Back-to-school time -- on which continent?

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.

Horse Race Fever

The running of the 136th Kentucky Derby on May 1, 2010

As a Louisville native, nothing beats the excitement of the Kentucky Derby, held annually on the first Saturday in May.  Called the "most exciting two minutes in sports," the city begins celebrations with the nation's largest fireworks display two weeks beforehand, and numerous parties and social events in the lead-up to the race mark the most important part of the Louisville social calendar.  Movie stars and celebrities frequently come to watch the race, most famously the Queen of England (who is known for her passion for horse racing.)  However, horse racing plays an important part in tourism for many places, including the gambling hotspots in the UAE and the wilds of Australia and New Zealand.  This post will draw attention to three must-see races for any student abroad: the Royal Ascot in England, Il Palio di Siena in Italy, and Naadam in Mongolia.

Gates at the Royal Ascot

The Royal Ascot shares many similarities with the much younger Kentucky Derby.  Attendees are typically there less for horse-watching than people-watching, and the big hats and fancy dresses of the ladies are a spectacular sight.  This five-day event is a large part of the British summer social calendar, and the rich and famous can frequently be spotted in the Royal Enclosure.  Although my typical readers might wonder what the Royal Ascot has to offer a backpacking student on a budget, admission prices for spots in the Silver Ring (a separate admission area set off from the main Parade Ring and Grandstand) range from £17 to £29, depending on the date of the race and the date of advance booking.  Seats in the Grandstand are higher priced, ranging from £49 to £69.  In the Silver Ring, smart attire is "encouraged", while men with seats in the Grandstand will be required to wear a shirt and tie and any sports attire, jeans, or shorts are forbidden.  Visitors in the Silver Ring are also permitted to bring a picnic lunch and their own alcohol, further helping the struggling student save money.  Located 50 minutes from London by train, the Royal Ascot would be an elegant and exciting day trip for any student interested in seeing a three-hundred-year-old* English tradition.  Don't miss the Royal Procession at 2:00 PM every day -- try to catch a glimpse of the Queen and other members of the royal family!

The palio of August 16, 2009

Il Palio is an entirely different kind of race.  Held in the main square (the Piazza del Campo) of the Tuscan city of Siena, the race is run twice a year -- on July 2 and August 16.  Each of the city's seventeen neighborhoods act out their historic rivalries in these mad races, beginning the day's event with a parade of flags representing each neighborhood carried by men in 15th-century Tuscan garb.  The dirt track is laid around the perimeter of the square, and race-watchers crowd the middle, making it very important that tourists arrive early to the festivities.  After the parade, the horses enter the square around 7:30 PM, and are strategically arranged at the starting line.  Jockeys ride bareback around the piazza three times, and are permitted to use their whips on their horses, other horses, and other jockeys.  The objective is less to achieve victory and more to ensure that the horse from the rival neighborhood loses; the victor is considered the horse that finishes first, while the loser is the runner-up.  Siena is a short day trip from Florence and easily accessible by train; for viewers who want to avoid the crowds in the middle of the Piazza del Campo, advance bookings in the hotels and restaurants overlooking the piazza can be made, but require a great deal of advance notice.

A Mongolian horseman

Naadam in Mongolia is a traditional festival where men and women can display their skills in wrestling, archery, and horse racing.  The largest festival is held in Ulaanbaatar from July 11-13, and is an amazing celebration of the nomadic Mongolian way of life.  Unlike the Western conception of a horse race on a closed circuit track, the Mongolian races at Naadam are cross-country feats extending 20-30 km.  Children ages 5 to 13 act as jockeys, and the skill of the horses rather than of the riders are applauded.  Singing, which is a big part of Mongolian culture, is used throughout the race to wish horses and jockeys luck and to encourage them to victory.

* Founded in 1711, the Royal Ascot is celebrating 300 years this year.  Be on the lookout for special anniversary celebrations!

