» GC Stats |
Members: 326,154
Threads: 115,580
Posts: 2,199,660
|
Welcome to our newest member, lauren_ash0 |
|
|
|
01-02-2007, 11:23 AM
|
GreekChat Member
|
|
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: On Wisconsin!
Posts: 1,154
|
|
Gift ideas for sister travelling abroad?
My younger sister is spending second semester abroad. She's leaving for Austria in the middle of the month, and I wanted to give her some kind of going away present...any suggestions? Did anyone spend time abroad and have something that they were really thankful they brought with them/didn't bring but wish they had? Thanks!
ETA: Sorry for the typo in the subject line!
__________________
"...we realized somehow that we weren't going to college just for ourselves, but for all of the girls who would follow after us..." Bettie Locke ΚΑΘ
Last edited by ThetaDancer; 01-02-2007 at 11:34 AM.
|
01-02-2007, 12:17 PM
|
GreekChat Member
|
|
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Fairfax, VA
Posts: 350
|
|
If its a real little sister, maybe see if your parents could go in with you on a big or bigger memory card for a camera, or even a camera if she doesn't have one. I went to Australia three years ago, and I received a journal from my little sister that I wrote in every day there. Or even just something useful if she doesn't have it - a power adapter, phone cards, or a small photo album of her favorite friends and family at home.
__________________
Laugh til it hurts. Hope til it works. Love til it fills you. Live til it kills you.
|
01-02-2007, 12:22 PM
|
|
Super Moderator
|
|
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Counting my blessings!
Posts: 30,801
|
|
Definitely a voltage adapter, also known as an ac dc power adapter, foreign voltage adapters, travel adapters plugs, electrical converter, foreign power adapter, universal voltage adapter, adaptor for uk, adaptor for asia, foreign power converter, travel electrical adaptor, adaptor plugs, ac adapter, dc adapter, power adapter, variable voltage adapter, 110v 220v voltage adapter, 220v 110v voltage adapter.
A cellphone with international capabilities (fwiw, an English one doesn't always work in other European countries).
At a photography store, you can usually get a sticky address side of a postcard, from which she can make her own postcards from photos she takes.
I'll stop there...
__________________
~ *~"ADPi"~*~
♥Proud to be a Macon Magnolia ♥
"He who is not busy being born is busy dying." Bob Dylan
|
01-02-2007, 01:38 PM
|
GreekChat Member
|
|
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: partying like it's 1999
Posts: 5,199
|
|
A jar of peanut butter to that she can take with her! I know it sounds really lame now, but all of my friends who've studied abroad have craved it like crazy. I tried sending it in a care package to one of my friends, and because it weighs so much, the shipping rate for it was just crazy.
|
01-02-2007, 01:58 PM
|
|
Super Moderator
|
|
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Counting my blessings!
Posts: 30,801
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by tunatartare
A jar of peanut butter to that she can take with her! I know it sounds really lame now, but all of my friends who've studied abroad have craved it like crazy. I tried sending it in a care package to one of my friends, and because it weighs so much, the shipping rate for it was just crazy.
|
Good answer! My uncle used to travel weekly, and he practically lived on peanut butter & crackers for years! Sometimes, the local food just doesn't agree with one's system.
__________________
~ *~"ADPi"~*~
♥Proud to be a Macon Magnolia ♥
"He who is not busy being born is busy dying." Bob Dylan
|
01-02-2007, 02:16 PM
|
GreekChat Member
|
|
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: The Ozdust Ballroom
Posts: 14,819
|
|
I could have sworn I saw Penut Butter when I was in France (but then again - who needs penut butter when you have Nutella?? ), do they not have it in other parts of Europe?
__________________
Facile remedium est ubertati; sterilia nullo labore vincuntur.
I think pearls are lovely, especially when you need something to clutch. ~ AzTheta
The Real World Can't Hear You ~ GC Troll
|
01-02-2007, 02:23 PM
|
GreekChat Member
|
|
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: partying like it's 1999
Posts: 5,199
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by AlphaFrog
I could have sworn I saw Penut Butter when I was in France (but then again - who needs penut butter when you have Nutella?? ), do they not have it in other parts of Europe?
|
They have it, but apparently it doesn't taste as or as "authentic" as American peanut butter.
|
01-02-2007, 03:28 PM
|
GreekChat Member
|
|
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Music City
Posts: 2,177
|
|
How about a nice journal so she can record her memories?
__________________
DGAlumna
WAR EAGLE!!!
|
01-02-2007, 05:06 PM
|
GreekChat Member
|
|
Join Date: May 2000
Posts: 5,718
|
|
A Eurail pass - to get the "student deal", you need to buy them on North American soil, not European soil. Talk to a travel agent about this.
