Packing & Skype

Bonjour mes amis :)

Packing was very challenging for me. I am such an over packer I tried to bring almost all my clothes with me at first - something that was impossible to happen with the limited space of two suitcases. I recommend bringing mostly basic pieces, dark jeans, and leggings. Fancier pieces for going out to clubs and bars is a must, and a business professional outfit comes in handy too. I brought scarfs and different cardigan sweaters to mix and match everything and seem like I brought more. Shoes was another issue for me, one pair of good heels is a must for women, and tennis shoes are a must as well. I wore many layers at the airport when I left to save every tiny bit of space, haha. Don't even bother bringing any hairdryers or curling irons with you, since they will NOT work, my roommates and I went to the equivalent of Target and bought those pieces after we got there and shared them. Defiantly bring pictures of friends and family from home to decorate your space with, and a nice journal isn't a bad idea either. Check the packing lists online, I did not bring everything they said to but it reminded me of little things I needed.

Packing to return was another interesting challenge. I bought a lot of clothes in Paris and ended up leaving a lot of the clothes I originally brought there or swapped things around with friends. If, you have any visitors, who will return to the US, it is a great idea to sent some things with them. My parents visited in April and they brought me a suitcase with some of my summer pieces in it and I they took back with them all my bulky winter clothes.

Skype is something everyone studying abroad should have! Not only can you video chat for free with your family and friends back home, but it is a vital tool to avoid extremely high cell phone bills from communicating with your friends abroad with you. I started by skyping my family once a week and my friends would either set up times or we would just be on around the same time and call. Facebook is a way to stay in touch too, but skype is much better since you can actually talk to their faces instead of messages or chat. CEA provided cell phones for everyone, but the charges were ridiculous, as were the pay as you go phones from France. To avoid those rates we barely used phone to talk to one another or plan, skype was our savior. Whenever I was in my apartment, I would pull up my skype and we would call each other that was instead of the silver brick cell phones.

Bonne Chance!

Kelsey