Abba, &c. | Our favorite Swedish bands

Three weeks from today I will be on my way to Uppsala, Sweden!  I can't wait to start my M.A. program at Uppsala University, and since I'm all packed at this point I'm spending my time accumulating as much language and cultural knowledge I can.  I've been listening almost exclusively to Swedish bands these past couple weeks - mainly because they're so. good.  Here are some of my newest favorite songs and bands, all from Sweden (or Sverige, what Swedes call their home country).

1. "On Our Way" - Royal Concept
This Swedish band kind of reminds me of One Direction, only with way better music.  This upbeat "live-while-you're-young" song has a great rhythm and a fun, partying-with-your friends vibe. If you like alternative pop music, add this to your list!

2. "Down On Life" - Elliphant 
Liv Tyler look-alike Ellinor Olovsdotter has a very unique voice, which lends itself well to Elliphant's reggae-style electropop (unlike anything I've ever heard before).  This is one of those songs that easily gets stuck in your head - super catchy!

3.  Esbjörn Svensson Trio
I truly love everything by this jazz group.  They rekindled my love of jazz music, and I was amazed to discover that they're one of many Scandinavian jazz groups!  Apparently Scandinavians know jazz, because this group is fantastic!  Sadly it's founder died in a scuba accident, and I don't believe the group is active anymore.  It really is a shame, because their compositions are so wonderful - I recommend "Eighthundred Streets by Feet", "Behind the Stars", "Seven Days of Falling," and "Goldwrap."

4. "I Follow Rivers" - Lykke Li
You might already recognize this artist - she's rapidly becoming quite popular in the US.  Lykke Li loves to have famous Swedish actors in her music videos, it would seem: Stellan Skarsgård is her costar in "Sadness is a Blessing," and in "I Follow Rivers" she costars with Fares Fares.  I love this song - it's so eerie and beautiful, blending indie rock with a lot of cool percussion/electronic elements.

5. "Vårens Första Dag" (First Day of Spring) - Laleh
This song is so cute, and it's all in Swedish!  Believe it or not I actually found it hard to find Swedish bands that actually sing in Swedish.  Just goes to show how prevalent English fluency is in Scandinavia.  Anyways, the music video for this song is pretty adorable as well.

6. "Wolf" - First Aid Kit
First Aid Kit is the folkiest band I've ever heard from Sweden.  Some of their songs remind me very strongly of Mumford & Sons, but this one in particular really illustrates their unique style.  The melody is very catchy and features the harmonic voices of sisters Johanna and Klara Söderberg.  Also check out "The Lion's Roar."

7. "Northern Lights" - Kate Boy
You will be hard-pressed to find a sicker beat than this, or a cooler music video.  Swedish band Kate Boy features Australian lead singer Kate Akhurst, whose slowly rotating face you see featured in this computer-generated spiral.  Kate Boy is touring in the US all through the month of September, in case you're interested in seeing them live after hearing this badass technoey song of theirs.

8. "Tough Love" - Sailor & I
Indie band Sailor & I's airy use of instrumental and percussive elements will just enchant you.  This song is particularly beautiful, with gorgeous violin forming the underlying rhythm and haunting lyrics reminiscent of the band Washed Out.  The "Tough Love" music video is eerie but enrapturing, some simple slow-motion shots of a man swimming, as if for his life.

9. "Call Your Girlfriend" - Robyn
You probably already all know this song, but did you know Robyn is from Sweden?  Kind of a one-hit wonder, but I thought I'd include her just the same.  The music video to "Call Your Girlfriend" is fun because it's done in one take, and features Robyn herself dancing in an empty warehouse surrounded by a constantly-changing lightshow.

10. "Breathe Out" - Faye
Faye is, in my opinion, the Swedish Rihanna.  She has incredible range and her angst-y, heartfelt songs really pull you in.  The piano melody in this particular track is so gorgeous, and I just love how she screams out the refrain.  Also check out "Water Against the Rocks," because the music video really captures her intensity as a singer.