She might not have tonnes of time, but there are different options. The more extravagent the pass, the more $$$$$$$.
Also, if she is a contact lens wearer, tell her to stock up on solution here. When I was in Germany in 1993, contact lens solution was "sehr teuer". 27 Deutsch marks was the going rate (yes, it's Euros now).
|
01-02-2007, 07:20 PM
|
GreekChat Member
|
|
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 4,006
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by tunatartare
A jar of peanut butter to that she can take with her! I know it sounds really lame now, but all of my friends who've studied abroad have craved it like crazy. I tried sending it in a care package to one of my friends, and because it weighs so much, the shipping rate for it was just crazy.
|
Provided that she isn't allergic.
|
01-02-2007, 07:40 PM
|
GreekChat Member
|
|
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Da 'burgh. My heart is in Glasgow
Posts: 2,726
|
|
Quote:
A jar of peanut butter to that she can take with her! I know it sounds really lame now, but all of my friends who've studied abroad have craved it like crazy. I tried sending it in a care package to one of my friends, and because it weighs so much, the shipping rate for it was just crazy.
|
TRUE! Here's the deal. You CAN find it in some countries...definitely in the UK. But it is NOT GOOD. It isn't as creamy. It's actually kinda gritty and not nearly as sweet. My BF sent me a jar of Jif as a gift, and a sister brought me a jar when I met her in Italy, and then BF brought me another jar when he came to visit. It was always sooo welcomed.
But...and I know this is going to be "tacky" to some...but what I needed most when I got abroad was MONEY. Paying on a pre-payed cell phone, food, transport, etc etc was a big hit to the ol' pocket book. Especially since the exchange rate was horrendous when I first arrived. So a gift of $$ is always appreciated...maybe one of those prepayed Visa's or Discover Cards (note: not AMEX...really not as widely accepted as the other two).
__________________
Buy the ticket, take the ride!
|
01-02-2007, 08:03 PM
|
GreekChat Member
|
|
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Home.
Posts: 8,257
|
|
-I got several journals as going away presents when I left for Italy. BUT...I found a ton of really nice ones in Rome and Florence that I actually preferred to the gifts I received.
-Travel alarm clock. This is something that I actually managed to remember, but it's good to have at least one.
-Some of the major health & beauty brands are either unavailable or stupidly expensive in Europe, like Clinique. A semester's supply of her staples would be a good idea, unless she's not choosy or doesn't have sensitive skin and can use anything.
-The deodorants were a little weird.
-Phone cards are usually cheaper in the host country. It was cheaper for me to buy the little 5 Euro cards (something like 250 minutes a card) from the tobacco store around the corner than to use the Sprint phone card my parents had given me.
-Batteries. The major brands are expensive in some parts of the Continent.
In short? Something that she can't get over there (either due to price or brand), something that's easy to pack, and something she'll actually use.
I actually got a ton of stuff before I studied abroad, and before I did my SE Asia tour, but most of stayed back stateside because it was impractical for me to take along.
|
01-02-2007, 10:58 PM
|
GreekChat Member
|
|
Join Date: May 2001
Location: on my own
Posts: 836
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Munchkin03
-Some of the major health & beauty brands are either unavailable or stupidly expensive in Europe, like Clinique. A semester's supply of her staples would be a good idea, unless she's not choosy or doesn't have sensitive skin and can use anything.
|
Oooh! I had forgotten about that. I remember paying about 11 Euro for a bottle of foundation....not even Clinque, but the run of the mill drug store kind. Definitely a stock up on the daily items is a good idea.
__________________
Go Illini!
|
01-02-2007, 11:25 PM
|
GreekChat Member
|
|
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: underneath the golden sun
Posts: 96
|
|
The one thing I did not have or think to bring was a phone card. I phoned home way more than I thought I would and spent tons of money. Also I would suggest she stock on those little things she takes for granted but uses frequently, all of which has already been suggested
__________________
ΣΓΡ “The only way to go”
ΩΦΑ “symbol of our friendship always”
The greatest way to combat chaos is with competence
|
01-03-2007, 08:35 AM
|
GreekChat Member
|
|
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: The Ozdust Ballroom
Posts: 14,819
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Munchkin03
-The deodorants were a little weird.
|
Yes - that I do remember, because I ran out and had to buy some in Paris. I don't really know how to describe the difference, though.
__________________
Facile remedium est ubertati; sterilia nullo labore vincuntur.
I think pearls are lovely, especially when you need something to clutch. ~ AzTheta
The Real World Can't Hear You ~ GC Troll
|
|
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
|