For many students, now is the time of year they are moving back into the dorms, packing up all their belongings and throwing them into the back of their secondhand cars to drive away to college. But what about those students who have decided to spend their fall semester abroad?
The idea of study abroad often seems glamorous and exciting when it first springs to mind, but the reality of sitting on the floor of your parents' house, wondering how to pack a semester or year's supply of clothes, books, and school supplies into two suitcases and a carry-on, can make the prospect seem overwhelming. Particularly for students, who are not known to have enormous cash reserves on hand, the mobility of their baggage is crucial as they often must carry bags from the airport onto trains, buses, or trolleys, unless they plan to pay enormous fees for a taxi to their new university setup.
So what can students venturing abroad do to prevent panic from setting in before even leaving home? Here are a few tips:
1. Pack everything you think you'll need -- and then remove half of it. Cliché, but true. Often the things you think you can't live without will seem superfluous when you return from your time abroad, and in the very worst-case scenario, many places will have similar items for sale when you arrive. If you think you are too attached to everything in your wardrobe, bring in an impartial third party (parents, friends, siblings) to help make the final cut.
2. Pack appropriately for the weather. As with any trip, you will be miserable if you find that you have packed your entire summer wardrobe and need all your sweaters instead. Most guidebooks give the average monthly temperatures for the place you are going, as do many tourism websites -- this will give you a better idea of what you need to bring for the months you will be there. For those heading south, don't forget that the seasons are reversed in the Southern Hemisphere -- spending the "summer" in Brazil can be quite chilly!
3. Bring high-quality, heavy winter things. (This can be disregarded if you will only be traveling during the summer.) Although winter clothes take up more room, they are often more expensive to purchase once you arrive -- and you will probably be adding some T-shirts from local shops to your wardrobe while you are abroad, anyway.
4. Take account of what you actually need from home. Similar to item #1, this can best be explained with an anecdote. When I was preparing for my first study abroad trip, our on-campus orientation handed us a list of essential items to pack -- including shampoo, batteries, duct tape, you name it. While all these things are certainly useful, many can also be purchased cheaply once you arrive -- freeing up room in your luggage for other essentials, like that heavy winter coat. Unless you have hair that can only be tamed with one specific salon-special shampoo, leave it out and buy it when you arrive. (Also ladies: power converters are often difficult to figure out and don't always work -- leave the dryers, straighteners, curlers, and anything else at home, and buy a cheap version in-country.)
5. Make sure your luggage is mobile. When I travel for a long period of time, I like to bring one enormous rolling bag and a duffel bag (or a backpacker's pack) as my checked bags. The duffel bag can often be placed on top of the rolling bag, making it easier to drag along city streets. I fill every spare inch of the duffel bag with clothes, since the cloth sides expand while the fabric compresses, and use the metal-framed rolling bag to hold any oddly-shaped items (including books, although be sure to check the weight limits on your plane!) Weights are not considered for checked bags, and I have been known to sneakily pack tons of textbooks into a rolling carry-on -- and inevitably there is some kind gentleman who offers to help you lift it into the overhead bin, only to be surprised by its massive weight. Still, a student's gotta do what a student's gotta do.