11. "Snow" - Frida Sundemo
I really like Frida Sundemo.  She reminds me of Imogen Heap or Regina Spektor - sort of techno/electronic music, but airy and more melodic.  If you like "Snow" then check out the music video to "Indigo" - it's very strange, she has a giant white bunny boyfriend (idek).  

12. "Habits" - Tove Lo
I've had this song on repeat significantly more than the others in this list.  I can't put my finger on what makes it so addicting, but the rhythm and the refrain are just so catchy.  I seriously can't stop listening to this one, and I love the scandalous music video featuring haunting close-ups of Tove Lo's tear-streaked face interspersed with various scenes of reckless abandon.

13. ABBA
All of it.  We love them.  You should see how excited Zab gets before watching Mamma Mia.  It's hilarious.  "SOS" and "Take a Chance on Me" are just a couple favorites.  And who doesn't love "Dancing Queen"?

day three: harrods and my first day of class!

Hello again! Today was my first day of class at the London School of Economics, and I got to do a couple other things as well....

Breakfast at the Delaunay

They had us wake up early to attend a welcome address at the school; the lecture was at 8:30, which means that I was waking up at 3:00 ET. It was really great. I actually got there so early that I went and had breakfast at the Delaunay (again...). After the short address, I tried to return to my dorm and sleep, but it was so warm that I wasn't able to. I had been thinking that I needed to purchase an umbrella, because it's due to rain the next few days, and I had the marvellous idea to take the Underground to Harrods!

Twenty minutes later I was shopping the gorgeous and far-too-expensive halls of Harrods. God, what I'd give for one of those Burberry trench coats. Of course, I had to spend lots of time shopping for tea, and invested in tins of Earl Grey and Royal Garden teas. I found a cute black-and-white Harrods umbrella but only got to glimpse at the gorgeous rooms full of chocolates, pastries, biscuits, and meats, because I had to head back to LSE. I know I'll return again - not only do I want to stroll through the beautiful mosaic-encrusted deli, but there is also a Topshop across the street (I've never been!) and Hyde Park is blocks away.

I met with a number of classmates for my Financial Markets class at noon for lunch at the school, and was able to meet students from the US and all over Europe. I was amazed by how many people are enrolled in the course - our class is in a large lecture hall that seats about 200, and most of the seats were filled for the lecture today. The lectures take place from 14:00-17:00 every day of the week, and small 'classes' (about 15 students each) meet every morning for discussion of the material. This is new to me, since William & Mary's classes are all very small. The Financial Markets course will essentially deal with portfolio management; and, in addition to the 1,000 page textbook and numerous additional readings, we were given these immense red tomes with all the class notes. Quite a bit of reading.....

Just some light reading material...

The trickiest part right now is fixing my circadian clock. Waking up 'early' isn't necessarily that hard; it's forcing myself to go to bed at 23:00 (which is actually 6:00 pm for me as an East-Coaster). If I let myself stay up until 3:00 am like I want to, I'll never wake up in time for class. I know it'll just take a few days to figure out, but it's not at all fun.

So tonight I already have a bit of reading to do (lucky me), and then I'll be trying to force myself to sleep... The worst part is actually the heat. It might sound silly because it's only 65-70 F here, but no buildings (that I've been in at least) have air conditioning, and trying to fall asleep indoors without AC or a fan is quite difficult. In an enclosed space, it gets warmer than you'd expect. But it's not much to complain about. I'm in a beautiful city, in a wonderful country, lucky enough to be studying at this amazing school!

london | day two

My first cup of British tea!

Well, I’ve made it through two days in London! I’m settled in here at High Holborn Residence Hall, and I’m starting to figure out my way around the area.   

I slept for more than 20 hours yesterday/today. After doing a tour of the city yesterday afternoon and cleaning up, I went right to bed and managed to sleep until noon today. So I am all rested up! Still, the 5-hour difference is going to take some adjusting. When I woke this morning (afternoon?) I walked two blocks down to Sainsbury’s for groceries. Though I’m sure I’ll be eating out quite a bit, I wanted to get some snacks to keep in my room.   

