How to be prepared for a semester abroad/exchange programme

As I write this post, I am a 20 year old girl who has spent a semester abroad in Maastricht and is preparing to spend the next academic year in Paris. Therefore I have felt your pain twice. 

I have felt the homesickness, the first flutters of regret, and then excitement. 

Let me tell you darlings then, how to prepare for this exciting adventure. 

Firstly, you must learn how to pack light. If you are travelling from one country to another by yourself, you cannot afford to bring more than a suitcase. 

It'll bite you in the ass on your way back too, when you have more belongings.

My method is: bring 3xTrousers, 5xTops, 2xJumpers, 2xSummer/Going out tops, 3xDresses (or for guys, smart shirts), 2xPJs, lots of clean underwear, 1xshorts, 1xJacket.

Some may call that excessive, and others may find it lacking. There will be clothes shops there, so chill. 

Secondly, do not spend too much time missing home. 

Yes it's hard, and yes it's natural but you'll miss out on all the fun things if you mope around and keeping talking about your cat Baxter. 

Thirdly, go to every single social event you can find. It's kind of like freshers again, where the people you meet at first may not be your best friends after all. 

On that note, don't go out of your way to only hang out with people from your country, or people who also speak your language as a mother tongue. It'll be no different that studying at home.

Lastly, try and get some non-exchange student friends, or some befriend some local students. They will know all the best bars, cafes, and places to see. They'll also know how everything works around there and can help you out. 

I hope these helped, have lots of fun and make some memories you sexy bastards.

 

Big news

It has been WAY too long since the last French post so watch this space because there will be a post on French words trés trés soon. 

I do not know if I have mentioned this before but I'm MOVING TO PARIS!

It was so last minute, only confirmed last month but paperwork is still dragging along. I am now taking a year out of university, and working in Paris for the next year starting from September. I decided that learning French in a classroom was too slow of a way to learn French for me, so I signed up for a scheme  (http://www.britishcouncil.org/language-assistants) where you can teach English in France.

After a taste of living abroad on my ERASMUS in the Netherlands I decided I hadn't quite gotten enough. I am super nervous, because I don't know anyone in Paris, my French is extremely poor right now Paris is hella expensive and I haven't even found anywhere to live yet! But life is an adventure and each new big experience that puts me out of my comfort zone is almost an adrenalin rush for me. 

Here's to making it through 9 months in Paris. 

Cheap travel

When you're in your late teens and early twenties, there has never been a better time to go out there and explore the world. You're at university or school, things aren't quite that serious with life, you're not held back by much at this point in your life.

Even as a young graduate you're not weighed down by other priorities such as children, or family commitments, or a promotion that you have to get. In other words, why not pack a bag, book a flight, and spend a month or two having the time of your life?

After spending four heavenly months in Maastricht on an exchange programme I visited: 6 cities, a handful of towns and villages, and 4 countries. All whilst studying full time and paying rent for my room at my home university as well as my room in Maastricht. I was worse off than almost everyone I knew which meant I had to be very careful about any costs. Yet I managed to do all of this. So if I can do it on such a tight budget whilst paying rent in two places I'm sure you can as well!

Here is my advice to you buttercup! I hope it helps you and does not seem excessively obvious.

This might not count as a tip for you, but it shall be mentioned anyway. Make sure you have a little bit of money saved. For Europe I would say have about 600 euros saved up (for a month of travelling), more if you are planning on living in a city. 

Secondly, and I cannot stress this enough, choose a city or town to stay in for a month which is close to a lot of borders! It can be your hub for the next month, or couple of weeks. Maastricht was ideal, because it was close to the borders of Germany and Belgium, and of course it was a beautiful town. You could have spent a week happily exploring Maastricht and had a good time. Anyway, choose a town that you will quite like, make it your hub for as long as you want, and use the transport links there to make trips to other cities.

It is better to live in a city or town for a month and travel every couple of days because you will get a sense of the place. Buying an interrailing pass can be a little too hectic because you would be spending a few days in different cities for a month but not really appreciating the true feel of a city. You do not get to discover a hidden little bar, a great view, or a nice restaurant. 

My next tip, use a site like this to find a place to stay. 

It is cheaper than staying in a hotel, and if you look hard enough it can be nicer than staying in a hostel. Although be careful and always make sure you are being safe when renting online.

Try and find somewhere self-catered as you will save a lot of money from not eating out as many tourists do. Try to buy food for lunch from supermarkets rather than eating in a restaurant.

Alrighty, my next website is skyscanner.net. It's great because you can load up a chart where it tells you which days are the cheapest for you to fly in or out of your chosen airport. 

Now if you're in a country like the Netherlands, as a holiday activity you can rent out bikes fairly cheap and spend the day exploring! It'd be a great day and it wouldn't cost you very much at all. 

This post is long enough already so maybe more tips another time, fellow travel enthusiast. Feel free to leave a comment for any questions and I will try my best to help you. Happy adventures!

Studying abroad

Hollaaa my long lost sweet blog,

It's been months! And I'm sorry, I really am. But there is a brilliant excuse behind this: I spend the last semester studying abroad in the Netherlands, in the most beautiful, exciting, quaint place called Maastricht.

I also didn't want to be that kid posting every week about my adventures because honestly, do you really want to hear about how great the ice cream was at Luxembourg (7/10 max.) and how I did all the clichéd things in Brussels? No. I am no expert when it comes to the best beer in Germany and this is not a travel blog. This is a fucking categorically confused blog so let's try and stick to that.

Dear me, what a great couple of months though. I had the fucking time of my life, and it was the happiest I could remember being. I swear to you there must have been something in the water in Maastricht because I would just be riding my bike to the shops, or to university, thinking about how beautiful everything was. Maybe because everything was beautiful in Maastricht, here is a sample:

(Maastricht town hall)

(My faculty, Fasos, at Maastricht University)

(A road near the inner-city library in Maastricht)

(Maastricht from the highest point in the Netherlands)

It was everything, from the good company of my flatmates and everyone I'd met, to the good food, good drinks and the lovely Maastricht streets. This has just increased my hearts desire to travel, and if anyone is hesitant about doing a semester abroad (especially if you're in England), DO IT. Don't even think, not for a second, just do it. You might feel lonely for the first couple of weeks, but the rest of time will be worthwhile. You'll learn so much about yourself, about your country, and about the world.

If you're studying at sixth form in England right now, seriously consider going abroad for university. I wish I had. It's places like Maastricht that make you realize that there's more to the world.

This is the thing, travelling changes you. If you have done it right it makes you wiser, more appreciative and you can be damn sure that your views on the world will not be the same as when you started. My heart aches from the lost piece that I left in Maastricht but isn't that always the trouble with travelling? You leave pieces of your heart scattered, miles away with people or places. Is it worth it? Always.