After getting back from my last trip, I had about a week left in CPH all alone since most of my friends had already left for home. I had a final to finish up, a lot of packing to do, and some left-over goodbyes to make. My brother was also in town for about a day, so it was fun showing him around too! These last days alone gave me a lot of time to reflect, and from that, I've gathered a list of 10 tips I want to share with anyone planning to go abroad so keep reading! But other than that, this is where I leave you. Thanks for following along my journey, I hope some of this will help you in the future during your time abroad too!! - Thuyvi <3 10 Tips for Studying Abroad!1. What to bring/packing
Pack lighter than you’re planning to. I brought two checked-in bags, and it was nice to be prepared, but I didn’t use most of the clothes I brought from home. I shopped a lot as well, but I would recommend bringing one checked-in bag at most, as well as a carry-on you can use when you travel. 2. Traveling – things to keep in mind Try your best to travel as much as you can, but also make sure you have time to really experience the city you’re studying in. Airport security in Europe is also very different. If you’re traveling with only a carry-on (which is the most I recommend bringing on trips), you’re only allowed a very small Ziploc bag for toiletries/liquids. Additionally, always be aware of your surroundings and make sure you know what’s going on. It goes a long way, especially when things go wrong. 3. Meeting people and making friends I can’t stress enough that the first few weeks are so important to meet people!!! Yes, you’ll be tired from jetlag and adjusting to a new environment but try your best to put yourself out there early on. Participate in orientation week, accept invitations to go out, and extend some invitations yourself. Bonds on exchange are made fast, and you don’t want to be left behind. Also remember that everyone is in the same boat when abroad so don’t be scared!! 4. Visas and Getting Residence Getting your Visa or residence permit will probably be one of the most stressful parts of the experience. Make sure you know the proper procedure, have all your documents ready, and always be ready for the unexpected! Even after getting your Visa, make sure to have all your documents with you regardless in case a trying situation comes up. 5. Transportation (within country and traveling) Public transportation will be your best friend. Metros, buses, and trams are readily available almost 24/7 and will make everything very convenient for you. In Copenhagen specifically, I would highly recommend getting a bike as soon as you can. Everyone, and I mean everyone, bikes, and it’s a great way to experience the city as a true local. In terms of traveling, I would recommend taking trains in between countries instead of planes. Airports are stressful and trains are often a much more pleasant experience. Although also make sure to consider the price to time ratio because sometimes, it’s more worth it to take a flight and save yourself a whole lot of time versus a train for a little cheaper and much, much, longer. 6. Money In terms of how much cash to bring (in your country’s currency), it varies on the country. For Denmark, cash really isn’t necessary because basically everywhere takes card and mobile pay. For countries like Italy, I would say bring a limited amount of cash for small purchases here and there. When it comes to cards, I would highly recommend getting a credit card with no foreign transaction fees and good travel benefits. You’d be surprised how fast cashback/points add up and how much it can help you. 7. Budgeting From someone that didn’t budget at all, I would highly recommend going into study abroad with at least a general budget of what you allot for each category. Although, with that being said, don’t be too strict on yourself when it comes to money. Have fun and enjoy yourself!! 8. Culture shock and homesickness Obviously, culture shock is going to be huge when you first get to your country. No matter what, always be respectful and try your best to learn as much as you can early on. This really helped me find my way around quick. Furthermore, homesickness is very common especially in the first couple of weeks. If this happens, try to keep yourself busy and enjoy your new environment. Your family and friends are also just a phone call away, don’t forget that!! 9. Internet/phone plans There are a lot of ways to go for this. What I did is I just bought the international plan (monthly) from my carrier at home (T-Mobile). This is definitely the most expensive but will provide you with the most reliable data + calling/texting throughout your travels. You can also buy a sim once you get to your country and reload it as you go. They’re available in most convenience shops and 7-11. This is the cheapest option, but I’ve seen friends that didn’t have data in some countries because of it. When it comes to only data, e-sims are also an option. There are apps you can download (I use Airalo) and you can buy gigs of data as you need it. 10. Housing suggestions For me personally, I highly recommend getting a roommate if you’re okay with living with another person. I really liked having a roommate, especially in the first couple of days because it gave me someone to do everything with and get adjusted with. It also made me more comfortable with meeting other people since I always had her to go back to if situations ever got awkward. I would also recommend trying to get accommodation in a dorm with less students. My dorm had a smaller group and it really helped up all get to know each other well and bond as a group.