Eur-what?? How to Use a Eurail Pass

Last week I wrote briefly about the variety of passes available from Eurail to get students around Europe cheaply by train; this week I want to return to that topic with a break-down of the complex rules and regulations governing use of the pass.  Although the wording on the website makes it seem daunting, you will have mastered the use of the Eurail pass well before your week-long train trip is over.

What your Eurail pass will look like, minus the red writing

First, the Eurail pass needs to be activated.  Once you are set to begin your journey, head to the ticket counter of the train station and show it to the attendant.  She will fill in the dates of the first and last day of validity (the current date and the date that is two or three months from then, depending on the type of pass purchased), add your passport number (so that the pass cannot be transferred between travelers), and stamp it to mark it as valid.  This must be done in the train station no more than six months after purchasing the pass; for students in year-long programs, it might make more sense to ask a friend or relative at home to purchase the pass and mail it to you to avoid running over this six-month time frame.  If a pass has not been validated for travel and you have boarded the train already, you may find yourself forced off at the next station and your journey will be delayed.

Another rookie error made by Eurail pass holders is forgetting about additional reservation fees.  While the pass allows free travel on many local or regional trains, high-speed trains and intercity connections (from Florence to Rome, for example) often require a supplemental seat reservation fee.  This charge is typically minimal but will require you to purchase the supplemental ticket at a ticket window rather than through the electronic ticket kiosks located in most major train stations, as they will only sell full-priced tickets instead of the seat upgrades.  Beds on an overnight train also require a paid upgrade at the ticket window, and as popular routes may sell out it is a good idea to book this in advance of your planned departure.  No student wants to spend a fortune because the only sleeping berth left is in first class; likewise, a long day of touring can be ruined by the sleepless night spent trying to catch a few z's in a train seat.  A good rule of thumb is if in doubt, talk to the ticketing agent -- in bigger cities they usually speak some English and will let you know if the train you are on requires reserved seats or not.

Finally, the last tricky bit of the Eurail pass involves actually entering the date of travel.  As mentioned in my previous blog post, overnight trains are the hardest to figure out.  The official Eurail rule is that if your train leaves after 7 PM and arrives after 4 AM the next morning, you should enter the next day as your "travel day".  In other words, if I leave Palermo at 8:15 PM on June 17 and arrive in Rome at 9:45 AM on June 18, I would enter June 18 in the little boxes on the Eurail pass.  Because the pass is only valid for a certain number of travel days, it is crucial that you fill out these dates correctly -- some train conductors may suspect fraud if they see you have crossed out dates on the pass.  To avoid these simple mistakes, it is often easier simply to fill out the pass once the conductor has asked to see it; when he comes around to collect tickets, fill in the correct date before his eyes and then show it to him.  They will also need to see your passport to confirm that the passport number matches the pass; make sure both of these things are in easy reach while you are enjoying your train journey across Europe!

Study Abroad Without Leaving Campus

A recent article in the New York Times discussed the extension of many American universities to overseas campuses, specifically NYU's new campus in Abu Dhabi.  At these overseas campuses, students can expect to receive the same education as in the US, taught by experienced American faculty members for the same price as a degree "back home."  This movement towards a truly international higher education seems to be born from the belief that exposure to diverse cultures and environments is crucial for well-formed students, which is a truth that any study abroad advisor could tell you.  Yet is a four-year degree in an American university located overseas as fulfilling as a shorter period of immersion in a foreign culture?

In my opinion, the answer to this is a firm "no".  While such a program can be applauded for teaching American students a whole new kind of independence -- learning to do laundry in a dorm room for the first time is one thing; learning to do laundry with detergent labels written in Arabic is another -- it seems highly unlikely that these students are benefitting from the exposure to a foreign culture that is often a hallmark of the study abroad experience.  Faculty trained in the American educational style can only offer one perspective in the classroom; these NYU students and others like them will therefore miss the ideosyncracies of learning how the business of education is performed in different cultures.  The emphasis on creative thinking, for example, is a wholly American trait; that other societies prefer memorization and strict if not hostile student-teacher relationships can offer an intriguing insight into the local value system.  As with any study abroad experience, an extra push is required in-country to ensure that students leave their comfort zones and begin to understand and appreciate the different traditions around them; staying in an American university setting with American professors and American classmates implies that the only thing different about this "study abroad" experience is the scenery.

