(Almost) Everything You Need to Know About Studying Abroad

Hello! If you don't know me, I am a college student from the US and have spent the last five months studying in southern Norway. This was exactly the type of article I needed before I left. This is not a complete list of everything I did or brought, but it aims to summarize things I wish I knew, necessary things to bring, useful apps, and unexpected struggles.

Getting There + The First Few Weeks

            - Bring enough food and snacks that allow you to chill out for a bit and get ahold of your surroundings. Venturing to a grocery store is a challenge in a different country and uses a lot of problem solving skills

            - Transit. Figure out which service your city uses BEFORE you get there. This would have saved me a lot of stress in figuring out how to get from the airport to my apartment. I ended up paying three times as much as I should have. There are often different apps for different region and are usually the only place that you can buy tickets for transit.

- The first couple weeks are just lonely and disorienting (in my experience). Apply the routines that you KNOW help your mental health - cooking a good meal, taking a fat nap, taking vitamins, reading, etc. Explore your surroundings, get to know your university, get to know your roommates. Things get so much better! I spent a lot of time alone for the first couple months and learned a lot about myself.

Necessary Things

            - Little things that remind you of home. When you get there, it's going to be a bit alienating. The "oh shit, why did I move across the world alone?" moment can be eased with objects that remind you of easier and simpler times. For me, this looked like handwritten notes from my sister and best friends, my baby blanket, and pictures of my parents and hometown.

            - A good book. There is no better friend or escape than a book.

            - Traveling goods. Earplugs, a large and reliable backpack, walkin' shoes, eye mask, travel pillow, wool shirts (they don’t retain smell - quite handy), a portable charger (Anker is the best!), and my Swiss army knife are all things that I've used countless times.

            - A EUROPEAN OUTLET ADAPTER! This was quite the surprise for me - outlets in Europe are waaaay different than the US. You can find them on Amazon, in any European airport, any European electronics store, etc.  

Useful Apps

            - Revolut. This is a free money platform in which you can load and use any currency. I used this all over Norway, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Italy, and Portugal. Literally so handy. This app & its card helps you avoid foreign transaction fees. These are usually only around 3% but add up quick! Order and receive your card before you leave.

            - Google Translate app. this has saved my ass. So. Many. Times. Food shopping, transportation, looking on Norwegian websites, talking to random people in hostels.... download it!

            - Libby. If you have a library card, download the Libby app. It gives you free access to digital books and audiobooks!

Unexpected Struggles

            - Food. I am gluten free, dairy free, and not fluent in Norwegian. My first trip to the grocery store used SO much brain power. Food is number one for my wellness. Figuring out grocery store layouts, which products they did and did not carry, and trying not to look stupid looking at the egg section was so hard but eventually became second nature with time. Something that helped me was finding alternate grocery stores (innvandrerbutikk!) like Asian Deli here in Ås, which carried products I was more familiar with. Building community through food was also quite helpful. I was introduced to Foodsharing (i.e. dumpster diving perfectly good food that grocery stores throw away) and met my best friends!

            - Units of measurement. This one is embarrassingly American. The military clock (24-hour system versus 12) and the metric system were HARD to wrap my brain around. I didn't realize how much I relied on basic things like signs in English, feet and inches, temperature in Fahrenheit*, baking with teaspoons and cups and, etc. Before I left the US, I changed my phone to metric to get used all these changes, which helped a lot!

            - Cultural norms. There are certain cultural norms that you simple cannot pick up on unless you live in that country. For example, in Norway, it's customary to respect other's peace and quiet. This looks like a lack of eye contact in public, no small talk, no spontaneous "Hey! We should hang out!". In my first couple months, I felt quite out of place. People really aren’t that rude; they're just acting in a way that aligns with their societal norms. It was my lack of understanding of the culture that alienated me. Make sure to research the norms in country you're traveling to!

            - Home communication. This one was honestly so hard. Europe is nine hours ahead of my family at home, which means that I couldn't talk to them until late afternoon. It's kind of nice to have a clear phone without notifications until the afternoon, but was difficult when I wanted someone to talk to and everyone was asleep, halfway across the world. Plan times to call and catch up with your friends and family - it helps a lot with homesickness.

            - People bashing on the US. Just because I'm from the US does not mean…

                        1. I always want to talk about it. I left the US to experience other cultures! Not talk about Trump!

                       2. I'm an idiot. I had someone on a chairlift ask me where I was from, and then tell me that everyone from the US is always drunk or high. I suppose you learn something new every day.

            I happen to love my home country! I have freedoms that others do not, and I love that I was born and raised in such a beautiful place. However.. It was difficult and enlightening to understand the world's view of the US. I was born and raised in Idaho, and I can say with confidence that I had (and still do have!) a sheltered world view. The US is a complicated place. It has such impact on the world, through entertainment, music, politics. It's also a massive country with a population of 330 million, not all of which are always drunk or high! It's interesting and slightly sad to be judged based off where I'm from. This idea reminded me of my human rights course on immigration. Me, a white woman with US citizenship - in comparison to other immigrants, nationalities, etc. I've faced a miniscule amount of adversity. Studying abroad made me a whole lot more aware how it feels to be an immigrant, if only for five months. I admire the grit that it takes to move to a different country: to pick up and go somewhere with different cultural norms, different food, a different language... the list goes on.

Things That Made My Experience Better

            - Joining clubs. The most basic thing, but honestly changed my entire experience. At home, I would meet people while normally doing the things that I enjoy - skating, skiing, etc. However, moving to a different country means starting from scratch. You'll need to figure out WHERE you can do these things and with who. I joined a hiking club and borrowed an entire backpacking setup for two weeks for $10. I joined a music club and had some awesome experiences playing music with people from Germany, Switzerland,   Spain, etc. I joined a Foodsharing club and learned how to dumpster dive! I started playing dodgeball every week and had SO much fun. Take the leap of faith and put yourself out there. It truly helps in building community and feeling comfortable.

            - Postcards. Lisbon, Brissago, Gothenburg, Copenhagen. Every new place I visited, I bought two postcards and sent them home - to my best friend Mia, my aunt Kirsten, my good friend Garrett, anyone who I was thinking of. The joy of sending and receiving snail mail is underrated.

            - Learning who my true homies are! Studying abroad opened my eyes to my true friends at home. This is neither a positive nor negative thing - this is life. Spending less energy on friendships that don't sustain you opens you up to new people and opportunities. People come and people go, and distance is a great test of friendship.

            - Being mindful and reflecting on my experiences. I am a journaler and made a point of reflectively writing on trips, experiences, and general period of life. I wrote what I learned, what I was struggling with, what I loved, what I bought, and more. These journals are a perfect memento because they really show what you were going through at the time. They reflect your personal development, and I find that really special!

Studying abroad helped me figure out many things, like how to develop mental resilience and what I want to focus on in my life. Or how other countries function in terms of school systems, government, and culture. Or what things are more important things for my wellbeing. Most of all, just how big the world is and how much I must learn!  

If you have any specific questions or if a personal packing list would help you, please reach out! Thanks for being here.

- Livy Jane