1. YOU SHOULD REALLY LEARN THE LANGUAGE.
I’m serious. Please listen to me. I beg of you. Learn the language. At least a little bit. Enough to get by. I cannot stress enough how important this is.
2. You should definitely research their customs
You’re going to be there for a while. Try to read up on their basic customs the best you can before you offend someone or someone offends you. Cultural differences have more of an impact than you’d think. Something small could lead to a big miscommunication and conflict. Besides that, you also just don’t want to look stupid. My first experience in Romania—as I was leaving the airport—I got in the car and went to put my seat-belt on. But there wasn’t one. I kept looking and then asked. Everyone laughed. Romanians almost never use them, so some people take them out of their cars. I hadn’t even been in the country for an hour and I’d already made myself look like a big, dumb sissy.
3. You may want to research the food.
Some countries do things differently than our own when it comes to food. One of my first meals in Romania was pizza—because my host family figured I was missing American-style food. After I placed the order, the waitress asked me if I wanted regular or spicy ketchup. I assumed it was a word that had gotten lost in translation; that she meant sauce. Nope. She meant literal ketchup. Romanians don’t put sauce on their pizza. They just serve it with ketchup. You may want to know these things before you get too confused.
4. Check the exchange rate.
If you want to be spending money, know how much you’ll need. Exchange rates fluctuate all the time. See if the country you are visiting has a currency that is stronger or weaker than your own. It can make a huge difference in your budgeting.
5. If you’re from the U.S., understand that not all countries spay and neuter animals.
Whenever I went abroad, I was shocked by all the stray cats and dogs I saw in the streets. Some even died on the streets in plain sight. Every now and then, I’d see a stray animal in the U.S., but nothing like that. I’m absolutely an animal lover and that really messed me up. So be prepared for that in plenty of other countries.
6. Be very aware of pickpocketers, etc.
Keep an eye on your valuables. Every time I have left the U.S., I’ve been advised to watch my stuff. The U.S. definitely has theft problems, but not of that caliber. It just ends up being too easy in their busy, over-populated streets.
7. It’s okay to feel homesick.
Everyone does. I promise. Even the people I know who have had flawless, wonderful experiences still got homesick every now and then. It’s only natural when you’re in a place with a completely different language and different customs, etc. It’s a whole lot of change at once and it’s never easy.
8. You’ve got to make friends.
Don’t just be Skyping and Instant Messaging your friends back home all the time. They won’t be there for you when you need a physical hug or a pat on the back. Even if you only make one really great friend, that’s fine! Just find somebody who has your back and will be there for you when you need to go out for coffee or drinks to vent.
9. Say “no” as little as possible. If you can keep yourself from saying “no” at all, that would be ideal.
Really. Go out and explore. Take every opportunity you can—even if you’re tired or having a bad day. You’ll never get a chance to experience that same night again. One time I told some friends I was too tired to hit the town. They found an empty, private bowling alley under the hotel and bowled all night. And I missed it. Please don’t miss surprise secret bowling nights. Do it for me, do it for yourself: don’t say no to experiences abroad.
*Unless it’s something totally crazy and not okay and there’s no way you would feel safe or comfortable. Try to go outside of your comfort zone, but if someone asks you to try some wild foreign food, that’s different from someone asking you to do heroin and swim the English Channel.
9. For the most part, you’re on your own.
This isn’t like your family trips to the Grand Canyon when you were a kid where your parents held your hand and gave you souvenir money. This is the real deal. If you get lost downtown in a foreign city, you have to ask for help yourself. No one else is going to do it for you. Even if you’re travelling through a well-organized program, once you’re there, you’re thousands of miles away from the people you know. You can’t call your mom and ask her to come pick you up because you got lost. You’ve got to be a real adult and pull yourself up by your bootstraps.
10. Take pictures, but don’t be trapped by your camera.
Don’t be so lost in your camera or phone that you miss the experiences in front of you because you’re trying so hard to document them.
11. Have fun.
You heard me. You’re STUDYING ABROAD. It won’t always be a cakewalk, but make sure you make the most of it. Even if you’re lucky enough to be traveling all the time, the experiences and opportunities will change every time. So make sure you’re experiencing it to the max.
