Study Abroad Packing Guide

Transcription

1 Remember to research your country and modify your packing list according to the location and the time of year you will be there! Clothing Layers are your new best friend. Generally pack about a week s worth of clothing and pack for the weather. Underwear and socks. Of varying lengths. Bamboo or cotton/nylon-blend socks dry faster than 100 percent cotton, which lose their softness when air-dried. (lighter dries quicker). Shirts/blouses. Bring short-sleeved or long-sleeved shirts or blouses in a cotton/polyester blend (how many of each depends on the season or location of host country). Shirts with long sleeves that roll up easily can double as short-sleeved. Look for a wrinkle-camouflaging pattern or blended fabrics that show a minimum of wrinkles. Synthetic-blend fabrics (such as Coolmax or microfiber) often dry overnight. Pants/shorts. Bring several pairs: one pair of dark jeans, one pair lightweight cotton pants, and one pair of shorts. Jeans can be too hot for summer travel (and are slow to dry). If you bring shorts, one pair is probably enough. Skirts can be substituted for warmer climates. Sleepwear/loungewear/workout clothes. Comfy streetwear such as shorts, leggings, T-shirts, tank tops, yoga pants, and other lightweight athletic gear can be used as pajamas, post-dinner loungewear, and a modest cover-up to get you to the bathroom down the hall. Shoes. Comfort is key! Bring 2-3 pairs of shoes. One pair of comfortable walking shoes with good traction. Aim for shoes that are less athletic and look slightly dressier than sneakers or tennis shoes. Sturdy, low-profile tennis shoes with a good tread are fine, too. For a second pair, consider sandals in summer. Flip-flops are handy if you will be using bathrooms down the hall or staying in hostels (especially for showering). Whichever shoes you bring, make sure they are well broken in before you leave home. up. Sweater or lightweight fleece. Warm and dark is best for layering and dressing Jacket. Bring a light and water-resistant windbreaker/coat with a hood and zip able. Neutral colors used to blend more with international fashion trends than bright ones, but now everything from azure blue to pumpkin orange has made its way into international wardrobes. Opt for a heavier coat if your host country will be colder. Tie or scarf/ one nice outfit. For instant respectability, bring anything lightweight that can break the monotony and make you look snazzy. Scarves can also be used to cover your shoulders when touring historical and/or religious sites like museums or churches where skin must be covered in order to enter. - Have an outfit that you can dress up or down in case you have the opportunity to go to a nice dinner, a theater performance, or a ceremony at your host site.

2 Swimsuit. To use public pools, you ll need a swimsuit (men can t just wear shorts; and in France, men need to wear Speedo-type swimsuits not swim trunks). The Essentials Documents, Money, and Travel Info Find a system of packing that works best for you, knowing where your valuable/important items are at any given time. Money. Bring your preferred mix of a debit card, a credit card, and an emergency stash of hard US cash (in $20 bills). Research your host country. Also have about $100 dollars of the local currency before you leave, this will serve as a nice resource when you first arrive until you can find an ATM. Important Documents. Bring your passport; plane, train, and bus documents or vouchers; driver s license and student ID; and any other useful cards. Photocopies and a couple of passport-type photos can help you get replacements more quickly if the originals are lost or stolen. Keep a digital record of these as well for easy access on the road in your , google drive, etc. In your luggage, pack a record of all reservations (print out your hotel confirmation s). Bring any necessary contact info if you have health or travel insurance. Small day pack/ bookbag. A lightweight backpack is great for carrying your school supplies during the week and serve as your luggage while you travel on the weekends. Don t use a fanny pack they re magnets for pickpockets. - Handbags or purses can be good daypacks as well. Make sure it has plenty of pockets and zippers to keep others hands out. Guidebooks and maps. Pack the travel info you ll need on the ground (or download it into your ereader). Some people rip out appropriate chapters from guidebooks and staple them together for a slimmer resource on the go. Small notepad and pen. A tiny notepad in your back pocket or day pack is a great organizer, reminder, and communication aid. Journal. An empty book to be filled with the experiences of your trip will be your most treasured souvenir. Attach a photocopied calendar page of your itinerary. Use a hardbound type designed to last a lifetime, rather than a floppy spiral notebook.

