Stay Safe Studying Abroad
Studying abroad should be the best time of your life. You’ll enjoy it even more if you take preventative steps to make your time away safe & worry-free. Here are my top five ways to make sure that happens.
5. Make sure you’re insured- Many European countries have socialist health care systems. This makes it easy to walk into any pharmacy and pick up a prescription over the counter. Most other countries do not. Prepare by purchasing international health insurance. Most schools will register students for this, which makes it easy. If yours doesn’t, make sure to research your options and see if it’s necessary for you.
4. Take Advantage of the Buddy System- The best part of studying abroad is that you’re surrounded with other naive foreigners. Grab one (or a few) and explore the city together. This ties in with number three a bit as well. It’s also good to have someone who can come to your aid when you need it, and make sure you get home safely after a late night out.
3.Become familiar with your surroundings- This is so important. Explore where you’re living during the day with a friend, so that you can be prepared in case of an unusual situational-bus/metro strike, late night out, etc. Make sure to research unsafe areas so that you can avoid them.
2. Get a cell phone with a data plan- Why is this important? If you get lost, you will have access to Google Maps, which will provide you with an excellent map and directions. The best part is that public transportation is perfectly integrated into the app, which will help you get back on track in a snap.
1. Be aware of pickpockets- Awareness of your surroundings is so important. In areas with low employment rates, such as Spain, pickpockets are always looking for an easy target. Never keep more than one credit card on you at a time, and never bring vital documents such as your passport with you. Keep copies of EVERYTHING. Have a backup of anything you’d miss if it was stolen. Think about what would happen if something was stolen, and how you’d need to recover that item – then work to prevent it ahead of time
Stay safe studying abroad my friends.