So what, then, is the value of such a program?  To me, the true value of an international education like this is in the diverse group of students who may find this attractive.  Although NYU is a very diverse institution in Manhattan, the Abu Dhabi campus boasts truly impressive statistics -- students from 39 countries speaking 43 languages, with an average SAT score of 1445.  This exposure to international affairs on a micro level, as classmates share with each other the news of the world from their own perspectives, can help to broaden worldviews and lend a more personal insight into the challenges faced by people from all backgrounds.  Ultimately, study abroad is about more than learning a foreign language or visiting a new place -- it is about developing personal connections and allowing conversations and experiences to reshape your perception of the world.  While the Abu Dhabi campus of NYU may not provide these things in the curricula or in the town-and-gown community, the relationships forged among the students may be the saving grace of this new project in international education.

Eur-what?? An Introduction to Eurail

When students imagine spending a semester studying in Europe, one of the most exciting thoughts they have are of all the exciting trips they can do between countries -- spending a weekend on a train and trekking across several different countries is almost a rite of passage for the European-bound study abroad student.  Despite the fact that Rome is almost as far from Paris as New York is from Chicago, most American students imagine that somehow everything in Europe is "closer together" and therefore easily accessible for short excursions.  The Eurail Pass has helped perpetuate this myth by reducing many of the complications in traveling by train across the continent, and although its rules are somewhat complicated for the uninitiated, it is beloved by all students for facilitating cheap travel within Europe.

Eurail's website offers four different kinds of passes for sale -- the global pass, select pass, regional pass, or single-country pass.  The price depends on both the number of countries a student wishes to visit with the pass and the number of days he or she wishes to travel within a given amount of time.  For example, the global pass is Eurail's most flexible option, allowing travel through 22 European countries for as few as 10 days at $589 or as much as 3 months for $1385.  (Note: prices are for youth travel, which is permitted for anyone between the ages of 12 and 26; prices for the over-26 crowd are slightly higher.)  The select pass allows you to choose between 3, 4, or 5 contiguous countries for your rail journey, while the regional pass removes some of the guesswork by offering popular options (like France and Italy, or Germany and Austria) together in one pass.  The single-country pass is valid for travel on all trains within one country, which is useful for the student who wants to explore her host country a bit more!

The amount of time covered by the Eurail Pass is also somewhat tricky for first-timers, as the days they count refer merely to days of travel, typically within a 2-month period.  If a student were to buy the 10-day global pass, for example, he would be able to spend 10 nonconsecutive days on a train to get through all the hot spots on his itinerary.  He could spend one day traveling from Lisbon to Madrid, then after a week in Madrid hop back on a train to Paris for his second day of travel.  To make things even more complicated, a "travel day" refers to the date of arrival if your train leaves after 7:00 PM and terminates after 4:00 AM -- in other words, if you take a night train from Bucharest to Budapest which leaves at 7:10 PM and arrives at 10 AM, you could hop straight back on the train later that same day and head to a new destination without that counting as a second "travel day".  Confused yet?!

Because the price increases proportionately to the number of countries visited and number of days of travel required, it is well worth planning an approximate itinerary before grabbing that backpack and hitting the tracks.  Nobody wants to discover at the Austrian border that they have run out of days to use on their pass and must pay full price for tickets for the rest of the journey; nobody wants to be left behind, either, because they have not chosen a pass that will allow them to travel through Austria.  Luckily for all backpackers, Eurail's website has excellent links to maps of train routes and timetables.  Once you have purchased your pass, Eurail will send hard copies of their map and timetables for popular routes along with your pass and a variety of other helpful offers for planning your travels.

The number of options Eurail presents to students -- in terms of destinations and length of travel -- may seem overwhelming, but once the pass has been purchased the rules for using the pass are even more complicated.  In Part 2 of this series I will discuss some of the tips and tricks for using a Eurail pass to get around Europe, and hopefully by providing examples will help new travelers maximize their use of the pass!  As always, please leave comments or questions for me.  What have been some of your favorite Eurail destinations?  Any particular insights into which passes to buy?  I'd love to hear your stories!

