You could be the best packer in the world, but at some point or another everyone stops to say, “Damn, I wish I had brought _________.” When I lived in the Czech Republic for three months I traveled all over Europe and whether I was heading on a weekend trip or living my day to day in Prague there were a few things that would have made my life a whole lot easier. Here are 5 things that I wish I had brought while studying abroad:
1. Battery Powered iPhone Case
This thing is a case that charges your phone on the go and it is awesome. So I was one of those crazy kids who went abroad without a phone plan. (Honestly, It was freeing to not have my phone buzzing every two seconds.) But even though unplugging is cleansing, having some form of communication in a foreign place is extremely important.
Luckily in today’s world almost any coffee shop, club and airport has free wifi that you can hop onto to update social media, search city guides or just text your mom. And while airplane mode stretches battery life you’d be surprised how quickly you can drain it when your using maps to walk back to your hostel at the end of the night. Heck, it was annoying when I’d want to take a picture and realize my phone was dead! So to avoid that feeling of panic when your phone is about to die bring along a mophie battery case and you’ll never miss an awesome sunset again.
So this one is especially for the girls. We all want to go out and experience sick European night life and try not to look like we just rolled out of our suitcase. Nevertheless, I am more practical than glamorous so I avoided bringing cute shoes or heels and always opted to tough out my nights in combat boots in hope of avoiding having to walk home barefoot with heels in hand. BUT, if I had a pair of these bad boys I would have been a little more brave. So go ahead, wear those cute wedges and when your feet start to hurt whip out your foldable flats from your purse and you’ll be all set!
Ok so traveling makes anyone a little bit gross. But when you’re studying abroad every moment counts and nine times out of ten I would hop off the train, bus or plane and go seeking adventure without taking time to wash up. So for those times that you just can’t be bothered to go back and shower these easy to store body wipes would have been a god send. A pit stop in a bathroom and a few of these and you’ll be feeling ready to go.(Ya, that would’ve been better than the airport soap and paper towels I usually went with…)
4. Coin Purse
So Europe is really into coins. AKA coins actually have value over there, so you won’t want to just toss your loose change to the way side like we often do in the states. Euros, pounds and other currencies like the coruna and the forint can add up and when you’re traveling across borders mixing these up and having them jingling in the bottom of your bag can be a huge hassle. I had over $20 in coins at one point and I didn’t even realize it! So having a dedicated coin purse or coin organizer would have been a much easier and smarter use of my money and would have avoided all the fumbling for correct change that I often did.
So we all associate going abroad with being a little dirtier than usual but there’s no reason you can’t try to combat that and save a little money while you’re at it. Doing laundry can be inconvenient and extremely expensive, for example in Prague it was a three block subway ride and $15 a load… OUCH. Now you can’t bring your tide but bringing these little babies along would have been a great idea. No one frowns on hand washing your clothes in the sink and with these TSA cleared laundry sheets I could have made my t-shirts smell a little better and made my expensive laundromat trips few and far in between.
Next time…
Lilliana Chalfant 