I was a little relieved to be home. 3.5 weeks of non-stop travel and flights and bus rides and activities is a lot, even though it was all so fun and interesting. I was excited to see my parents, although I’ve gone longer without seeing them. I miss the people I traveled with, but most of them still attend UA, so I’ve had plenty of chances to meet up with them and hang out. Study abroad is such a bonding experience, especially during the hard times and when things go wrong. Luckily, my group was mostly able to laugh about things like that, which is an awesome trait in travel buddies.
I don’t feel radically changed, but I definitely realized that having something to do everyday is really good for me. I have a bad habit of staying in my house and letting time pass, but studying abroad and having 1000 things to do everyday was a nice wakeup call that you can’t let your life pass you by. You have to be an engaged, active participant.
I unfortunately had to start working at an internship almost immediately after I got home, which wasn’t enough time to recover and adjust from the trip. It was very strong whiplash, but I eventually adjusted.
I would definitely recommend CAREFULLY checking the weather forecasts for the time you’re planning to be in a foreign country. Australia was mostly warm/cool, with some cold places and some hot places. New Zealand was mostly FREEZING with a side of cold, while Fiji was mostly BOILING with a side of hot! I packed more warm weather clothes than cold weather clothes, so I ended up having to re-wear a lot of my cold weather stuff, while having more warm weather stuff than necessary. I also got lucky by being chronically cold, because I took the New Zealand cold forecast seriously and brought a hat, gloves, and a puffer coat. Also, a super important tip for traveling somewhere with drastically changing temperatures is layering! It’s so useful. Most days in New Zealand, I wore a fleece lined leggings, pants, 1-2 pairs of calf socks, tennis shoes, a cold weather long sleeve undershirt, a long sleeve shirt, a sweatshirt, a puffer coat, gloves, and a hat. Layering really helps with packing less heavy things, because thick jackets and boots and other cold weather items are often heavy and will only get used a couple of times, whereas I used almost all of those items listed above in less cold places as well. Another tip is to bring MAX 3 pairs of shoes. I brought a neutral colored, comfortable pair of tennis shoes, a pair of nicer shoes that were still comfortable to walk in, and flip flops. Also, compression packing cubes saved my life, not just for the extra space, but also for the organization! Just remember not to be afraid to re-wear items. Everyone else is too, and as long as you make use of the laundry provided in many hotels, you don’t really need to pack a new outfit for every day, especially when you’re traveling somewhere for longer than a week.