It's New Year's Eve Somewhere...

This year, I was lucky enough to spend New Year's Eve at the world's first major celebration, in Sydney, Australia -- nine hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time, fourteen hours before the ball drop in New York's Times Square, and a whopping eighteen hours before the US West Coast welcomed 2011.  Unlike my prior New Year's Eve adventures, freezing in Warsaw or Edinburgh with a bottle of cheap champagne while watching fireworks explode over ancient castles and Communist monuments, I enjoyed the warmth of a summer's night on a ferry directly in front of the Sydney harbor bridge.

New Years, 2011: Fireworks over Sydney Harbour bridge

While earlier I blogged about the homesickness and nostalgia that can come from celebrating the holidays far from loved ones, it is almost impossible for a student abroad to fail to have a good time on the 31st of December.  The sense of camaraderie and hope for the future that pervades New Years' celebrations inspires people from all backgrounds to join together in celebration, and that bubbly social lubricant can grease even the most rusty of language skills.

My best New Years' Eves have been spent as a student abroad.  In 2009, during my postgraduate study at Cambridge, my boyfriend flew to England for the holidays and we spent a week traveling through England, stopping at castles and cathedrals and even Old Trafford for a Manchester United game.  We left Manchester on the 31st and journeyed by train across the Pennines and up to Edinburgh for the world-famous Hogmanay celebration.  When we arrived in the mid-afternoon, the sun was rapidly setting and the extreme cold challenged our tourist instincts; if it weren't for the chatty and friendly cab driver who took us from the station to our hotel on the outskirts of town, we would have seen nothing of the historic city.  Duped by the darkness, we foolishly left the hotel around 8 PM to travel to Princes Street, where the New Year's Eve street festival occurs every year.  Four hours of loitering in the sub-zero temperatures was made bearable thanks to the presence of a Starbuck's and McDonald's, the only two establishments open during the festive occasion, and we made brief excursions into the street to see the bands performing at the various stages set up in front of Edinburgh Castle.  As midnight neared, the crowds thickened and finally, just prior to the start of the fireworks display, my boyfriend proposed in front of a crowd of sighing Japanese tourists.  (Naturally I said "yes.")  Dancing through the streets with the Scots and sharing a romantic evening with my new fiancé certainly made this a memorable New Year's Eve!

New Year's Eve in Edinburgh, 2009: fireworks over the Scott Monument at Hogmanay

Another memorable international experience was the New Year's Eve that I spent in Warsaw.  An American friend of mine I had met while studying abroad in Romania was living with a Polish exchange student, and he invited us to come to a party with him and a few other international students for New Year's in Warsaw.  We arrived at the party -- held in a flat owned by one of Mateusz's classmates from Poland -- to find dozens of flags hanging from every surface: Columbian, Polish, Romanian, Welsh, each one representing the nationalities of the guests at the party.  Although we knew hardly nobody, the holiday atmosphere and international students ensured we had instant friendships; we rang in the New Year a few hours early for the Russian girls, then bundled up to go out into the freezing cold Polish night for the fireworks over the Warsaw Palace of Culture and Science, a testament to the Communist era.  Standing together that night, with new friends and old, from East and from West, the bright future illuminating the shadow of the Communist past, was one of the most memorable experiences I had from that backpacking trip through Eastern Europe.

New Year's Eve in Warsaw, 2007: fireworks over the Palace of Culture and Science

What made all of these celebrations great was the mixture of adventure and friendship that came together so easily while studying in a foreign place.  Although the time difference between "home" and "away" can sometimes be tricky to navigate, there is something infinitely exciting in knowing that you are experiencing the new year several hours before anyone at home has had a chance.  What have been your favorite New Year's Eve experiences as students abroad?  Are there any international celebrations you particularly want to join?  Or have more general questions or comments about what I've posted?  Please leave a comment and let me know!

