Gift ideas for student studying abroad

[Sagginit]

I also vote for cash and investing in practical luggage/bags. One thing I brought with me that saved my life was a folding duffle bag (I got mine at walmart and it last years, a replacement I got at Ikea is tearing after a few uses). I brought one large duffe /suitcase and then used the folding one for weekend trips. I ended up also using it coming back to the US as I had a lot of gifts for people. Many places in EU don't have elevators, so people with big traditional suitcases in my group were miserable (my duffle style bag had handles in a few locations for easy hauling) so another thing to keep in mind when buying a bag. She might feel dorky once there with American brand logos all over so I do also recommend something discreet for her weekend travel bag. Hershel backpacks are super popular in NYC and may look more chic than a Jansport or hiking brand. Ikea does sell fantastically cheap packing cubes which I would pick up if you are near a store. This will help her organize and save her sanity if she travels around and is living out of bags on the weekend.

I recommend buying clothes when she gets there and bringing the bare minimum. There are tons of chain stores like in the US where I got more local looking clothes, I brought most of them back as my souvenirs. I also recommend bringing medication but buying toiletries there so she doesn't waste weight on that. They have some amazing beauty brands at local stores for prices comparable to ours. I do recommend bringing shoes over clothes as that is the one thing I had a hard time shopping for. EU shoes are sized different, tend to be slimmer, and in my case a size 9 womens was so big some stores didn't have a lot!

One sentimental gift might be a nice journal. The house I stayed in had no tv in the bedroom (just one in the whole house!) and only one computer with four teens and two students. I wrote in the journal at night and if you get one with blank pages she can also sketch. I still have mine and this is one time in your life you want to remember every minute! I also do recommend a good camera. I had an ok one and some of the pictures came out horribly. I wish we had just bought a new one for my trip instead of taking the one we had laying around the house for years. If you can find it a nice, old fashioned mini map of the city can be helpful as you dont' want to spend a ton of $ using your phone all day long. When there she may find a better one in a local bookshop (mine was like a mini book so no dorky holding an entire map in the middle of the square scenarios) but it also will let her get going quickly her first few days until she finds one (or just finds she is good with that one). EU cities are winding and much harder to navigate.

 

[Elsa22]

Cash is one of the most needed things overseas, indeed. I forgot to mention in my post. Thanks to everyone who mentioned it. Food is cheap in most of the european countries, but renting an apartment can be pretty expensive.