Preparing for Your Trip

As I packed for my trip to Japan and I have come upon some useful hints and trips for anyone who may be having preparation troubles.

Voltage Converters
When traveling abroad you need to really pay attention to the electrical devices you are taking. Not all countries run on the same voltages as the US. Many in fact run on 220 Volts, where the U.S. is 110 Volts. When first looking at this information, you might think that you would need a voltage converter which would safely change the higher voltage into your desired amount. BE CAREFUL THOUGH! If you don't pay attention you may buy a converter you don't need. Computers for instance don't always need a converter. Many laptops now can handle a wide range of different voltages and they will work slower or even malfunction if a converter is used. All you need for most computers is a plug converter so that your computer plug can fit into the wall. My advice is to also try to charge as many devices as possible on your computer so you don't need more plugs or a computer.
            Another common electrical device is a hair dryer. If you don't have a dual voltage hair dryer you WILL need a converter, BUT I recommend that instead of buying a converter (which can be heavy and can weigh down your suitcase) just buy a dual voltage hair dryer. A new hair dryer will be cheaper, lighter, and you can use it when you get back home. Once again, with a dual voltage hair dryer, all you will need is a plug adapter. In the end, unless you are carrying more equipment, you should NOT need a voltage converter and should only have to buy one plug adapter. (You can surely unplug your computer to plug in your hair dryer.)

Calling Abroad
 Calling Internationally can be really expensive, so here are some ways to make it cheaper. USE SKYPE or some other similar type of calling service. If you buy a subscription, you can get a free voicemail and a discount on an online number. My advice is to get a subscription to call landlines and mobile in the U.S. ONLY, with voicemail, and an online number, which together should be about 30 dollars for three months. This way you can call home cheaply, they can call you with no additional charge to them if your online number is in their area code, and they can leave a voicemail when your not there. What I would not recommend is paying extra for text messages to your friends in the US. It can get really expensive and you will be too busy abroad to really text them a lot. Instead, your friends should sign up for skype too and you can message and call each other for free. If you must have a cell phone in your pocket, though, I would try to find a place where you can rent a phone in your study abroad country. These fares are cheap and they often give student discounts. Most of these rental phones are prepay phones and they are nice to use to contact your new study abroad friends, but I wouldn't recommend them for calling home. These phones should just be used to make calls in the country you are staying in.As a side note, phones in Japan usually send emails instead of text messages for free, so you can easily email your friends or families computer or even their cell phone with no extra cost to you!

Packing Tip of The Day:
If you are worried that you will buy too much abroad and will have no way of bringing it back home, consider this: Try getting two suitcases of similar size (one slightly smaller) and put the smaller suitcase in the larger one. Then just pack up the small one on your way there, zipping it inside the bigger one, and on your way home pull the two apart so that you have two suitcases to take your things in.

To Help You Prepare:
Look to see if there is anything to do to set up your wireless internet before you get abroad. Many times you will have to install a new program, and it is better to get this done in the U.S. when you aren't frantic to get online. When you arrive at your destination and have instant internet access, you will thank me.