Kas' Study Abroad Journal

A place to write down my process as I study abroad. Hopefully, I can help someone or let them enjoy something cool.

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My background.

A piece of art on display from a print shop in London. Sadly I didn’t get the artist’s name. NOT MY WORK. It was a beautiful piece to see!

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Photo from my banner. A quick one-off shot that I did in passing and it’s probably my favorite from that day. 

London Trip

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London Trip Pt. 2

Night

The colors in the sky as night began to set were fantastic. I love the blue, especially in the last photo. The top photo is an old architecture house right in front of a more modern building. It’s so cool to see these things. Also the little lights that the city has up everywhere is lovely to look at. 

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London Trip Pt.1 

Day

Two Exchange friends and I went on a trip to London together and it was awesome. We went and saw so many places. The statues are phenomenal and having old and new architecture right next to each other is a sight to see. It’s so cool. 

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Cardiff Castle

Day trip. It was drizzling off and on but that made for awesome contrast pictures with the sun and clouds!

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My current avatar. A picture from Cardiff Castle.

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Welsh Ways #2

‘Tidy.’ Meaning something like ‘good’ or ‘nice’ 

Ex. -I finished my work early so now I can go out tonight! 

-Tidy.

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Welsh Ways #1

Saying ‘Cheers’ as an alternative to ‘thank you.’ I like it, I want to start using it.

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I don’t think that people tip around here in Wales. I just ordered pizza and told my delivery guy to keep the change. He was so surprised and happy. It made me happy, it’s something I normally do so I’m glad I could make him smile!

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Things I bought upon arrival

So obviously, you can’t bring everything you need in one suitcase, a carry on, and a book bag. So I had to buy some things when I got into my housing. 

-Sheets, Blanket, and Pillows

If you didn’t bring any of these, this is absolutely something that would be first to think about. 

-Toilet Paper

Self explanatory, always good to have and very important to get soon. 

- Toiletries

I’m just going to put a lot of things in here. So, Shampoo, Conditioner, Soap, and Laundry detergent are some of the biggest to get when you arrive. I also use dryer sheets, so I got some of those.

- Phone SIM card

I decided to not pay outrageous prices on my phone bill and just got a SIM card the first day I was abroad. I got a new number and can use it to call anyone in the country I’m studying in. I use WhatsApp and Facebook to call family and friends back home. I got an unlimited data plan so I use data or WiFi to contact people back home. It’s cheap and easy to use. 

-Utensils

Since I’m not going to be taking any of this back with me, I didn’t want to spend too much money on things. I bought one Pan, one Pot, one Knife, one large Spoon, and one Tupperware container. 

I also got paper plates, disposable forks, knives, and spoons, and food storage bags.

-Food

Always good to stock up on at least a few snacks and drinks. You don’t want to have to leave every time you want a snack or a drink, even more so if you’re not near a city or downtown. 

-Trash Bags

You’re going to have a lot of trash when you first arrive because you’re unpacking everything and with all the new things you bought, you’ll have to throw away their packaging.

- Candles

It’s not necessary but you’re in a new place, away from the familiarity of where you’ve been. It can be calming and relaxing to find a candle that smells good and burn it for the first few days. 

Also, my place smelled very weird when I arrived so that’s a bonus, getting rid of funky smells. 

- Hangers

I’m awful at doing laundry and even worse at folding it so I bought a couple cheap hangers to hang up the things I don’t use very often.

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Paperwork and Services to get done before going to Study Abroad (from US)

- Passport

- School Specific Applications

- Visa

- Official Abroad University Acceptance

- Class schedule/Timetable

-Plane/Transportation

- Housing

- Bank

->Currency exchange, it’s better to always do it at a bank. They’ll have the cheapest conversion rates. Never do it at an airport of exchange table.

- Phone

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Stuff I bought to go abroad!

- Hard Suitcase

These are good because you will be travelling for a while and I had to switch planes. If your luggage is being transferred to different flights, best to try and not let any cloth luggage get ripped. 

->I also bought two Luggage Tags to attach to my luggage. Always good to have in case they get lost.

->Another thing I got were two TSA approved Luggage Locks. You can never have too much security. 

- RFID blocking sleeves

Let’s face it, the world suck sometimes. Lets try and make it suck less by preventing any scammers from trying to get your money information from a card. I also got a sleeve for my passport. They’re really easy to find online. 

- Power adapter

I got two power adapters, you never know when you’ll need a spare. Know the difference between an adapter and converter. An adapter only changes the plug, not the voltage. Standard plugs in EU range up to 240V while the US is around 120V. Most standard phone and laptop chargers have a label that says “Input: 100V-240V” these are fine for adapters. Anything else and you’ll need a converter. This would be for things like hair dyers or hair straighteners.

-Book Bag and/or Over-shoulder Bag

I got a book bag with a laptop carrying sleeve, zippers that I can put a lock on, and a buckle flap to go over the zippers. All of this was for more security so that no one could potentially try and take something out of my bag without me noticing. They would have to go through at least two layers of security. 

I also bought an over-shoulder bag with an RFID blocking sleeve. Having something smaller to carry valuables is good so that you can keep an eye on it. I kept my money, plane tickets, and passport in mine. 

If I happen to remember something I forgot, I’ll add it and reblog!