It is also much more difficult to find drinking water here. I would never have thought of it, but almost all the taps (at least in my residence hall) have signs warning you not to drink the water. There aren’t many drinking fountains, and when I was at the café yesterday, they didn’t serve water without request, as a restaurant would in the US. So I loaded up on bottled water at Sainsbury’s, and found a few other treats that I had never seen before and wanted to try out.

Then what water am I supposed to drink?? 

Of course, I had to get some English crisps; there was gooseberry yoghurt (which is more like whipped cream than the heavy, condensed yogurt I’m used to), apple and elderflower juice, and my very favourite cookies (which my friend Mike introduced me to!), caramel waffles. I’ve had elderflower juice and the waffle cookies before in the US, but they are very difficult to find, expensive, and usually sold in specialty stores. I also noticed that many more of the foods (even packaged foods) are locally sourced; many products are labeled as ‘British’ and have Union Jack decorations, far more so than you would see ‘US’ or an American flag on foods sold in American stores. Very cool and interesting. 

After shopping, I went to officially register for my class at LSE. Getting to the school is very simple: I follow Drury Lane (the intersection for which is right outside my hall) down a few  blocks and there I am. LSE has a more extensive campus than

I expected; there are quite a few academic buildings, the library, shops, cafes, etc., and it's very close to the Thames. I know I've stayed in Central London so far, but it is such a beautiful city. The shops, hotels, statues, gardens are all clean and picturesque. There are more trees and greenery than I'd expect in a city, certainly far more than in Chicago. It's lovely walking down a city street and being shaded by towering trees. 

After registering, I discovered that the Delaunay is just a few doors down from LSE on Kingsway Tunnel. I ordered my first cup of Earl Grey tea since I've gotten to the UK (ahhhh!) and some biscuits and enjoyed them at Victoria Embankment Gardens, down near the Thames. It was absolutely beautiful. The weather has been perfect: around 75, breezy, a few specks of rain throughout the day. The garden is across the street from the Thames, and has a surprising number of tropical plants growing along its walls. I learned that the public restrooms may only be used for a fee (50p), which is interesting.  

I've been trying to keep my mouth shut most of the time I'm out in the city. I realise Americans have a negative reputation, and though I try to not be a stereotypical ignorant American (I've so far successfully managed to avoid pulling out a huge map of the city and squinting at it dumbly in the middle of traffic) as soon as I start speaking I usually get a look. So I've been sticking to 'yes', 'no', 'excuse me', 'thank you', and whatever else is pretty accent-less as much as I can. I've caught on to switching directions: when passing someone else on the sidewalk, I know to pass them to the left rather than the right. Crossing streets, I know to look to the right rather than the left (a potentially fatal mistake to make!), though the major crossways for one-way streets have very helpful directions (Look left! Look right!). Why don't all cities have these?   

My room at High Holborn Residence Hall

I begin my class tomorrow. There's a welcome lecture for the new students early in the morning, and then I'm meeting up with my fellow Financial Markets classmates for lunch before our lecture begins at 2:00 (whoops! 14:00). Class is every day of the week, from 14:00-17:00. There's a midterm exam next week and a final exam at the end of the three weeks. I look forward to meeting my classmates (so far I've been out and about or sleeping, and haven't met many other students) and settling into a schedule.      

  

london | day one

I’m in London! I don’t think I’ve wrapped my head around that yet…

Some pretty typical sights: Houses of Parliament

I survived my ten-hour flight from Richmond to Heathrow, much thanks to my Aunt Suzanne and grandmother Rhonda. I had jet-lag pills, blankets, pillows, eye shades, everything I could ever want for a comfortable flight: and I did get some sleep, which is quite an accomplishment because I have never been able to sleep on planes. My first sight of Europe was the western coast of Ireland. I could see the seaward cliffs from the airplane, and the land looked so rich and green, patched with the huge shadows of clouds up above. The island was bigger than I thought, too. As we drew closer to London and I looked down, I had that instinctual tug that something was amiss – and of course, the highways are opposite what I’m used to! I was excited about this stupid little detail, smiling to myself on the plane. But I feel like I’ve learned so much about this culture, reading endless amounts of British literature and watching James Herriot, Miss Marple, Sherlock, etc. It's a huge deal for me to finally see these things for the first time! 

