Moving to another country, even for a short period of time like a study abroad, is exciting, challenging, and even scary at time. Its new and completely different than anything you have ever experienced. No matter how many times you tell yourself that, you may not realize just how true that really is until you arrive. Culture shock is the real deal and can be very stressful to manage at first, but with a few tips and tricks you will be strutting down every street like local (no map needed).
(Most important and comforting tip to settling in, find your nearest grocery store or mini mart! Food is the most essential and you will spend a lot of time frequenting them so it is always a comfort to know the nearest ones.)
So whether you are going abroad for a semester, moving abroad for a longer period of time, or just a vacation for a shorter period of time, don't let culture shock get you down! Use these tricks to your advantage and conquer culture shock like a boss to have the best experience abroad possible. xx A Traveler's Bliss
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Calton Hill With finals on the horizon, my brain has been racing all over the place. From one assignment to the next, to running wild. It never fails that as soon as it’s time to buckle down for the semester, my mind starts to wander back to my empty suitcase and if I could go anywhere for a weekend where would I go? It makes me long for the London days when we would take off for a weekend adventure as soon as we could get away. With my longing to get away, I decided to do another addition of my London day trips, but London weekend trips edition. Scotland Weekend Getaway How to Get There: Scotland is an amazing, beautiful country with a rich history. You also get this experience without ever leaving Great Britain, weird right? You can fly or take the train to get to Edinburgh to start your weekend adventures. Flying out of London can be tricky on a budget, you either have to plan more time to save more money or spend a little more to save time. You can take a bus for about £14 to any of the airports, but they will take about an hour and a half to two hours from central London (so plan accordingly!). Or a car service will cost in-between £25-35 and take about thirty-five to forty-five minutes. The flight itself will take about and hour and a half to get from London to Edinburgh. It will take about another bus ride to get into Edinburgh. I did not take the train from London to Edinburgh, but it would take about the same time as flying and all the extra travel time. You would leave from King’s Cross and it would take about four hours via a direct train to get to Edinburgh Waverley Station. The best part is that the station is right in the heart of the city and you walk of the train to Princes Street and a view of Edinburgh Castle. Day 1: I would suggest leaving Friday night after class or work or plan on staying till Monday morning, just to get two full days in Scotland. That way you feel like your entire weekend is dedicated to traveling to and from Scotland. Once you arrive, depending on when you get in, you may just have enough time to stop at a pub and get a drink or some haggis! Day 2: For your first full day, get up bright and early before the rest of the city and get out for a tour of the highlands. Covering about 50% of the country with lochs, rising peaks, and unimaginable scenery. You will see the most amazing sights in the Highlands like Glen Coe, Lock Ness, and Ben Nevis. The tour of the Highlands was one of my highlights from our trip to Scotland. I highly recommend if you are going to Scotland for longer than a weekend to extend your visit and discover more. You can book tickets in advance with small group tours like Rabbie’s. Day 3: For your last day, it’s time to get up and hit the city. To start off your morning, grab some tea or coffee and hike to either of the best views of the city: Calton Hill or Arthur’s Seat. Make sure you take in the city. Once you spend some time on top of Edinburgh, head over to Old Town to The Elephant House for some breakfast, that is, if you’re a fan of Harry Potter. The café has become a bit of a legend and the bathrooms are quite iconic. There is so much to see and do in Edinburgh: Edinburgh Castle, The Royal Mile, St. Giles Cathedral, Calton Hill, Arthur’s Seat, The Royal Botanic Garden, Scotch Whiskey Experience, Scott Monument (you can climb to the top!), etc., the list goes on. If this at all seems daunting to you, there are some great guided walking tours in Edinburgh that you can do that will guide you through the city and give you the history as well. One I have done in several cities across Europe is Sandemen’s free walking tours. They have fantastic guides that know the city and the history. Are you waiting for the catch? Like why is the walking tour free, it can’t really be? It is really free, the tour leaders just ask for tips because that is their salary. They do not get paid to do the free walking tours other than the tips they make. But honestly, I have found out of the handful I have taken, their company does the best job. After another long day of nonstop sightseeing, exploring, and discoveries it will be time to hit the pub one more time and head back to London.
