Celine ChiamNearing the end of my exchange programme, I recalled that I had so many questions and doubts about university exchange before I left, with one of the biggest questions being: What do I pack for a 5-month trip?
I approached my friends who were already there at their university exchange country. Some couldn’t tell me what exactly to bring, while some advised me about life-saving items to bring. For those clueless as to what to pack for university exchange, let this list provide some guidance for you!
10 Life-Saving Items You Should Bring:
1. Hard-Disk & Thumb-Drive
You think you won’t need a hard-disk, but who knows if your laptop will fail you within the 5-month period? My laptop died twice and there was once I had to back-up my laptop and do a thorough clean-up.
2. LAN Cable & Router
Many places do not have WiFi. If you’re staying in a student apartment, they usually use a LAN cable and that’s when you need to have one. I didn’t have one and had to resort to buying one. If you’re using a MacBook Air (like me), you need an additional USB-LAN cable adaptor. Luckily, MacBooks have a function to create WiFi, so I can connect my other devices to the WiFi from my MacBook. If not, bring a router for laptops running on Windows.
3. Travel Adaptor & Extension Cord
It goes without saying that travel adaptors are a thing to bring. But an extension cord is also useful so that you don’t have to bring too many travel adaptors. Many of us have too many devices to charge: Laptop, camera, phone, portable chargers and more. Also, there may not be enough electrical plugs for you to use, so do bring an extension cord.
4. Photocopies of Important Documents
One of my friend suggested putting these documents at different places so that if you lose one, you have a back up. It’s like a back up of a back up! Anyway, try to have 2 sets of photocopies, and leave one set at home so that your family back home can help you report any losses.
5. Some Cash
Cash is important because you will not be able to find ATMs as easily as in Singapore. A rough amount to bring is about SGD 2000-3000, and of course in the local country’s currency too.
6. Bicycle Chain Lock (or just simple locks)
Bicycle chain locks for locking your bag in long-ride trains. Or else, a small simple lock is good enough to lock your bags.
7. Small Sling Bags, Dummy Wallet or Money Belt
Very important to guard against pickpockets. Pickpockets are rampant in cities like Rome and Paris. I think a plausible reason why I was lucky enough not to have any of my things stolen is because I kept everything in a sling bag and always had it in front of me. Dummy wallets and money belts are useful too, but I ended up not using my money belt since putting the sling bag in front of me was good (and safe) enough.
8. Cheat-code Condiments Pack/Condiments
Very useful for cooking meals! Enough said.
9. Moisturiser (because it is very expensive in Europe)
Don’t underestimate moisturisers, especially during winter. You probably have not heard cold rash, because we Singaporeans will never have such a problem. But speaking from my experience, I had such painful cold rash during winter time that I was itching everywhere! It’s really painful and uncomfortable, so get your moisturiser ready.
10. Mini Rice Cooker
My life-saver. I used it for almost all my meals. Good for heating up my left-over food too! I’m not the only one who has this. Many of my friends who brought this along also thought that it was one of the best items they had.
Most people go with one luggage of 30kg. I went with two 23kg luggages because of an STA promotion. It depends on your airline promotion.
As for other miscellaneous items, here are a few that I think would be good to have!
Food
Food that I cooked using ingredients which can be commonly found in the supermarkets
A lot of us claim that we will miss Singaporean food very much. Personally speaking, I didn’t quite miss Singaporean food, but this list of items are usually hard to find in local Asian markets. But don’t forget, European cities usually have Asian marts and you can always find many Asian condiments like soy sauce. Lastly, do not over-bring… because speaking from personal experience, it was difficult finishing all the pre-mixes I brought over.
- Soy sauce (a small bottle is enough)
- Oyster sauce
- Chicken Rice pre-mix
- Ikan Bilis (A great ingredient for soup which is expensive in Europe)
- Chicken/fish/pork stock (in dry cubes)
- Laksa/Spicy Maggi Mee (because there’s no such thing as CHILLI in Europe!)
- Bah Kut Teh pre-mix (very easy to make)
- Nestle MILO (I hardly saw this in Asian marts, and it is also very expensive)
- 3-in-1 coffee mix (because European coffee mix is totally different from the Asian variety)
Apparel
- Old clothes (which you can throw away to make space for new ones!)
- 3 – 4 pairs of jeans (are usually more than enough)
- A few pairs of bottoms
- Both summer and winter tops
- Jackets (for the specific weather of the country you’re heading to)
- Undergarments
- Hanger pegs (No student hostels will provide such trivial items)
- Hangers
- A pair of comfortable shoes
- Thermal wear for cold weather
- Towel (I used a small towel and it survived me throughout 5 months, good for travelling too)
Miscellaneous Items
- Toiletries (those specific cleansers that you can’t live without)
- Sunblock
- A cap or umbrella
- Optical mouse (if you’re used to using one)
- Raffia strings
- Ziplock bags (for efficient packing)
- Plastic bags (because Europe supermarkets do not provide plastic bags for free)
- Chargers (of course)
- Full set of stationery (a pen in Europe costs an insane EUR 4)
REMEMBER: Anything that can be bought in local stores will not be a problem!
Contributed by Celine Chiam. Follow her on her instagram too!
