to take. The prices are not included in your Eurail ticket and many trains require reservations.
4. You will be homesick. Even if you are a world-travelling adventurer, you are bound to miss home now and again. Hang on, call Mom and Dad or your friends from home, you will make it through.
5. Be prepared for personal hygiene shocks. From different bathroom configurations (my shower is literally just a faucet on the wall, the whole bathroom is the splash zone), to different water compositions that change the effects of your favorite hair care products, personal hygiene changes can be some of the most startling and unexpected.
6. Prep for food drama. Even the familiar tastes different abroad (the Danes just don’t do peanut butter well). I know you researched the food of your country and are probably really excited to try ethnic cuisine, but just be ready to be (pleasantly or not so pleasantly) surprised.
You don’t realize what an essential part of your day eating is until you have to completely reorder your diet and eating habits for your host country.
7. Bring a reusable water bottle (if you will be in countries with potable water). Buying bottled water when you are travelling is just too expensive, and bad for the environment!
8. Consider your personal needs before choosing a housing option. The host family is a famously enjoyable experience for many Wake students who study abroad, but it might not be for you.
If your program offers other housing options, seriously consider which choice is right for you. In the end, living with a host family comes down to luck. Sometimes it’s a great fit, other times not so much.
9. Take prescriptions? Demand that your doctor fill your prescription for the duration of your stay abroad. Foreign health care systems are complex and you probably don’t want to get acquainted with them if you don’t have to. Also, bring any OTC meds you think you will need (Midol, Ibuprofin, Tums, Nyquil) – meds are expensive and sometimes hard to find in other countries.
10. Bring a guidebook for your host country or region. It’s great to discover the coolest places on your own, but sometimes you’d really like a restaurant recommendation or help finding that museum you really want to see. Bring a book that’s easy to tote around so you have it with you wherever you go.
11. Climate, climate, climate. After spending the coldest winter in 20 years in Scandinavia, I cannot overestimate the importance of researching the climate of your chosen country. With this in mind, if you are going somewhere rainy, bring two umbrellas. Going somewhere cold? An extra hat and pair of gloves is a must (for when your first set gets left on the metro). And speaking of climate, if you are going somewhere sunny, take the sunscreen. It’s so expensive and pretty hard to find outside the U.S. No one likes to look like Rudolph in all their abroad pics.
12. Wake makes you take a language class; this is a very good idea. If I had not taken Danish this semester, I would have been completely lost. Even though everyone might speak English in Europe, it’s still nice to be able to read the signs and the ingredients in grocery stores.
13. Prepare to be unprepared and embrace change. I hope your semester will be the most rewarding experience of your undergraduate career. I hope you grow as individuals, and discover more about yourself – your preferences, boundaries, and limits – than you ever knew before.
And most of all, I hope that studying abroad takes you by surprise and rocks your world.
You will come out better for it, I promise (even if at first it seems like you won’t make it at all).