By jdippel529
If I learned anything my first week abroad, it was exactly that. Studying abroad is a scary concept to most students, but I have come to realize that many of us don’t spend even half of our time worrying about the things that we should. Back in the states, I was nervous about making friends, having enough money to travel, and even gaining weight. But in reality, I made friends before I even touched down in Madrid, I can’t imagine leaving this beautiful city just yet, and I've been welcomed into a culture that has such a beautiful and worthwhile relationship with food (not to mention, I've been walking around so I probably burned it all off).
This first week, I ended up facing a lot of issues that wouldn't have occurred if I had kept my focus in preparation for my trip. I had gotten an “international” credit card that supposedly charged no transaction fees, only to find out that every place in Spain, except for restaurants, require that you enter a pin with your credit card. Of course, I was unaware of this and had no such pin. As a result, I was left without a credit card. I also got European adapters before my trip, instead of converters. This meant that I wasn’t able to use my blow-dryer, hair straightener, or curler. I also spent three hours at one of Madrid’s biggest cell-phone providers, “Vodafone,” trying to figure out a plan with an employee who did not speak English, only to find out that AT&T had not unlocked my phone correctly. Now, I am still without a calling or texting phone. It’s safe to say that I have done more walking this week than during any other point in my life. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the shoes for it. As I write this blog, my feet are still aching simply because I didn’t think about how comfortable my shoes would have to be to walk around Madrid.
What I learned this week was that before studying abroad, you need to make sure that you have covered your most important bases. Don’t worry about making friends and eating too much—instead, focus on issues such as which type of international phone plan makes the most sense, if your current credit card company charges any international transaction fees, how comfortable your shoes are for walking, and even the weather of your host country. So, the main takeaway is this: Don’t stress over the trivial; you are so much better off focusing your time and energy preparing for the various “little things,” that become a much bigger deal once you are actually abroad.