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For the last and final country, my friends and I finally made it to Switzerland! We took a train from Venice into Zurich, staying there for the night before making our way to Interlaken, a town sandwiched by two lakes, hence the name. On the first night in Zurich, we ventured out for some fondue and ended up getting $70 steaks instead...LOL not very budget friendly but when in Europe right! We also quickly learned how expensive Switzerland is, which makes sense because you can tell the quality of life is amazing. After the very expensive steak, we got on our train to Interlaken the next morning, enjoying beautiful views all along the way. On our first day here (which also happened to be my birthday haha) we ventured to the top viewpoint of the city, with breathtaking panorama views of the entire area. Then, we went pretty hard on souvenir shopping (out of all the cities I'd been to, I can confidently say Interlaken had the best souvenirs), and made our way to one of the lakes for an afternoon kayak and swim. We also finally got fondue that night, which to be honest, I'm not the biggest fan of. Can't leave Switzerland without fondue though! Needless to say, my 21st birthday was beyond memorable and I will remember it forever!! The next day is where the views and experiences really reached an all time peak. We got on a very crowded train to Grindelwald which was about 20 minutes from Interlaken. The views here were absolutely amazing, as you'll see in the pictures I'll include. Here, we rode a toboggan (the cool mountain slides you see videos of), and got on a zip-line through the forest! Bucket list type of stuff for real. After doing this in Grindelwald, we got on another train to the town of Lauterbrunnen with its iconic waterfall visible from anywhere in the town. Here, we went on a nice long walk to really take in the views before making our way back to Interlaken for dinner. I'm still in disbelief that I saw these views with my own eyes, and am so grateful I was able to! After an incredible day, we hopped on a train back to Zurich the next morning. We got back at around 2pm and had until 9pm that night until our overnight train back to Copenhagen. We were sure to make the most of our time by going to the Lindt chocolate factory! It was so cool to learn about chocolate in Switzerland of all places, and not to mention, the factory tour included a lot of free chocolate. We also made sure to stock up on a whole lot of Ovalmaltine, this malt chocolate powder that the Swiss have literally made into everything imaginable (McFlurry, protein bars, cereal, chocolate, milk, the list goes on really). If you ever find yourself in Switzerland, don't leave until you try it at least once, trust me. And that's it! We finally reached the end of a long two and a half weeks of travel and made it back to Copenhagen (after a very very traumatic 17 hour train journey back). I was so happy to end my time abroad on such a high note, with memories that I'll cherish long from now.
Bye bye Paris, hello Italy!! Italy has been a dream destination of mine for so long, so I was extremely excited to finally make it here. Throughout the days we were there, we were able to see Florence (for just a bit), Cinque Terre (my favorite!), and Venice. FlorenceBefore we made it to Florence, we had quite a lengthy layover in the Rome airport after our flight from Paris. We were all very tired, and got in some much needed naps, as seen from a funny picture I've included in the pictures. We also said goodbye to our friend that was studying abroad there for the summer! For the rest of us, we really only had that afternoon left to see Florence since we'd be going out on a day-trip to Cinque Terre the next day. We went to a pasta-making class that was at the home of a local, got some gelato in front of the Duomo, and caught a gorgeous sunset at Florence's iconic Point Vecchio. Although short, our time in Florence was memorable!! Cinque TerreCinque Terre for the day!! The thing I was most looking forward to, and what a day it was. It started bright and early at 6am when we caught our first train, that was about 2 and a half hours long. Then we got on another one that took us to the city of Riomaggiore, the first town out of 5 that we planned to hit that day. We got some food, and ate it with the most stunning view. This was the city that the movie Luca was based on so needless to say it was gorgeous. Unfortunately, this was also where one of my friends lost her phone to the ocean which was a bit traumatic for her. But regardless, we were in Italy!! And nothing was going to ruin it for us. After we were done here, we made our way to Manarola, our favorite out of the five. We got to swim in beautiful water right off the rocks, and this was definitely one of ultimate highlights from this trip. We then went to Corniglia, the smallest of the towns and the hardest to get to (we hiked up about 200 steps to get there). It was really small and really cute, but honestly if you don't have much time in Cinque Terre, I would say this is the one you should skip. After this, we hit the last two towns of Vernazza and Monterosso. We had some time in Monterosso so we grabbed dinner and spent some time lounging on the beach (where more much-needed naps were taken). Then, it was finally time for our train back to Florence and this is where things got a bit chaotic. Our first train got delayed for about an hour and a half (something Italian trains are notorious for) which caused us to miss our next train back to Florence. Since it was so late at night, there were no more trains for the day and we were stranded in Pisa at 12am. Needless to say, we were all a bit stressed and miserable, but what could we do about it. But!! Miraculously, there was somehow a mysterious bus that appeared, headed for Florence. We hopped on it, hoping for the best, and ta-da, 2 hours later we were back in Florence! We got back to our AirBnB at 3am, got about two hours of sleep, and woke up at 5:30am for our train to Venice that same morning. Crazy times indeed, but good memories to look back on. VeniceNeedless