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What to pack?
So you have a rough idea of where you’re going, your parents are already fretting about flights, insurance and jabs, and your university is overloading you with forms, questionnaires and year abroad meetings. What no one mentions, until it’s too late and you're already out there, is what to pack. This is a section which, thanks to our YAGs (Year Abroad Grads), is filled with lists of what’s hot and what’s not in terms of packing.
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Packing for my stay in Mexico, I realised something: aside from the fact I’d have to pick which shoes/dresses/hair products to bring, I’d also have to make a tough decision regarding which literature I could fit (carry) in my two suitcases. Yes, hand luggage was still an option, but my bag was already bulging with my laptop, charger, camera, passport and important documents, a couple of packets of sweets (no Percy Pigs in the airport), my over-filled diary and more clutter I care to recall. What to bring? How do you pick between Molière’s dramatic comedy, Ruiz Zafón’s page-turning novels and Pratchett’s sarcastic fantasy? What about all the other loves in my life, the Arabic classic literature, the socio-economic tirades of South America, the sharp wit of America’s finest authors, or the Renaissance literature of Britain?
Published in What to pack? -
We’ve ploughed through our resources, asked hundreds of travellers and managed to come up with this: the definitive guide to suit every traveller’s needs. It's so important to go on adventures while you're abroad - spend weekends exploring, use your holidays to travel, go on a tour of music (and beer!) festivals... Have a read, pick out a few items you fancy, get your parents to chip in and enjoy these nomadic treats!
Published in What to pack? -
Spanish graduate, Lisa, gives us an account of her year abroad in Madrid, with her top tips on how to get to grips with the language and what to pack in your suitcase. Teaching, notebooks and dictionaries ahoy!Published in What to pack? -
You’ve packed your bag full of clothes, you’ve got your swimsuit and suncream (or overcoat depending on where you’re going), laptop and favourite DVDs, your camera and your passport. You’re all ready for your year abroad. But you feel something may be missing... You still need to pack your books. From proper bookworms to casual readers of the latest best-seller, everyone likes to take a book with them when they go away. I love travel, and I love books, so here are my top 5 books that are about travelling, or that I discovered while on my year abroad...Published in What to pack? -
Stressing about what to sort out before you leave? Need a definitive year abroad checklist? What sort of student discounts are available? What exactly should you pack in your suitcase? Sit back, relax and read on through our section on what to take with you and how to get it there, before it's too late!Published in What to pack?Tags
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BBCs - Basic British Comforts for your year abroad
Written by Natacha Cullinan Tuesday, 30 August 2011Heading out abroad, to a gorgeous sunset as you take off from the tarmac, unto the world of the kooky, the eccentric, the known unknowns and the unknowns knowns...This is the start of a new adventure, your heart cries. As you hit the ground running, find your new flat without (too much) trouble and set up camp a la [insert nationality], you’ll feel as though life has just begun. There will be a time - morning, lunch, early evening - when you’ll want to reach out for...Oh no, crap, you didn’t bring it with you. After reading lists and lists about what to cut out of your packing (15 jumpers too much?!), you might have forgotten the BBC (ahem, British Basic Comforts). Make sure you wrap these up in cotton wool, you’ll need them once you’re out in the wild:
Published in What to pack? -
Elen Roberts, off on her year abroad, reviews Lucy Wadham's The Secret Life of France for year abroad students - funny, sarcastic, personal and a real eye-opener for any student planning on a year abroad in l'Héxagone...Published in What to pack? -
Elena Cresci gives us her top tips for travelling lightly - great advice on what to take on your year abroad, with some great ideas about what to get out there...
Possibly the hardest part for me on my year abroad was the luggage allowance. A meagre 20kg (15kg on some airlines!) is so not enough for 9 months of my life. Not to mention that you can accumulate a lot of stuff in that time. So how do you keep the weight and the luggage costs down?Published in What to pack? -
One of the most aggravating aspects of the "before you go" period is without a doubt, packing; and with new airline checked-baggage regulations, the task is about to become even more frightening. By now, you’ve surely asked the question that even the lightest of packers ponder: How do I pack an entire year’s worth of belongings into one suitcase? That answer is simple. You don’t. Instead, you should pack the absolute necessities for the first few months, and plan to purchase or ship what you will need later on.Published in What to pack?Tags -
What should go in your year abroad wallet? Here's a concise list of what kind of stuff any year abroader should have in their wallet...
Published in What to pack?Tags
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