Big Ben

Like I said, it’s hard to wrap my mind around London. Most of the time that I’ve been here (so far!), it just seems like any other city I've visited, Chicago or New York or Washington DC, perhaps more beautiful and green. But then little things make me smile to myself. My check for lunch was in pounds sterling! That monument is 3500 years old! This is where Sherlock Homes and James Bond had their adventures (not fictional to me)!

Anyway, when I arrived at the airport (and was delighted by the ‘way out’ signs), used the toilet, and went through the customs line, the first uniquely British thing that struck me was that it was much more quiet. In the restroom, none of the girls were carrying on conversations between stalls, shouting at children, talking on their phones, not even ‘excuse me’ or ‘thank you.’ Silence. And it was wonderful! The hallways and customs lines were also noticeably more silent than in American airports or public places: there was only hushed conversation within parties. It was different and very nice!

the London Eye

I took the Underground to my dorm, which is on High Holborn, several blocks from both the Holborn Station and the LSE campus. I successfully used my chip-and-signature card in Europe without any problems. And when I stepped down into the tunnel to catch the train, as soon as I heard the clattering of the rails and the whoosh of cool air coming down the passageway, I couldn’t help but think of the Chronicles of Narnia, when the Pevensie children are swept into Narnia by a passing Underground train. I’m such an nerd. I was also delighted 'please carry dogs' sign when I was getting on the train.

I found my way to my residence hall (without the help of internet or maps, thank you very much!) and found that I wouldn’t be able to check in for four more hours. Immediately next to the hall is a little French café, so I went down for lunch: delicious watermelon and cucumber juice with chilled gazpacho. Not very British, but it was actually pretty hot outside. Then, following the recommendation of my Grandpa and Rhonda, I boarded a hop-on, hop-off tour coach around the city. It was quite an exhaustive trip! After three hours, I had seen all the major tourist destinations and much more besides. Again, it was difficult to believe that I was really here, in the UK, in London. Hopefully tomorrow, after I’ve caught up on my sleep, I can go back and visit some of the more prominent tourist stops before my class starts.

St. Paul's Cathedral

The other students are still arriving tonight and tomorrow, and I (officially) register for my class at LSE tomorrow afternoon. I may take the rest of the evening to nap… 

recipe: doggie fresh-breath treats

Let's admit it, pups can be a little stinky sometimes. But don't we all want to enjoy those wonderful slobbery kisses? These tasty peanut butter and parsley treats, based off Pickles & Honey's recipe, will let your puppy munch away bad breath!

Because I wanted to use a cookie cutter (rather than just spooning out the batter), and because one of my dogs can't have gluten or dairy, I altered a few of the ingredients from the original recipe. The amounts here will make 25 - 30 treats.

Ingredients:

2 cups almond flour (or any other kind of gluten-free flour if you want your treats to be gluten-free; you can always use white or whole wheat flour as well. If you want to be able to use a cookie cutter, have some extra flour on hand too)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup all-natural peanut butter
1/2 cup diced apple (about one small apple)
1 cup nonsweetened almond milk (or any other kind of non-dairy milk. You can certainly use cow's milk as well, if you want)
1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 F.

In a large mixing bowl, combine peanut butter, almond milk, and diced apple until creamy. Add in flour and baking soda. If you are going to just scoop out spoonfuls to make round treats, stick with 2 cups of flour. If you'd like to be able to roll the dough out and use a cookie cutter, add in extra flour, until the dough doesn't stick to your hands when touched. I used about an extra cup. Mix in chopped parsley.

Either scoop out spoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet (if you're making round treats), or sprinkle a flat surface with flour and roll the dough out until it's about 1/2 inch thick (if you're using a cookie cutter). Cut out shapes (Petsmart and Walmart have doggie-themed cookie cutters!) and place on a greased baking sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes, until golden-brown and a knife comes out clean when inserted into the centre of a treat. Remove the baking sheet, and allow the treats to cool on a wire rack.

