I have never been a go-with-the-flow person. I love to have all of my days and actions planned out well in advance, especially when it comes to travel. However, my entire, organized world was shifted upside down when I moved to Rome this August. Each of my weekends here thus far has included a trip to a different place. Many of my destinations involved short train rides to places in Italy, but, given my proximity to the rest of Europe, many were much farther. Planning these trips around classes and homework, with people I just met, and to places I had never been proved extremely challenging. I struggled to narrow down where I wanted to travel, figure out how to stay in Hostels, and try to get the cheapest airline tickets. After traveling to London, Paris, Geneva, Bologna, Tivoli, Amalfi, Tuscany, and Nice (which I\u2019m sitting on the plane back from now), I have learned so much about myself, about traveling, and about the incredible world I live in. I\u2019ve compiled a list of the top 10 things I\u2019ve learned and want to share with other study abroad students. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
1.\nAlways be prepared for grumpy TSA agents, long walks through the city with your\nluggage, getting charged extra for having too many carry-ons, or any other\nminor details that could go wrong. In the off chance that none of these things\nhappen, rejoice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2.\nDon\u2019t be worried if you can\u2019t speak the language of your destination! Learn\nsome basic phrases and always try a little, but don\u2019t expect to be fluent for\nyour 3 day weekend trip (or even for your host country).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3.\nBe careful who you pick to travel with. Make sure your intentions for your\nexperience line up. 4. Never pull money out of an ATM at the airport. They\ncharge a crazy exchange rate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
5.\nDo research before you go about the city you are going to, especially dishes to\ntry, places to visit, and the overall vibe (nightlife, beachy, etc). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
6.\nDON\u2019T OVERPACK! Learn to be okay with wearing the same pair of jeans for a\nweek. This tip goes for your whole study abroad experience too, you really don\u2019t\nneed as much as you think. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
7.\nMake sure you schedule in rest time between trips, it can get physically and\nmentally exhausting. (And don\u2019t forget you are here for school too…)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
8.\nTake a train if you can, in your host country and others. It provides a\nwonderful view of the countryside and you don\u2019t have to go through security or\nget to the station hours in advance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
9.\nKeep a journal! You are going to want to remember each of the tiny details (good\nand bad) for the rest of your life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
10.\nGoing with the flow is really so important. There are so many things that you\njust can\u2019t plan for, and most of the best experiences come from this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Overall, always keep an open mind, and don\u2019t compare places you travel to where you\u2019ve already been or to where you\u2019re studying abroad. Have the best time of your life!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I have never been a go-with-the-flow person. I love to have all of my days and actions planned out well in advance, especially when it comes to travel. However, my entire, organized world was shifted upside down when I moved to Rome this August. Each of my weekends here thus far has included a trip…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":402,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[369],"class_list":["post-18940","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-isarome","tag-rollinsabroad"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18940","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/402"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18940"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18940\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18955,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18940\/revisions\/18955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18940"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}