<p>Most things can be purchased in an emergency, but what important items should be brought with you for an extended study abroad?</p>
<p>-passport / visa
-insurance information
-ID
-credit card(s), debit card
-medications for 6 months
-camera
-copies of all paperwork</p>
<p>Anything else?</p>
<ul>
<li>Laptop - both for work and social purposes </li>
<li>Adaptors (NB check the voltage!) for any electrical items </li>
<li>Guide book to the country - you’re probably going to want to do a bit of travelling</li>
<li>Medication for every month that you will be there - sometimes you might find that your particular brand of drug isn’t available in that country, although other brands of the same drug will be. Clearly this doesn’t apply if you just want asprin, but if you have struggled to find a particular drug that works for you, then take that with you. </li>
<li>If you plan to do sports whilst abroad then any kit / equipment needed </li>
<li>Some local currency - not everywhere accepts credit / debit cards (NB American Express is not widely accepted in some countries at all) and it can be expensive to keep using your card abroad. Try to open a local bank account as soon as possible </li>
</ul>
<p>And then there’s all the more generic things like clothing and shoes.</p>
<p>My daughter is doing a year and her twin half a year. It was stressed to her to copy all credit cards, visa etc. and have phone numbers to call if lost or stolen.
She had notes about medication just in case someone questioned.
It’s always a good idea as stated above to have the adapters, she had one for computer, kindle, phone, etc. She brought 300.00 in pounds and had a credit card that had less fees for most transactions. (Bank of America/Chase Sapphire) Twice she had issues with someone not taking either card, but most of the time it was fine. She learned to take enough out for the week so there were less fees for multiple withdrawals. </p>
<p>She also found taking home remedies like tylenol and pepto, sinus medicine were a great idea, in her area many products she was used too weren’t available and in smaller amounts.</p>
<p>Charles Schwab cards do not have fees for ATMs abroad, which I’ve found useful. </p>
<p>I agree on common meds like Tylenol-cold or chloraseptic.</p>
<p>Depending on where the destination is, enough clothes and the correct shoes are incredibly important-- finding larger sizes of both abroad can be sometimes difficult.</p>
<p>Icicle makes a good point about clothes - for instance, many clothes shops aimed at fashion conscious young women in the UK (e.g. Topshop, H&M) only go up to a UK size 16, which is a US size 12. If you are larger than that, and your destination country tends not to cater for larger sizes, then make sure you stock up on clothes suitable for the local climate and time of year.</p>
<p>I would recommend looking into the Global ATM Alliance to avoid ATM fees. It’s a group of major international banks that allows customers to use their ATM card or debit card at another bank within the Global ATM Alliance with no International ATM Access fees. For example, people that have an account with Bank of America arent charged any withdrawal fee when using Barclays ATMs in the UK or Deutsche Bank ATMs in Germany. [Banking</a> And Money Tips For Study Abroad Students | The Study Abroad Blog](<a href=“The Study Abroad Blog - Nate Nault”>The Study Abroad Blog - Nate Nault)</p>
<p>Having studied abroad in China I know it can be difficult (although not impossible) to get certain toiletry items there and in other Asian countries. Deodorant, especially Western brands, can be hard to find so I’d recommend bringing extra if you’re particular. While I don’t have any experience with this, many of my female friends said it’s also hard to find their usual feminine products in China and they were all glad they packed a large supply from home. I wrote a pretty extensive packing list after being abroad in both Scotland and China that you may find useful - [The</a> Study Abroad Packing List - What to Pack | The Study Abroad Blog](<a href=“The Study Abroad Blog - Nate Nault”>The Study Abroad Blog - Nate Nault)</p>
<p>My D goes to HC and I found your blog a couple of years ago. It was helpful on her trip to UK and one of the reasons she switched to BOA before she left (has helped a lot in fees)
I was not a big fan of full year study abroad at first, but I do see the logic in it now.</p>
<p>My kids have studied abroad. One of the most important things is to pack light. You want to fit in with the other students at your destination. And unless you go to a very poor country, you will be able to buy toothpaste, deodorant etc everywhere. Why not try a local brand that is new to you? After all, this is what studying abroad is all about: experience new things.
I certainly would not pack bed sheets and linen. They are inexpensive and some countries have sizes which differ from US.
Make sure your clothes and equipment are also common in the countries you will be living in. In some countries adults do not carry day packs on their back. And, more important, shorts are not usually worn unless you go to the beach.