to say, after the previous day, we were all exhausted by the time we made it Venice. By the time we made it to our AirBnB, we were all due for some lengthy naps. With this being said, our first afternoon in Venice was very relaxed. We grabbed an early dinner, and called an early night to get our energy back for the rest of the trip. The next morning, we ventured out for another day of exploring the city of canals! We got some yummy Italian food, did some souvenir shopping, and of course, had to get a gondola ride because how could we not. The city is beautiful, and seeing the canals was a once in a lifetime experience. Although, I will say it was extremely crowded and very hot which made the day a bit trying. Regardless, we still had a great time before heading to Switzerland the next day! As my time in CPH wound down, it was time for me to embark on a 2 and a half-week trip with some of my closest friends from home. Over these weeks, we planned to go to London, Paris, Italy, and Switzerland. Needless to say, it was a crazy couple of weeks and a lot happened, so I'll split this trip into a couple posts, starting with London and Paris. LondonOur time in London was overall such a nice experience. The weather was perfect all three days, and we did quite a lot of exploring. My highlight for this city was getting to watch Frozen live! It's been such a long time since I've seen a live show, and London is known for them. It was amazing to see how advanced the production was, and it was overall just so enjoyable. I would highly recommend seeing at least 1 during your visit, and to also get some Indian food. I had some of the BEST Indian food in London, and since it's a cuisine they're known for, there are restaurants everywhere. Also make sure to book an afternoon tea in advance!! It's one of the most common things to do in London, and you can definitely find a great one at a good price since they do tend to get a bit expensive. You have to book early though because all of the goods ones fill up quick. On our last day in London, another friend of ours met up with us and from there, we got ready to catch our train to Paris! Overall, we made the most of our time in London but it's such a huge city with sooo much to see, we wish we had more time! It's definitely somewhere I'd love to return to. ParisIf you're planning to travel between London and Paris, I would highly recommend taking the Eurail. It's a high-speed train connecting both cities, and probably the most convenient way to get between the two. This is what my friends and I did, and it was a seamless experience! We got to Paris late in the day, and spent the night relaxing in our AirBnB to prepare for a full day of exploring the next morning. For our first day, we hit all of the iconic spots including the Louvre, Arc De Triomphe, and obviously the Eiffel Tower. We didn't actually go in the Louvre because of our lack of interest in art and poor planning, but it was cool to see the outside regardless. As the day went on, we explored some more, took a mid-day nap at the AirBnB, and headed back out for a sunset picnic at the Eiffel Tower. For those who say the tower is overrated, I must say I disagree. Seeing it light up was amazing, and the whole area around it is full of people enjoying the sights and having a great time. It was definitely one of my highlights from Paris. The next day, our last full day in Paris, we did more exploring, hitting the Notre Dame and Sacre Coeur, both other iconic landmarks in the city. We started the day off by getting traditional French crepes that were delicious before setting out for another day of a lot of walking and eating. By this point, we were all exhausted and decided to call it an early night to prepare for our very early flight to Rome the next morning. After returning from the South of France, I made it a point to spend the next month in Copenhagen to spend the last few weeks with the friends I made. It's so crazy to think that the semester and my time abroad was coming to an end. It's very bittersweet but I knew that I just had to focus on really being in the present and enjoying the time I had left. I would say one of the absolute highlight from these weeks, and my entire time abroad honestly, was going to a Harry Styles concert in Denmark. My friends and I literally got tickets for it the day before, and rented a car to drive there since the venue was almost 3 hours outside of Copenhagen. Bright and early on that day, we started our journey to the venue, making it a fun little road-trip. We finally got there, bought some merchandise, and got into the venue. When I say this was one of the best nights ever, I really mean it!! It was so fun getting to experience another concert in Denmark and the energy was just perfect. After the concert ended, we hopped back in the car and drove home, getting back to CPH at almost 4am. It was brutal but absolutely worth it. In addition to the concert, another highlight was visiting the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art that was about an hour by train outside of Copenhagen. The town it was located in was absolutely beautiful, and the museum itself was stunning. It was ocean front, and there were so many people lounging in the field that were apart of the museum, soaking in the sun and nature. This is a must-see if you're visiting Denmark!!! I've left out a lot, but it's safe to say that these couple weeks have brought countless memories that I'll cherish for the rest of my life. One of my close friends from home also made the trip to visit me, and it was so fun introducing her to my friends and showing her how my life has been the past couple of months. It always blows my mind to think that people I've met only a couple months ago have become so important to me, and that I've shared so many experiences with them. As my time in Copenhagen wraps up, looking back at the memories makes me so grateful for my time abroad, both because of the countries I've gotten to explore, but especially for the time I got to spend in Copenhagen. |
AuthorRead about some of my experiences in Europe and some tips and tricks about studying abroad! |