3 Toiletries and Personal Items If you aren t picky, a lot of these items can be found in your host country taking up less space in your suitcase. Toiletries kit. Because sinks in many hotels come with meager countertop space, some prefer a kit that can hang on a hook or a towel bar. Before cramming it with every cosmetic item you think you might use, ask yourself what toiletries you can live without for a short time. Medicine and vitamins. Even if you check your suitcase on the flight, always carry on essential toiletries, including any prescription medications (don t let the time difference trick you into forgetting a dose). Keep medicine in original containers, if possible, with legible prescriptions. Be sure to have enough of your prescriptions for the length of your stay. (You will need to check to make sure you can bring them into the country and that you have proper documentation, i.e. a doctor's note). - Consider bringing some basic over the counter medicines (aspirin, anti-diarrhea, anti-nausea, allergy, etc). Glasses/contacts/sunglasses. Contact-lens solutions are widely available in Europe but do your research on your host country. Carry your lens prescription, as well as extra glasses, in a solid protective case. Make sure to bring enough contacts to last for the duration of your program. If it is a sunny season, pack along sunglasses. Sealable plastic baggies. Bring a variety of sizes. In addition to holding your carry-on liquids, they re ideal for packing leftover picnic food, containing wetness, and bagging potential leaks before they happen. The two-gallon jumbo size can be used to pack (and compress) clothing or do laundry. Bring extras for the flight home. Small towel/washcloth. You ll find bath towels at all fancy and moderately priced hotels, and most cheap ones. Some people bring a thin hand towel for the occasional need. Washcloths are less common abroad, so you might want to pack a quick-drying microfiber one. A thin quick drying bath towel is great for traveling on the weekends and saves you from renting one in hostels. Travel alarm/wristwatch. Make sure you have an alarm to wake yourself up (your smartphone, a little clock, etc.). Earplugs. If night noises bother you, you ll love a good set of expandable foam plugs. They re handy for snoozing on trains and flights, too. Contraceptives. Quality and accessibility may vary depending on location. Various toiletries. Items like shampoo, conditioner, facewash, soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, razors (and other shaving supplies), brushes, hair styling products, and tissues can all be bought abroad. If you aren t picky, a lot of these items can be found in your host country taking up less space in your suitcase. You may even find a new product you like more!

4 Feminine products. Bring at least one-month s worth. Quality and accessibility may vary depending on location. Electronics Note that many of these things are high-ticket items; guard them carefully or consider insuring them. Laptop. Don t forget your cords/charger. - If your program is less than one month, use your judgement. Do you need it for course work? Can you use your smartphone or tablet for technology and communication with family and friends? USB flash drive. A flash drive can be handy for backing up files and photos to your laptop or accessing files from computers at your host school. As an alternative, consider free cloud storage sites such as Amazon Cloud Drive, Apple icloud, Google Drive, or Dropbox that you can access anywhere. These are a great resource for storing emergency copies of your important documents (passport, visa, insurance, etc). Smartphone/mobile phone. Bring your smartphone to keep in touch with folks back home and for accessing resources on the road such as , travel apps, and GPS. Particularly on wifi mode. For more information on Technology and Communication Abroad, see our website for the Pre-departure Guide. Digital camera. Smartphones take great pictures but some like the versatility of a separate camera or the quality of a nicer digital option. Take along an extra memory card and battery, and don t forget the charger and a cable for downloading images Tablet, ereader, or portable media player. Download apps, ebooks, and music before you leave home. Headphones/earbuds. These are a must for listening to music, tuning in to audio tours, or simply drowning out loud passengers on the plane. (some even upgrade to noisecanceling headphones.) Bring a Y-jack so you and a partner can plug in headphones at the same time. Chargers and batteries. Bring each device s charger, or look into getting a charger capable of charging multiple devices at once. Plug adapter(s). For more information on adapters and converters, see our website for Technology and Communication Abroad.

