Jamie Claros is a junior at Boston College, studying abroad in Madrid, Spain for the fall semester. As an Eagle in a foreign country, she wanted to share with us her birds-eye view of the Spanish culture. This series will chronicle her study abroad experience, detailing the food she tries, the people she meets, and the places she explores!
ÂĄHola mis fellow collegeiettesâ˘! After a final exam this past Friday, my semester abroad here is officially over. While Iâm overjoyed that Iâll never have to sit through another Politics and Society in Spain class ever again, I canât say I feel the same enthusiasm to have the past four months finally come to an end. This semester has been a whirlwind of great experiences, beautiful monuments, crazy nights, and the best of memories.  Iâm so jealous of everyone studying abroad in the following semesters because, if given the chance, Iâd truly do this all over again. Unfortunately, since I canât, I figured Iâd share some of the most useful advice that Iâve gotten in hopes that everybody going abroad can have just as amazing of a semester as I did!  Here are eight of the best tips that Iâve picked up for studying abroad, whether it be Spain or somewhere else:
Â
1.  Two suitcases, half full
Ah, packingâ probably the first concern when getting ready for a semester abroad and probably the most stressful. Just how exactly are you supposed to pack your life away for four months? I repacked my suitcases four times before I finally found a way to make everything fit and let me tell you, it was not easy. Some of the best advice I received about packing was to pack two full-sized suitcases, but leave both of them half empty. Being in a different country for four months leaves a lot of time to accumulate things like souvenirs, clothes, and other little things that add up to a lot of space. Donât over pack. If you can hardly fit all of your stuff going on the way there, youâre certainly not going to fit even more stuff on the way back. I know itâs hard to leave all your favorite jeans and that cute top you wear about once every three months, but trust me, anything that you wonât wear more than once or twice is unnecessary. Bring only a select few favorite jeans and tops that you can easily layer and wear with different types of outfits. Skip the bulky sweatpants (sad, I know) and bring a pair of yoga pants or leggings instead. Youâre in a foreign country, you shouldnât be bumming, anyway! And donât forget to pack a small duffel bag for weekend trips!
Â
2.  The 3 Copies Rule
Make copies of everything!  Once youâve gotten your student visa and health insurance taken care of, make sure you make three copies of absolutely everythingâ passport, visa, driverâs license, health insurance information, and any other paperwork you think is important. Give one copy to your parents to hold onto and keep two for yourself (one for safekeeping, and one to carry around). Though you never anticipate medical emergencies or having anything happen to your passport, itâs always better to be safe than sorry.  Also, sometimes (though very rarely) security will stop you and ask for official ID. Itâs much safer to walk around with a copy of your passport and visa than to carry the actual document around.
Â
3.  Traveling
Study abroad is the perfect time to travel to cities and countries you normally wouldnât be able to afford. However, traveling definitely does add up so make sure you start planning your trips out way ahead of time. If there are places you know you want to go, find a group of people to go with and book those flights as soon as possible. With cheap and easy airlines like Vueling, Ryanair and Easyjet, and websites like Cheapoair.com, you can find international flights for super cheap prices (from Madrid to Milan one weekend was only 9 euros!). And donât let prices that are on the steeper side discourage you; any other time you fly to one of these countries youâd be flying from the United States and spending hundreds of dollars more than that. Take advantage of the proximity of all the countries around you and the ease of travel. Just make sure to check in online and print your boarding passes ahead of time to avoid long lines and extra check-in fees (especially with airlines like Ryanair and Easyjet).
Â
4.  Affiliate banks & paying with cash
Before you leave, make sure you know what affiliate banks are in the country youâre going to! Bank of America seems to have the most affiliates in the most countries so, if you donât already have an account with them, look into it. Barclays, Deutsche Bank and BNL (among others) are all affiliates and donât charge an extra fee for taking out money whereas non-affiliates charge $5 for every transaction. Make trips to the ATMS every so often and take out enough money to last you at least two weeks and make sure you always pay with cash instead of card to avoid international fees (3% of whatever youâre charging). Donât walk around with more than max 40 euros at a time (you wonât need it, unless youâre shopping) and keep the rest in a safe place.