Top Christmas Gifts for Travelers

Got a student abroad who you need to buy for this holiday season?  Most travelers will tell you that much as gifts from home are appreciated, it is never too early to consider the luggage weight and size limits imposed by airlines for the return journey!  (In other words, although you'd love to give your friend studying in Switzerland a pair of skis for Christmas, perhaps you should think of a slightly smaller gift...)

Below is a list of gifts that every student contemplating (or already embarked upon) an overseas adventure would appreciate, both for their necessity and their portability.  With Christmas only a week away, these gifts are also excellent choices for their speedy delivery options.

1.  Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2011:  My favorite of all the guidebook series out there for their informal and friendly writing style, Lonely Planet's annual "Best in Travel" will be a great resource for students planning an upcoming adventure.  Touching on destinations worldwide, this book offers tips for unmissable sights and activities in 2011.  It lists the best regions, countries, and cities to explore, including such off-the-beaten-path places as Albania as well as more well-traveled countries like Italy.  The list-based format makes finding a potential day trip easy, while the calendar of events (specific to 2011) can help students organize their travels.  Finally, although this reference guide will endure with only minor updates, its time-sensitive material ensures that at the end of the year it can be safely left behind if there is no more room in the suitcase.

Eurail Tickets: From $49

 2.  Eurail tickets:  Perhaps a European traveler's most coveted item, the Eurail pass offers students the opportunity to travel for a select number of days by train without spending a fortune on rail tickets.  The website offers a daunting array of possibilities, from single-country passes to see more of one country to a global pass that allows travel through 21 countries for up to three months.  Students who will be under 25 on the first day of travel qualify for the reduced "youth" rates for the pass, saving gift-givers extra money.  With this pass in hand, all your student abroad will need to do is register the pass prior to travel and make any necessary reservations before enjoying one of the most reliable and pleasant journeys around Europe.

3.  Brookstone's 7-piece converter kit: Electronics can easily be a student's worst nightmare when traveling.  The pop, hiss, and slightly burnt smell can indicate the end of some portable speakers, or your hundred-dollar Chi straightener.  Knowing which plug is needed for which country can be daunting, as well -- students spending the year in Britain who want to take the two-hour train ride to France rarely think that they will need to bring an entirely different plug adapter with them.  In this 7-piece converter kit for appliances, Brookstone provides not only the power converter (the crucial piece that will prevent your expensive appliances from the power surge of non-American sockets) but plugs for a variety of outlets, conveniently color-coded with the continents and countries they are designed for.  This kit will be greatly appreciated for taking the guesswork out of the necessary electronic conversions, and will leave your student more time to figure out other conversions -- like kilometers to miles, for example!

Lonely Planet Digital Chapters: Only $4.95!

4.  Lonely Planet Digital Chapters:   Although I already mentioned Lonely Planet once in this list, their digital chapters make an excellent gift for the weighted-down student on the go.  Instead of offering an entire guidebook, which typically numbers almost 1,000 pages and can be one of the heaviest single items a student brings overseas, make a gift of several digital chapters.  Have a student planning a journey through London, Paris, and Rome?  Send them those chapters from the "Europe on a Shoestring" book for Christmas!  Not only will they appreciate the portability of a PDF guidebook, they will be treated to the best money-saving tips and must-see spots in their chosen cities.  And at only $4.95 per chapter, this makes the cheapest gift on the list!

5.  A good backpacker's pack: No student traveler is complete without a heavy-duty backpack like the one shown here.  Lightweight and convenient, they easily carry several weeks' worth of clothes and supplies for those long holidays spent traveling around the country or region.  The weight of your possessions is distributed evenly across your shoulders and extra support comes from a strap across your stomach, which makes carrying such a bag much easier than hauling a suitcase or duffel bag up and down the many flights of stairs in train stations, hostels, and so on.  Many of these packs have special compartments and straps to attach a sleeping bag, which can come in handy when stranded in a questionable hostel.  Search your local outdoors store for a pack that feels comfortable -- it will make your student abroad's adventure much easier!