Look at this little beggar! My puppies gobbled down the treats as soon as they were cool; they loved the peanut butter and apple flavours, and the parsley made their breath quite lovely. Nice and sweet and fresh!

Enjoy!

life tip #2: calling cards are timeless

Calling cards are the new business cards, which is funny considering calling cards have actually been around a lot longer.  As more and more entrepreneurs and self-employed individuals take their careers and self-publicity into their own hands, it seems that the globalized, Internet-based world seems more friendly towards the calling card than the business card.  As a fresh college graduate riding endless waves of short-term internships and part-time jobs, it's not exactly time for me to be investing in business cards.  Business cards imply stability, an individual within a fixed career path - certainly not a bad thing, but for many of us young wanderlusting 20-somethings, it's just not the time.  Which is why I set my sights on getting myself some stylish, unique calling cards.  They're way more versatile, because they can be offered in situations ranging from a formal business introduction to meeting someone at a bar.  Plus, there's something timeless about having a hard copy of your contact info, should you ever have the opportunity to leave it behind on a silver platter...

I wanted something simple but classy, so I started searching around for affordable, smaller-quantity sets of calling cards.  I stumbled upon Washington-based Hoban Press, which does old-school letterpressing by hand with early 1900s printing presses!  They're classy as hell and their Etsy shop offered the option of pre-designed templates in sets of 100.  At less than $1 a card for such a labor-intensive type of printing, these were quite the deal!  They arrived today and I could not be happier with how they turned out.  The best part?  Hoban saves your plates and gives you a 20% discount on future reprints!  Business cards come and go, but calling cards can last you for life!

One last thing - check out this video of Hoban Press's machines!  I think this is so cool, but it might just be because I'm a publishing nerd.  I'm currently interning at Yale University Press, and as I'm working in their Production department I literally spend my days dealing with printers, inks, dies, paper, foil stamping, &c., so seeing how these processes used to be done on machines in the early 1900s - and finding a company that maintains and puts to good use those same machines - well, that's pretty spiffy. :)

New School Hoban Press from DonVintage on Vimeo.

preparing to study abroad in London

Jaime Olivares photography

I'm off for London in almost TWO WEEKS! Earlier this year, I was accepted for summer school at London School of Economics, and I still can't get my head around the idea. I'll be taking a finance class at LSE from July 29 to August 17, and though I already have my class, airfare, and accommodations in London all set up, there are some final preparations that I'm working through this week. I wanted to share them here so I could 1. start off my travel journal, and 2. share them with other American students who will be studying abroad in London! 

 
Here is my checklist:

Make sure your passport doesn't need to be renewed - or apply for a passport if you don't have one! Applying for or renewing a passport will cost you around $100, and will take about a month. So do this well ahead of time! 

Verify whether or not you will need a visa. If you are a student from the EU or EEA, you don't need a visa to study in the UK. But students from the US and other areas of the world do need some type of visa. Because my program is for less than six months and I'm from the US, I qualify for a Student Visitor visa. This means that I only need to show proof of my enrolment (like my acceptance letter), along with proof that I'll be in the UK for less than six months (my return ticket), I'm over eighteen, and I have enough funds to support myself while abroad (cash or a credit card). I'm also bringing proof of my accommodation and tuition payments just in case. I need to show these documents to the immigrations officer once I land in London, and voila! Student Visitor visa. However, students from other countries may need to apply for a visa, for which they will need a visa letter from the institution they'll be attending. More information about this can be found here.  

Also, if you're studying full-time in the UK for more than six months, you must apply for a Tier 4 Student visa once you've been accepted at your institution. More information about that can be found here. Whatever type of visa you'll need, it's best to start figuring this out several months in advance of your program date: applying for and receiving a visa can take weeks, if not months, and it's best to not put off.   