5 Optional Bring-Alongs We don t advocate bringing everything listed here. Choose the items that fit with your travel style and needs. Water bottle. The plastic half-liter mineral water bottles sold in most countries are reusable and work great. If you bring one from home, make sure it is empty before you go through airport security (fill it at a drinking fountain once you re through). Fold-up tote or duffle bag. Look for a large-capacity tote or duffle bag that rolls up into a pocket-size pouch. Use it for laundry, weekend trips, and those extra souvenirs you want to take back home without having to buy an extra suitcase on your way home. Tiny lock. Use it to lock your backpack zippers shut or lock a locker in a hostel. Note that if you check your bag on a flight, the lock may be broken to allow the bag to be inspected. Improve the odds of your lock s survival by buying one approved by the Transportation Security Administration security agents can open the lock with a special master key. Or buy plastic locks or zip-ties to secure zippers be sure to pack fingernail clippers or TSA-approved scissors so you can open them when you arrive. Address list. If you ll want to mail postcards, you could print your mailing list onto a sheet of adhesive address labels before you leave. You ll know exactly who you ve written to, and the labels will be perfectly legible. Umbrella. A good umbrella that can fold and be stored in small spaces. Small flashlight. Handy for reading under the sheets after "lights out" in the hostel, late-night trips down the hall, exploring castle dungeons, and hypnotizing street thieves. Tiny-but-powerful LED flashlights about the size of your little finger are extremely bright, compact, and lightweight. Camping-type headlamps also do the trick. Inflatable pillow (or neck rest). These are great for snoozing in planes, trains, and automobiles. Some travelers also swear by an eye mask for blocking out early-rising or late-setting sun. Playing cards. A fun way to pass the time and make new friends. Duct tape. A small roll of duct tape can work miracles as a temporary fix mending a punctured bag, solving an emergency shoe problem, and so on. Conserve space by spooling only as much as you might need (less than a foot) around a short pencil or dowel. Insect repellent or sunscreen. Bring some along if you re prone to bites and are going somewhere especially bug-ridden. Quality of these products abroad can vary. Sewing kit. Clothes age rapidly while traveling. Add a few safety pins and extra buttons. First-aid kit. For more information, see Rick Steve s website for a short list.

6 Office supplies. Bring paper, pens, envelopes (for letter writers), and some sticky notes (such as Post-Its) to keep your place in your guidebook. Postcards/photos from home. A collection of show-and-tell pictures (either digital or paper) is always a great conversation piece with people you meet and helps combat any homesickness. Gifts. If you ll be the guest of local hosts, show your appreciation with small, unique souvenirs from your hometown. Hostel sheet/silk liner. These days, sheets are usually included in the price of a hostel, and if they aren t, you can rent one for about $5 per stay. Still, you might want to bring along a sheet (silk is lighter and smaller, cotton is cheaper), which can double as a beach/picnic blanket and cover you up on overnight train rides. Money belt (or neck wallet). This flat, hidden, zippered pouch worn around your waist (or like a necklace) and tucked under your clothes is essential for the peace of mind it brings. You could lose everything except your money belt, and the trip could still go on. Get a lightweight one with a low-profile color (I like beige). For more, see my article on money belts. A good book. There s plenty of empty time on a trip to either be bored or enjoy some good reading. Popular English-language paperbacks are often available in airports and major train stations (usually costing more than their North American price). An ereader carries lots of books without the additional weight (and you can easily buy more as you go). Laundry soap. A tiny box of detergent or a plastic squeeze bottle of concentrated, multipurpose, biodegradable liquid soap is handy for laundry. I find hotel shampoo works fine as laundry soap when I m doing my wash in the sink. For a spot remover, bring a few Shout wipes or a dab of Goop grease remover in a small plastic container. Clothesline. Hang it up in your hotel room to dry your clothes. The twisted-rubber type needs no clothespins.