5 Essential Things to Pack When You Study Abroad

By Debora Aberastury on August 6, 2017

It is a headache of a task — packing your entire life in a single suitcase for a semester in a place you’ve never been. There is a multitude of lists out there and ideas of what you should or should not pack.

Listen to your gut, don’t worry about mistakes (because like it or not, you will make them), and pack your little heart out. Here are a few ideas of what I find to be essential when studying abroad.

Keychain/lanyard/obnoxiously large thing you can attach to keys

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Alright, it sounds weird, but hear me out — you will be living somewhere where you will have either a set of keys or a card to get in and out. It might not seem like an issue at the moment, but when you’re rummaging through your purse for your keys in the middle of the night, trying to get into your dorm, you’ll wish you had some furry keychain thing attached to your keys or a lanyard.

You can always buy it when you get there — but if you happen to have one laying around, you might as well throw it in your bag. One less thing to hunt for when you get there.

Insect repellent, contact lens solution, sunscreen, and vitamins

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You have likely heard it and it is true. These are the four things that are awfully expensive no matter where you go abroad. It’s not impossible to get it, but if you want to save a few bucks (pounds, euros, pesos …) and you know that you will use it, buy it at home and put it in your suitcase.

Think of it this way, if you’re feeling iffy about putting a large bottle of contact lens solution or vitamins in your suitcase, months from now, when you are packing to head back home, you’ll have extra space in your suitcase that you didn’t have before! Win-win.

Solid backpacking backpack

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While I wouldn’t personally recommend it as your main bag, I would recommend it as your carry-on bag — just make sure you find a backpacking bag that fits the dimensions of carry-on. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how much you can put in a backpacking backpack. They are great for a day hike, day trips, or even weekend trips. Far better than having to lug a small suitcase along cobblestone roads.

Brown paper lunch-bags/reusable lunch box

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If you know that your campus is far away from your dorms/living situation, and you know that you will want food with you when you go to class, get a small reusable lunch box to take with you. You need your fuel when you go to class, go to a group meeting, or even if you decide to head up to a local park to read.

The same thing goes for a reusable water bottle or a reusable coffee cup; if you want to have water with you or coffee when you head to class, pack one from home, since it’ll be expensive to get one in your study abroad country. You can always choose to recycle or leave these things there when you head home.

ONE pair of sweats — no more and no less

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Hear me out on this — while you might have heard over and over that you have to dress up in Europe, or look as tourist-less as possible in Asia, you will need a pair of sweatpants, and this goes for both males and females.

You will have days and nights that are incredibly fun, and perhaps a little too much fun, but you will also have down days. You will have days where you have to do laundry and write a paper. Or days where the weather is so bad you can’t even leave the front door. Or you might just have a sick day or two. You will regret not packing sweatpants for those days — jeans and leggings don’t give you the same comfort on lazy days.

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