Student Bloggers
Traveling Essentials
Date
January 18, 2018
In 24 hours I’ll be up in the air on my way to Spain. We fly into Madrid, where we’ll spend two nights before heading to Toledo for a day, and then finally to Granada. As I gear up for a long day of travel (a 2.5 hour flight to Atlanta, a 3 hour layover, and finally an 8.5 hour flight to Madrid,) I decided I would share some essentials that I decided to bring with me this time, having already spent a semester abroad.
Travel backpack: During my spring break in London, I packed for a week in Italy in my regular school backpack. I made it work, but this time I wanted to make things easier for myself, so I got a carry-on sized backpack that unzips like a suitcase for easier packing. It’s sized to fit even strict budget airline restrictions, and I’ll be using it as my carry-on on the way there, and my regular backpack as my personal item.
Journal: I came back from London realizing that while I had a lot of pictures, I hadn’t recorded anything about my day to day experience there. I quickly jotted down some memories when I got back, but this time I hope to journal as I go.
Packable towel: I stayed at a few different hostels and Airbnb apartments in Europe and the UK, and had to take up valuable space in my backpack with a towel, because some either don’t provide towels or only have them for rent (or you may not want to use a towel that’s been used by countless backpackers). Packable towels fold up conveniently for packing, and dry quickly. I plan on travelling throughout Spain and Europe, so hopefully this will be handy to have.
Sleeping mask and travel pillow: I took more than one 10+ hour bus ride to get cheaply to destinations in the UK, and these are two things that I always wish I had when I was trying to make a pillow out of my jacket to sleep.
Portable charger: Not sure why I ever left the country without one of these.
1 Second Everyday: Not really something to pack, but while I was in London I downloaded this app, which allows you to shoot and crop–you guessed it–one second videos that can be compiled into a montage of your study abroad experience. Upon returning home, I accidentally erased the last month or so of clips, so this time around my goal is to get a complete video.
The next time you hear from me, I’ll be in Spain! Hasta luego!