Bonjour,
Packing for exchange is probably one of the things you may read a ton of blogs about and watch youtube videos just to try and nail the hard task. Then you still fail miserably. (aka me!) So I hope that after reading this you will do a little better than I did! Here are five tips to packing.
1. Pack then unpack and put half away!
They say don’t over pack. They say you don’t need all your clothes. They say pack just whats needed. After hearing all of this I thought “well, I’ll try my best.” Being a girl I wanted to take everything I owned. When I packed I thought I had packed just the right amount but I ended up bringing way more than I needed and some one the clothes I only used once.
2. Know the weather where you will be going.
When I heard I was going to the south of France, I knew that it would be warm! It’s the south of France right? Wrong! I brought shorts and t-shirts but, by the October 1st I was wearing Pants and a thin Jacket and I did not bring enough winter clothes. Make sure you know when it starts to get cold and pack accordingly.
3. Get an idea of how the natives dress.
When I got to France the first week or so was still super hot. In my hometown, I would have worn a skirt or shorts to school but in France, I would have been the only one. To school, every one wore jeans weather it was 90 degrees or 30 degrees. That made all of the pairs of shorts I brought go to waste, and a hole in my pocket buying a ton of new jeans. Find out what they are wearing so you can plan to blend in and not waste room in your suitcase. If you don’t care about blending in then you do you but if is better if you go with the flow of the culture.
4. Bring a small carry on suitcase.
When going on exchange I had brought a backpack for my “purse”, a duffle bag for my carry-on and then a big suitcase. I definitely recommend bringing a backpack for your purse and instead of a duffle bag, bring a small suitcase that can fit in the overhead storage. This is the easiest in airports because instead of having to carry a heavy bag around you can set your backpack on it and easily roll it from gate to gate, which may be a long walk.
5. Don’t bring things that you think you will wear but never do at home.
If you never wear it at home you will never wear it abroad. Just be you and bring clothes in which you know you will want to wear and not clothes you hope to learn to like. It will end up being a waste of space for other things coming home because everyone knows that’s the real struggle.
You can also check out my post Things I wish I did/didn’t bring on Exchange for more packing advice.
I hope I was able to help you!
à bientôt
xoxo Gina