Â
5.  Safety
Itâs been said a million times, but being conscientious of your surroundings is one of the most important things to remember when studying abroad. Europe is especially known for pickpocketing and people who will take advantage of even the slightest distraction to take your things. One of the guys in my group had someone stage a distraction and try to actually grab his wallet from his FRONT shirt pocket in the metro. Always make sure your valuables are safely in your bag and youâre not flashing them around. Invest in a cross-body bag or twoâtrust me, theyâre lifesavers. Not only do they look super cute, but theyâre easy to carry around, not easily left by mistake, and easy to hold close to you. When walking in crowded areas, always make sure you have your bag in front of you with your hand over it. For going out, Iâd bring a small cross-body that fit only the bare essentials (phone, camera, metro pass, money and keys). It was tiny and cramped, but definitely a safer option than bringing a bigger bag to a discoteca.
6.  Recording memories
Whether youâre big on taking photos or not, picture taking is so important. A semester abroad is easily one of the most fun, interesting times of your life and later on, youâre going to want to look back and remember all the great memories. Itâs a great way to look back and see all the cool things you did and keep track of everything. Plus, itâs an excellent way to remember nights that might be a little blurry (and everybody has at least one of those)! Travel journals are also a great way to document your thoughts and feelings. Living in a different country can be super challenging and overwhelming at first but writing things down can definitely help clear your head and organize your feelings. Not only will it ease the culture shock, itâll be a nice way to look back on how you felt throughout the whole trip and how your thoughts progressed from beginning to end. If youâre not the journal type, maybe start a blog (like Tumblr or Blogspot) for either personal use or to update loved ones on what youâre doing.
Â
7.  Become a resident, not just a tourist
Well, not an official resident, obviously. But get to know your city as if you were an actual resident and not just a four-month tourist. Wherever you study abroad is going to be your home for four months, so you might as well know it as well as you do your own hometown. Most cities have free walking tours where the only cost is whatever you decide to tip the tour guide at the end. Walking tours are my personal favorite way to get to know a city and the history behind it. Most tour guides are fun, personable and have the most interesting stories. Itâs a great way to really appreciate everything about where youâre studying abroad, instead of just walking past things without really taking them in. Immerse yourself in the culture, go to restaurants that locals go to instead of tourist traps (the foodâs better and cheaper), and make friends with the locals. Most importantly, try your hardest to speak the language of the country youâre in. Not only does it make you less of a target for pickpocketing, itâs the best way to really immerse yourself. What better way to learn and improve a language than to use it in everyday life?
Â
8.  ¥Atrevete!
If youâre not the most Spanish-savvy, atrevete is the Spanish way of saying âDare yourself.â Studying abroad is a once in a lifetime experience and because of that, you should take advantage of every single thing.  Itâs the perfect time to grow more independent and discover different things about yourself. Do things you normally wouldnât, go places you would never think to, and try things just for the sake of it. Even if youâre not a club person, try it out at least once. Even if you donât like a certain type of food, try it just to say you did.  Finances are always a sensitive topic, but donât let money stand in your way of doing things. You save up to enjoy your time and, as such, you should do just that. If you can afford it, do it, because the chance may never come again. As my roommate perfectly put it, âYou can always earn back the money, but you wonât necessarily have the opportunity for the experience again.â You donât want to look back on your time abroad and regret all the things you could have done. Studying abroad isnât always easy, but itâs all the challenges that make it worthwhile. So dare yourself to do everything you can, and then actually follow through with it.  After all, whenâs the next time youâll call a different country home?
Â
And thatâs all, my fellow collegiettesâ˘. Iâve enjoyed every minute of letting you guys in on my study abroad experience and hope you guys have enjoyed hearing about it. Hopefully these tips will prepare you for any study abroad adventures you might have and I wish you guys all the best. ¥Hasta pronto!
Goodbye to my home away from home!
Â
Photo Sources:
http://www.cheapburberry-outletonline.com/images/10001/SIJUYCPBTH.jpg
http://home.earthlink.net/~jbguffey/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/suitcases.jpg
http://www.doitinmadrid.com/fotos/madrid(04).jpg