APACS

Get a credit card you can use in the UK. Unfortunately for American students trying to study in the UK, Europe is a step ahead of the US in credit card security. Many retailers in Europe are unwilling to accept the credit cards we use in the US because they're not very secure. Instead, European cards use chip-and-PIN or chip-and-signature technology, which are embedded with a computer chip and are supplemented with a personal PIN or signature to verify ownership of the card. Your traditional American swipe-and-sign credit cards won't work; the chip-and-PIN card needs to be inserted into a machine which will read the computer chip, and then you'll need to enter a PIN or sign. Additionally, many European retailers don't accept American Express cards. If you're going to be in the UK for any extended period of time, just be on the safe side and get a chip-and-PIN card. You can still use it in the US and it'll make life much easier when you're abroad. The problem is that they're difficult to find in the US. Only a few banks offer them. Eli got hers through Bank of America, and I am getting mine through Chase. It's also handy to find one that has no foreign transaction fees, since many cards will charge you an extra fee if you use it abroad.

Notify your bank. Whether you're planning on using your American credit/debit card, or are getting a chip-and-PIN card, notify your bank before leaving the country. It's fine to do this the week of, but even if you don't plan on using your debit card abroad (like I do), notify the bank just in case. You never know if you'll have to use it at an ATM or in a case of emergency. Most banks won't allow transactions abroad (or even in other US states!) if you haven't given them prior notice - they'll just put your account on hold. So do it just to be safe.

Notify your health insurance company, and purchase travel insurance if you think you'll need it. Similarly, notify your health insurance company before you leave. Hopefully there won't be any emergencies, but just in case, you don't want to find out that your health insurance doesn't apply if you're abroad. I called mine (Anthem) and asked if I could use my insurance abroad, and they said that I could use my insurance abroad in case of emergencies, and they had a list of physicians on their website that were covered in cases of non-emergency treatment. Easy! Don't assume that you'll be covered, though - make certain before you go. Many students also like to purchase travel insurance (often offered through your school or study abroad program) in case anything is lost or stolen abroad, or if you have to cancel with short notice and wouldn't otherwise receive a refund.  

Stock up on any medication you take regularly. Because you can't be sure that your medication will be available abroad (or what price it'll be!), stock up on any medication you need before you go. I'm even bringing my own non-vital meds, like ibuprofen and Nyquil. It's better to know you have it rather than having to hunt through an unfamiliar pharmacy in a different country to find the right medication while you're sick. If your insurance covers your medication, you'll need to get their permission to get more than the normal dosage from your pharmacy before you go.

Get any vaccinations required for travel abroad.  As a US student traveling to the UK, I don't need any vaccinations, but if you're traveling elsewhere in the world, it's likely that you'll need to get a few vaccinations beforehand, or at least bring proof that you have the basics already. Make sure to check several months in advance so that you have time to get whatever's necessary.   

servewlove.wordpress.com

Figure out what you want to do with your phone. There are a number of options to consider when deciding how to use your mobile phone abroad. It seems to me like there are three viable options: use your existing phone with an additional package from your provider, use your existing phone with a new local SIM card, or get a local prepaid phone. If you're going abroad for a shorter period of time (like I am) and want to use your existing phone number, keep your contacts, etc., I recommend just contacting your service provider and asking about the packages they offer for using your phone abroad. Instead of paying huge international usage fees, you'll pay for a certain amount of service to be used abroad, and for your friends and family back home, it'll be no different. I don't plan on using my phone much; I'll rely on Skype and Facebook and the like to communicate with friends and family back in the US. However, I know I'll use my iPhone frequently for its apps and internet. Because I'll be in London (where wireless internet abounds at cafes and the like), I'm just going to turn my cellular data off (in Settings) and Wi-Fi on and use whatever Wi-Fi is available. I also downloaded Pocket Earth, which is a map app that operates offline.

If you're going to be abroad for an extended period of time, it might be wise to get a local SIM card or a prepaid phone while you're abroad. Getting a local SIM card and having it put in your phone will give you a local number (remember to give this number to all those back home!) and may make you lose your contacts, but you'll be using a local provider and be paying local fees. However, make sure to contact your usual provider and have them 'unlock' your phone so that it can be used with another provider. If you're not too attached to your mobile phone anyway, you might want to just buy a prepaid phone (usually less than $50) and load it up with minutes, texts, and data. You'll be able to use it locally and pay for more minutes as you need them.

