What to Pack for a Semester Studying Abroad in Spain

from an email to a friend whose kid is going to spend a semester abroad in Spain:

1. The only toiletries I would bring are: medications (inclluding over the counter meds like allergy meds for when that season starts) because you cannot ship medications to EU (that includes things like contact lenses). Obviously you can buy many of them there, but if you want your familiar remedies from home, you should pack them. 

 

2. Antiperspirant can be found in pharmacies, but you might want to bring some good old fashioned american antiperspirant until your language skills are ready to get the stuff that works (vs  deodorant sold at grocery store that definitely has zero anti-sweating effect).

 

3. Wear the heavy coat on plane.

 

4. Water bottles are not really a thing in EU (most people would buy a bottle of water for a Euro or sit down and have a drink in a cafe) so if you have a beloved emotional support water bottle, bring it.

 

5. Any charger that connects to a charging brick that you plug into a wall, you can buy the charging brick quite cheaply in EU (i paid 25 euros recently at the fancy dept store for a dual Belkin EU usb-c charging brick for example). Much better than using those little dongle converters that plug into your USA plug, although they are convenient, too. Bring just one converter and then buy the bricks when you are in EU to save money/space/get something that actually works well.

 

6. While you can bring it, I wouldn't recommend bringing/wearing any college gear unless you want to network with other americans abroad. It's just...a really dorky look to wear your salmon shorts, flip flops and frat party t-shirt to do sight-seeing around the Catedral de Sevilla.

 

7. Conversely DO bring very comfortable sneakers for excursions. Contrary to popular American belief, sneakers are popular in EU and certainly if you're walking a lot it will be great.

 

8. (steel yourselves for a giant generalization) IN Europe people often don't wash their clothing (other than underthings) every time they wear them, unless it's summer and everyone is sweating. So you will need fewer shirts and pants. CAVEAT what is your laundry situation? Line drying is still a popular choice in EU due to energy costs, so you might be waiting days for things to dry but, self-service laundromats with American style (read: dryers that actually work and dry your clothings instead of making them damp and suitable for "cupboard hanging" UGH) do exist, too.

 

9. Budget to buy clothing in Europe! Your kid will want to blend in and places like H&M, Zara, Lefties, Mango, Massimo Dutti, etc are all there for your kid to get a nice European light jacket, shoes, etc. Decathlon for the sports wear

What would you add? Remember, I'm a Crusty Old who last studied abroad decades ago in the Dark Ages Before Smartphones, but Yes We Had Digital Cameras And Waited Patiently For the PHotos to Transfer to Our Computers To Upload To The Facebook