I hope this weekend guide will help inspire you to plan out a weekend getaway to Scotland and the Highlands, or give you a much needed distraction from the nearing finals that are upon us. Good luck to everyone with both! Xx A Traveler’s Bliss Since returning from my semester study abroad, I have been very active in passing on everything I have learned through my experience and sharing my stories. I think one of the best ways to learn is either by experience or someone who has. Sure, you can read a guide book or manual on how to travel, learn about culture, or where the top ten best parts of a city are; but the best advice always comes from someone who has been there, tried it, failed at it, or found the most amazing hidden gems along the way. One of the things I have found the most important is writing reviews for programs for future study abroad students. When I was looking into all of my programs, I couldn't find many stories or past study abroad students experiences. I had so many questions and I was always asking my advisors from my independent program. Don't get me wrong, they had 9 out 10 of the answers. It was the personal experience of having been on that program or having lived in the city that I wanted to go to that was missing. And personal experience from another student would have helped tremendously. A few weeks ago I wrote a review for GoOverseas for my program, a Semester at the University of Westminster, which I did independently through CISabroad. They reached out and asked if I would also do an alumni interview, so there would be a more detailed description of the program with personal stories and insight. How could I say no? Without further delay, here is my interview from GoOverseas: Grace is a senior at Columbia College Chicago majoring in Photography and minoring in Art History. After a high school trip to Italy and Greece, she knew living out of a suitcase and learning from experience was the only way she wanted to live her life. Since then, she has been fortunate enough to do two study abroad programs to build her portfolio and travel experience: a summer in the Australian Outback and a semester at the University of Westminster. Why did you choose this program? I choose the Semester at the University of Westminster for two reasons: academics and location. Academics, because it was one of the few schools that offered photography courses. And location because the school was in the heart of London. It offered easy access to transportation around the city and out of the city. Whether it was to the countryside, trains, or the airport. There wasn't going to be a question of "how will we get there?" or "how expensive will it be?". I knew any trip I wanted to plan once I got there was going to be doable. What did your program provider assist you with, and what did you have to organize on your own? I did an independent program, CIS abroad, and they assisted me with the academics courses and getting the courses approved for academic credit, the financial process, transition into the program, and just about every question that I could think of they answered. They have an amazing staff that help you through the stages of applying and getting you abroad, and their on site staff go above and beyond to make you feel comfortable and at home abroad. While I was abroad and ran into some trouble in another country (my passport was pick-pocketed), my on-site coordinator contacted them on-site coordinator in that country and she was able to meet up with me and help through. They are an amazing team and I am truly grateful for all they do. I organized my credits and classes to make sure I would come back to school with everything in line for graduation, flights, finances and expenses while abroad, learning about my new "home", and pre-planning potential trips. What is one piece of advice you'd give to someone going on your program? Never go a day without going out into the city to explore. Even if you aren't feeling well, the weather sucks, or you're just tired. Get out there. You are only living abroad for so long, so take advantage of every precious day and explore. You don't even have to go far to find something you have never seen before. Trust me, in no time you will know the city like a local and will have a little pride to be able to say you wandered the city everyday. What does an average day/week look like as a participant of this program? An average day at Westminster is your normal rise and shine for classes. Depending on your campus, you can either walk to class or hop on the tube. When the "study" part of studying abroad is done for the day, the fun begins and the daily adventures around Regent & Oxford Street, to Big Ben, or jump on the Tube to find a new part of the city to wander around for the day. At the end of the day, if you are not making a mess with friends in the tiny on-campus kitchens as everyone tries to make dinner, you will probably be at a pub (okay, the pub thing is a once, twice a week thing,not everyday!). Blenheim Palace, home of Winston Churchill and my unruly hair. Going into your experience abroad, what was your biggest fear, and how did you overcome it and/or how did your views on the issue change? I think my biggest fear going into my program was I wasn't going to meet people who wanted to travel as much and as far as I wanted to. I wasn't afraid to do one or two solo day or weekend trips, but I didn't want to get to a point where I was always traveling on my own because I couldn't find anyone to travel with. When the time came, I rarely ever traveled alone when I planned a trip and asked friends if they wanted to come. From my experience, everyone that studies abroad wants to get the most out of their time there, have a very hard time saying no to a new adventure, and are always up for exploring something new. I think that vibe, putting a bunch of traveling souls together, is the most amazing part of studying abroad and what makes the bond between the friends you make abroad so strong: you are constantly on the move, in cramped quarters, making mistakes and learning as you go, and laughing and having fun along the way (all while taking in the best culture and experiences the world has to offer). What did you learn about yourself from studying abroad? I have done two studies abroad, and looking back I have learned five lessons from my journey:
You can see my alumni interview on GoOverseas and other great alumni interviews, program reviews, travel tips, city and tour reviews all by fellow travelers.
