You’re about to go off on your first ever Erasmus+ or Turing Scheme placement abroad and it’s going to be really wonderful. You’re packed (hopefully), know where you’re going to stay, what your course is and you’re counting down the days, but what if you’ve forgotten something? We’ve got some brilliant pre-departure tips to make sure you’re 100% ready for your trip abroad, just keep reading below and find out what the experts at TravelEdventures advise.
A good thing to do before you embark on your travels is to write a list of your goals. Whether this is passing your study course with flying colours, mastering the language in your host country, making new friends to last a lifetime or experiencing everything there is to try in a new, different culture – these goals are essential! Plus, make sure that you do everything you want to do. Your goals can grow and change as your experience does too. So, keep your list as a moving target and cross your goals off when you achieve them, adding new goals as and when you decide you have another target to reach. This is a great way of noting all your achievements too.
We say this A LOT! But it’s true – you don’t need to pack everything. Wherever you’re going to will have shops, and you will find you won’t need half the things you think you do. Plus if you forget anything, friends or family can send it over, there’s always Amazon and you’ll be surprised at how easy it is to get hold of your home comforts while abroad. Furthermore, no one wants to be emptying their suitcase at the airport to create space and reduce their baggage weight!
Try to brush up your language skills before you go – ad keep refreshing your memory. Listen to podcasts and language apps online when you have spare time in the language of your host country. Read phrase books, make notes and keep re-reading them. Be as prepared as you can be before you arrive and if you still need extra help (most students do), then enrol in extra language classes while abroad. Do your best to perfect your language skills while away as a second language is always welcome on a CV.
If you can, connect with others before you go abroad, we’re talking about other people on the Erasmus+ or Turing Scheme mobility you’re going on. Zoom meetings, Facebook groups, face-to-face meetings etc. Don’t be shy and don’t avoid these opportunities as you’ll want familiar faces when you arrive.
If you’re staying with a host family, get in touch beforehand to familiarise yourself with the people you’ll be living with. They’ll appreciate it too and you’ll feel more at ease when you arrive.
If your school, college or university needs help facilitating an Erasmus+ or Turing Scheme placement for a group of students, or even individuals, then we encourage you to talk to us, we’ve been creating exceptional trips for over 30 years and know we’ll deliver something spectacular for you!