Make copies of all important documents. Once you have your passport, flight information, course information, and accommodations all figured out, make photocopies of all these things, along with your driver's license, health insurance card, travel insurance information, credit cards, and anything else that you could possibly need in any emergency situation. Give a set of copies to your parents or significant other here in the US, and keep another set of copies for yourself in your baggage. In case of any emergency, or if anything is lost or stolen, it will make matters much easier if your emergency contact in the US and you have copies of your important documents. Also, back up your laptop and phone before you go.

Get comfortable. If you're studying abroad, you're going to be doing hours and hours of traveling, whether by plane or boat or train. Before you set off, invest in a few key pieces that will make your travels much more comfortable. Magellan's is a good source for many of these things. I have a pillow/blanket combo (where the blanket is stored in the pillow) for in-flight comfort, along with a pair of earplugs and eyeshades. I also have homeopathic No-Jet Lag pills to help with jet lag on the nine-hour flight. Make sure you wear clothing that is comfortable (but not just pyjamas, especially if you're flying to Europe!), is layered (so you can adjust to low/high temperatures during travel), but where jackets/belts/shoes are easy to take off for security. And if you're going to London, pack a mini umbrella!

Travelon Executive Wallet

Invest in a passport wallet. It's going to be easier to have all your important forms of identification (passport, ID, insurance, credit cards, cash) in one place when you're traveling between countries and locally. You don't want to end up needing your passport for identification, only to have left it back in your room; you don't want to have to switch between your regular wallet and a passport wallet. I just have one good passport wallet that I'll use while I'm in London. It's also helpful to have one with RFID-blocking technology. All passport wallets made in the last five years have an RFID chip, which can hold your personal information and a photo. However, these chips (and even your credit card) can be read with scanners from up to ten feet away, so many passport wallets now include RFID-blocking technology so that thieves can't get your personal information. Good investment to consider!

Do as much as possible here. It's better to know you have something for a fact while you're abroad rather than to have to search for it in an unfamiliar environment. You might not know for certain that day-to-day products you rely on (toiletries, medication, certain snacks) will be available where you're going. This might not be as big of a problem in London, but if you're traveling from the US to a less-Westernized area, like Africa or the Middle East, you definitely want to pack those day-to-day things that you don't know you'll be able to find abroad. Even things like hand sanitiser, wipes, or tissues might be needed in a hurry when you're abroad but you won't know where you can buy them. Just have them on you in the first place.  

Also, here is my short to-do list of things to do immediately when I arrive in London:

Get an Oyster card. I'm flying into Heathrow, which has a direct Tube line to my accommodation in Holborn. And though my room is only a few blocks from the London School of Economics campus, I know I'll be doing traveling throughout the city as well. If you plan on doing any significant amount of travel throughout London, invest in an Oyster card - it's a prepaid card (the size of your credit card) that you touch to a yellow pad before and after you ride on the Tube. You stock it up with a certain amount (£5-50) and can reload it whenever you need. Additionally, your rides will be discounted if you use this card (rather than buying a ticket for each ride). You can buy one of these cards online or at any ticket station once you're in London.

tfl.gov.uk

Exchange your currency. Though I plan on primarily using my chip-and-PIN card when I'm abroad, I feel like it's also helpful to always have a bit of cash on me, for emergencies or quick small purchases. It's possible to convert some of your cash here (call around at local banks and see who has some of the currency you need), but easy to do it once you're abroad. You can have it exchanged at the airport (usually for a higher fee) or at a bank once you arrive. I'm going to exchange a small amount here (because I feel like it's easier to land in a new country with some money already on me), and then exchange a larger amount when I'm in London to keep for emergencies.

Well, that's my list so far! I hope this is helpful to any students traveling abroad in the future. Please comment if you have any other advice for me, or further questions about anything here!