xx A Traveler's Bliss Paris. February 2016. Ever since I can remember I have had one consistent dream: to go to the city of lights and love. Last February that dream can true, but with a twist. It didn’t have a fairytale ending. My friends and I planned the perfect weekend in Paris and a day trip to Versailles. It started off a little rough; I had to get up at 3am to catch the 6am train from London to Paris, but no complaints along the way. It was worth it. When I got into Paris, we went straight to Versailles for the day and then back to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle by dinner. The only time we weren’t on our feet was when were on the metro or eating. The day flew by so we tried to spend as much time sitting by the Eiffel Tower and taking in it’s beauty. I mean, we were in Paris! After sitting under the Tower and making our plan for the next day, we made our way to the metro to go back to our Airbnb for the night. It was late, we were tired, and that’s where it all went wrong. It was late, and we let our guard down, and we were so close to our destinations, we stopped for once second and didn’t pay attention to our surroundings. That voice was in the back of my head say, “Something isn’t right. Why is that lady in line twice?” But I was so tired and could already see myself in bed, so I just shook it off and carried on. While we went through the turnstile for the metro, a friend saw the woman try to “come through behind me” but the bar stopped her. When my friend caught up to me and told me what she saw, I got a sinking feeling in my stomach. She robbed me. She stole something. She pick-pocketed me. It is the worst feeling. I had no idea what to do, where to go, or how to react. But we adapted and we learned. So now, I am passing on what I have learned about having your passport stolen, to you. You can only plan for so much, and planning for disaster is usually not one of them. So where do you even begin when you are in the middle of your adventures abroad and disaster sticks? When it comes to your passport there a few precaution steps you want to take before you leave - for the never wanted, cross your fingers, and pray to every God - kind of just in case. It helps to have a few copies of documents with you while you are traveling in a documents folder. While it is nice to have them saved in a folder on your phone, you can’t take your phone into the Embassies/Consulates. Documents You want to have copies of: Passport Driver’s License Credit/Debit Cards Travel Visa (if needed) List of Contacts (since you wont’ have you phone in the Embassy, so it’s nice to have number written down just in case) Copy of Birth Certificate Trip Itinerary (with Contacts and address of your tours / where you are staying) Tip: Keep copies in a folder on you at all times and keep a folder with copies locked up in your hotel room. App Us Embassies & Consulates App - This app is hands down amazing and I totally recommend downloading it before any trip out of the country. It has all of the Embassies and Consulates addresses, phone numbers, and hours programed in it so all you have to do is click on the country and nearest city you need. Surviving and Thriving in the Aftermath after it Happens: Police Report While there isn’t much the police are going to be able to do (I am so sorry, not what you ever want to hear!), pick-pocketing and theft are common crimes, it is still important to go and fill out a police report so you can take it with you to the Embassy. You will need it as proof to file at the Embassy for a temporary passport since they cannot issue you a new “full” passport. Banking As the sad saga continues, you will want to go to a bank and have some money with you to pay for a new passport. A stolen/lost passport fee is $110USD. If you forget, you can withdraw money at an Embassy, but the exchange rate will be incredibly high. You will also want some extra money ($5-10USD for new passport photos, food money, and a little spare). *If you have credit cards, I'm sure they will take that. I was in quite the pinch, and honestly don't remember, all I had was cash. My credit cards, ID, passport, the little cash I had, and just about everything you need were taken. I had some amazing souls get me by. Passport Photos You can get passport photo at the Embassy when you get there, but if it makes you nervous and you can get them in a souvenir/travel shop before you go. The Embassy
When you go to the Embassy, try to go first thing in the morning when it opens and go fifteen minutes early. There will be a line, but because you are a citizen of the Embassy and your passport was stolen, you can go to the front and skip the line. You will need to show any ID you have, or the copies, and the police report. When you get in, you will go through “airport security” and only take in the essentials. Your documents folder, police report, money, and new passport pictures (if you have them). The rest is just your basic paper work, waiting game, and paying for your new passport. When you get your new passport, it will be a “temporary passport”, good for traveling up to six months. When you return home you will send your temporary passport in and they will send you your new full passport. Since you paid for your passport at the Embassy, you just have to fill out some paper work, send in new passport photos, and send it in! I hope you never have to go through this process, but if you do… Just breathe, don’t worry, and it will all be okay. Take it from someone who knew nothing and learned it on the go. xx A Traveler’s Bliss Always packing and always on the go. It’s almost that time of year again! Yay! Many of you who are applying now for study abroad or are starting to receive your program acceptance letters for the spring are probably wondering, what am I going to pack? What am I going to really need? One of the most daunting thoughts after making the most exciting decision of your life (to study abroad!) is what in the world are you going to pack? Where do you even begin??? Fitting clothes, cosmetics, electronics, personal objects, etc. into a suitcase, fingers cross to maybe two, and your carry-ons. (Always check your airline to see what their checked baggage allowance is and how many carry-ons you are allowed to help you when you are packing) One of the greatest tools I found while packing was a checklist made just for studying abroad. While there was never a “perfect” checklist made just for me, I was always able to use one and modify it to my needs. After doing two studies abroad, a summer in Australia and a semester in London, I wanted to make a packing list guide for studying abroad. If there is anything I have learned, is less is more. You don’t need to pack all of your favorite shirts, an outfit for all of the “what if” occasions, or those seven pairs of shoes you can’t live without. This is a preview of the Study Abroad Checklist. You Can Download it at the bottom of the page! The most important part about packing is remembering that you are packing for 4-6 months, and while it will be hard to choose what to pack, you are going for the experience! Even If you are not studying abroad next semester, but know you want to study abroad for a semester soon, try packing ahead. Pack lighter than usual for a semester to see what is really important, what you really need, and what you think you can’t live without (but then never wear!) The most important part is making the list work for you. It is about staying organized, keeping on track, and not feeling overwhelmed when those last few days start creeping up on you before you leave. And most importantly... Have fun on your study abroad!!! xx A Traveler's Bliss
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