Save your money and buy things when you get there. It is fun, you can learn the names of the objects you buy and get to know local customs. It will be easy to find young people who can help you do these things.</p>
<p>What is needed to adapt electrical items for European outlets/power? I know that the plugs need adapters but do you also need something to change voltage? I know that in the past, we had certain “travel” things like a hair dryer or iron that could be switched but are most electronics already adapted? I am thinking specifically of the battery charger for my camera. I wanted to get my son a new camera and it looks like all of the models that I was considering have rechargeable batteries. Is this something we need to be concerned about with any electronics?</p>
<p>The voltage thing does need to be dealt with - I don’t know what country your son is planning on going to, but as an example the UK has 230V. The US has 120V. If you try and plug a US item straight into UK mains, it will blow up. </p>
<p>For small, cheap items it may be easier (both in terms of voltage and how much baggage he needs to take) to simply buy a cheap version when he gets to the UK, and donate it to a charity shop when he leaves - items like hairdryers are a good example. </p>
<p>For more important items like laptops, you’ll want a step down voltage converter, along these lines [US</a> to UK Step-Down Transformers](<a href=“http://www.accessorystore.co.uk/acatalog/us_uk_transformers.html]US”>http://www.accessorystore.co.uk/acatalog/us_uk_transformers.html) Make sure he gets one for the right country - different countries (and I believe sometimes, different regions within countries) have different styles of plugs. </p>
<p>I appreciate the difficulties - I bought a digital camera when I was working abroad, and so I now, forevermore, must use an adapter whenever I need to charge it back in the UK.</p>
<p>Thanks, boomting. He is leaving for a semester in Denmark on Saturday. Although he has travelled pretty extensively, he didn’t have a problem in the past. When he was in Poland for 3 weeks, he stayed with his friend’s family. When he went to Germany, his camera took AA batteries and he didn’t have a laptop. I know that he can buy things in Denmark but I am trying to save him money.</p>
<p>My daughter is UK didn’t need anything but the plug adaptors for cell and lap top but was told to just buy hairdryer and hot iron etc. there. I had bought a converter but it was heavy and her study abroad advisor said for newer cell and computers, it wasn’t needed. She double-checked but it has been fine.</p>
<p><a href=“http://goscandinavia.about.com/od/denmar1/f/eloutletdenmark.htm[/url]”>http://goscandinavia.about.com/od/denmar1/f/eloutletdenmark.htm</a></p>
<p>It’s worth looking carefully at what prescription meds can be brought into a country and what documentation is needed. Sometimes it can be really odd, such as the case of Japan where lots of U.S. meds are illegal. For example:</p>
<p>[American</a> Citizen Services | Embassy of the United States Tokyo, Japan](<a href=“http://japan.usembassy.gov/e/acs/tacs-medimport.html]American”>http://japan.usembassy.gov/e/acs/tacs-medimport.html)</p>
<p>Here’s what the Japanese gov’t says about Adderall:</p>
<p>“Any medicine containing Methamphetamine or Amphetamine is defined as one of “Prohibited Stimulants” and strictly restricted in Japan. Nobody can bring any medicine containing Methamphetamine or Amphetamine (Adderall and so on) into Japan. If you are found with any medicine containing Methamphetamine or Amphetamine illegally in Japan, you can be arrested as a criminal on the spot, immediately, without a warrant in principle.”</p>
<p>That is very good info to know, never assume. I read a post about a young woman that was surprised adderall wasn’t used in UK, although Ritalin was. Her mother got them to her (although mailing is not supposed to be ok) but I feel scripts/meds are the most overlooked things when traveling.</p>
<p>For certain countries, for example Denmark, I wound up getting a new prescription while there (I had only brought the 3 months that customs declared I was allowed, though many people brought the full five months worth and didn’t run into a problem). Because the exact type/dosage wasn’t as important for my medication, it was easy to obtain in Denmark through a walk-in appointment with a nurse [and that was free-yay!], and the medication itself was much cheaper than what I was used to paying in the U.S. You can knock socialized healthcare all you want…</p>
<p>While I like worriedmom’s advice to buy clothes and certain things in-country, I think it depends country to country. Not to mention the size differences that have been brought up (I had a hard time finding pants above a US size 8 in H&M in Italy, and have a harder time finding pants above size 6 in my town here in Bulgaria…), leaving essentials to be bought in expensive countries like Scandinavia would be an enormous hit on the wallet. Sometimes you just can’t afford to fit in completely…</p>
<p>I am currently abroad for a year and I’m loving my e-reader!!! I got a kindle as a graduation present last year, and though I was initially skeptical, it’s been wonderful to have fresh sources of English language material (and free through e-library loans). Plus, when I travel, it’s light, not as conspicuous as an iPad, and I can download travel guides/language references for countries/destinations I wasn’t necessarily planning on before. I brought 10 books with me to Denmark when I went, and read 2 at best (I was so optimistic), but the e-reader prevented me from over-packing at least in that regard!</p>
<p>My daughter’s kindle helped with the English Lit novels, she still prefers books but for transportation purposes, carrying 4 of Jane Austin books vs 1 Kindle with hundreds of books, you can’t beat it.</p>