What to Pack for IFYE

Going abroad for 3-6 months and not knowing exactly where you are going, what you’ll all be doing, and when you’ll be able to do laundry can make packing for the trip challenging. Even though I enjoy packing, preparing for this trip was a bit difficult. For starters I knew I wanted to pack light and pack in a backpack. This being because it is so much easier to carry from plane to train to car to “short” walk up to the house/hotel. Next I knew the weather would change from hot summer to fall while I was traveling, so I would need a bit of everything. Below are some lists in reflection of what I packed as an IFYE.

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Everything I owned for three months

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EVERYTHING I had:

55 L backpack - my favorite feature of this bag was the big suit case like zip over the front of the bag

1 “work” skinny jeans

1 “work” jean shorts

2 “work” t-shits + IFYE t-shirt from orientation

1 jean shorts

1 athletic shorts

1 cotton (paper bag) shorts

2 leggings

1 polyester skinny pants

1 straight leg jeans

1 joggers

5 short sleeve tops

1 crop tank top

1 long sleeve top

1 quarter zip long sleeve

2 short rompers

1 dress

1 long skinny leg romper with crop top

5 bras

18 underwear

6 socks

2 swim suits (bikini and one piece)

1 flannel

1 rain jacket

1 set Pjs (T-shirt and shorts)

Chacos sandals

Birkenstocks

Tennis shoes

Foldable laundry bag

Shoe binds

Wash cloth

Turkish towel

1 pc (10) surgical face masks

1 at home covid test

1 quart size zip lock bag of feminine products

Air cover bag for 55L bag (to protect backpack while traveling by plan)

Air tag (attached to the bag)

Medications:

Vicks super C

Vicks NyQuil

Benadryl

Imodium

Sudafed

Ibuprofen

Claritin

Birth Control

Hanging toiletries bag:

Fabric wrinkle spray

Eye brow tint

Foundation

Mascara

Eye shadow

Lipstick

3 oz liquid shampoo

Shampoo bar

Body soap bar

1 oz shaving cream

1 oz hair mask

1 oz charcoal face mask

Full size lotion

Full size face mist

Full size tooth paste

1 oz night serum

3 oz aloe vera

Chap stick

3 oz bug spray

3 oz body sunscreen

3 oz face sunscreen

Comb

Travel razor

Q-tips

Shower scrunchy

Nail clipper

Electric face razor

Tweezers

15 L carry on backpack - this bag is a detachable part of the larger backpack

Print out of allergies, immunizations, medical records

Polaroid camera

3 packs polaroid camera film

Electric toothbrush and charger

jewelry case

Foldable tote bag

iPad with keyboard case

Mouse

Apple Pencil

Extension plug

International plug adapter

2 USB to lightening charger cord

1 UDS-C to lightening charger cord

Apple Watch charger cord

Extra Apple Watch band

iPad keyboard charger cord

1 U.S. Charger block

Lightening to USB/SD adapter

USB storage drive

Carabiner

Locker combination lock

Luggage combination lock

Water bottle

Journal

Day fanny pack

Deck of playing cards

Clip on travel pillow (can also fold into a regular square pillow)

Travel size toiletries bag:

Full size deodorant

3 oz mouth wash

3 oz face scrub

Face buffer

1oz tooth paste

2 oz perfume

0.5 oz neosporin

0.5 oz eye cream

0.5 oz face cream

3 floss picks

1 oz face wash

Cotton balls

Compact brush

1 oz hand sanitizer

4 hair bands

2 L travel purse - I like to travel with a purse through airports because it makes documentation checks so much easier to be able to reach it from a purse rather than have to attempt to find it in a suit case or backpack

Documents wallet with passport, covid card, travel documents

Wallet with credit cards, cash, photo ID

Sunglasses

AirPods

Portable charger

Mini sewing kit

Travel essential oil

Gum

Band-aids

Wet wipes

Pens

Headphones with jack adapter

Jack to lightening headphone adapter

SIM card holder

Kleenex travel pack

Eye shade (provided by Delta a few trips ago)

Ear plugs

Fabric face mask

Hand sanitizer holder

What I packed that I was most glad I had:

“Dirty” tennis shoes - I almost brought a new pair and was glad I didn’t because I mostly wore tennis shoes on the farm or hiking through the mud

Extension plug - there is often one wall outlet in European rooms and sometimes they are in the weirdest places, so having an extension cord with multiple plugs was so helpful to be able to reach it where I wanted to and also charge multiple things at one time

Wash cloth - something I found was that they are not really common in Austria and was nice to have my own in place of a body loofah

Shoe binds with clip - this allowed me to strap my tennis shoes to the outside of my backpack when they wouldn’t fit in the bag or I didn’t want to wear them and also easily bring them along on day trip with my smaller backpack

Hanging toiletries bag made it so easy to see and access everything

Fabric wrinkle spray - helps keep clothes fresh in between washes and helps gets rid of wrinkles from being stuffed in the backpack

What I packed that I didn’t use:

Bug spray - this is something you could easily buy in developed/developing countries and is often manufactured to protect against insects in that region, it would also be easy to ask your host family to barrow some

Apple Watch and extra watch band - for some reason I find myself never using my watch abroad

1 less dressy romper

1 less swim suit

What I wish I brought:

More Polaroid camera film

Bug bite cream - in-spite of not using my bug spray I did get an occasional bug bite

Yoga mat - mainly didn’t bring because I didn’t have room

Go pro camera - also didn’t make the cut due to not having room in the bag

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During IFYE orientation it is also discussed multiple times to bring along items as gifts for you host families. Small things that are meaningful and may also represent the state that you are from are recommended. For this I was able to prepare a few different things. First I contacted my states department of tourism and also my university’s admission office, and they were able to provide me with items to talk about my state but also leave as gifts. From these organizations I got stickers, pens, post cards, travel guides, info-graphics, pamphlets, maps, and some spirit items. Next I wanted to give my families something that I also enjoyed doing and that was apart of my life at home, so I created a recipe book of my favorite American dishes. Many of these recipes I grew up making and were often shared in my family. The recipe book also allowed me the opportunity to make a meal for my host family while staying with them. I was able to put together these books at home and prepared enough so each host family could have a copy when I left. I was glad to be able to leave a little piece of home with each family to remember me by.

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Recipe book I made for each host family

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