This is it.
You’ve found your internship. You know what amazing city you’ll be staying for two months. You’re already in touch with other fellows. You’re making plans for your weekend travels. All that’s left is the empty suitcase on your bed and a pile of jumbled clothes to make sense of.
Packing for an eight-week internship is tough. It’s not a vacation, but it’s not a permanent move. Striking a balance between overpacking and having no clothes after two days is more challenging than most think, but that’s why we’re here to help.
Here’s our Sage Corps 8-week Intern Abroad Packing Tips.
LESS IS MORE
It’s so easy to overpack. Most of us take a giant suitcase for a two-week vacation and barely use half of what we bring. You’ll need more than that, but we recommend being sparing with your choices. Pack smart. One piece of advice that world-traveling backpackers use is – pack everything you think you need, then take out a third of that – even more if you’re feeling brave. There’s a good chance you won’t need it.
Pick clothes that can be mixed and matched with ease. If you’re already a bit of a fashionista, you’ll know that twelve items of clothing could easily turn into 24 unique outfits.
But in general, plan to do some laundry. If you’re cool with doing it once a week, a list for a warm country might look like this.
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Eight pairs of underwear and socks (extra for emergency)
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Three pairs of different pants or skirts
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Five or six casual shirts
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Two or three nicer shirts, button-downs, or dresses
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A raincoat
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Two or three pairs of shorts
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A swimsuit
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Two/three pairs of shoes (maximum)
That doesn’t seem like much, but that’s eighteen outfits with the shirts and pants alone. If you’re in somewhere where the temperature will be much cooler, and you’ll want to have a sweater or two and a warm coat. You might also wear a sweater on the plane.
Most importantly, don’t stress. If you realize you’ve forgotten something, you can grab it when you arrive. Plus, you need some space for souvenirs.
DITCH THE APPLIANCES
Your hairdryer might be the best thing since sliced bread. But these kinds of things are space killers in a bag and notorious for not dealing well with different voltages. Many a hairdryer has met its end in a European outlet. You can find cheap ones out there or even share with someone who has one.
But definitely bring an adaptor for your tech. It’s tough to charge your laptop with a different-sized plug.
CHECK THE ETIQUETTE
Don’t forget that you’re not going on vacation. It’s an internship, and your office might have some dress codes. Start-ups are generally more casual and will fit nicely into the packing list above, but it’s best to check with your internship supervisor before you leave. If you’re still uncertain, break out the button-ups and blouses for your first day and then adapt.
It’s important to remember that your definition of casual might be different from that in Europe or Australia. You won’t see many people in basketball shorts and a tank-top around town in Paris. It’s not your college campus
DON’T FORGET YOUR DOCS
We shouldn’t have to remind you about your passport…we hope. Just in case…
BRING YOUR PASSPORT.
All jokes aside, your documents are super important. We will cover everything you need to know in your pre-departure call. Print them all out, stick them in a folder for safe-keeping, and have a digital copy on your phone too—the more prepared, the better. A lot of immigration officers appreciate the organization.
PACK A SMALLER BAG
You’re most likely going to travel a little while away, and lugging your suitcase on a trip through the German countryside isn’t the most practical thing to do. Whether it’s your carry-on bag or another duffel bag you can fold up inside your main luggage, it’s worth having an extra bag.
There are loads of brilliant fold-away daypacks that you can find if you feel like going super-minimalist. But if you pack the rest of your stuff well, there should be more than enough space for a duffel, messenger, or backpack.
DON’T CARRY ON WITH YOUR CARRY-ON
It might be the first long flight you’ve been on, which requires some preparation. If you’re heading to Sydney, you’re looking at at least a full day in the air. Make life easy for yourself.
First and foremost, bring everything you need and your most valuable possessions. Wallets, cash, phones, laptops, cameras – anything you’ll be in trouble without or will be a significant financial burden to replace should be in the overhead bin. In the worst case, you can grab some new clothes when you arrive, but you don’t want to have to replace a new laptop.
To ease the pain of a long flight, sleeping masks, some earplugs, headphones, a book, and a travel pillow go a long way.
It’s also worth throwing in a change of clothes. Sometimes, and we stress, only sometimes, bags do go missing. They usually turn up a day or two later, but having a quick change to keep you covered (and less smelly) is a great insurance plan for yourself.
FIGURE OUT YOUR PHONE
You can look into the cost of paying for international data, but it can add up over a full 2 months. Getting your phone unlocked or bringing an unlocked one is a great idea. Typically if your phone is tied to a carrier and doesn’t work with a new sim card unless you unlock the device.
We require all of our interns to have a phone for safety purposes, so it’s important to sort this out. Sim cards in other countries can be super cheap and will be a fraction of what you could pay for an international call or data use.
WHAT NOT TO PACK
We’ve told you what should be in your bag, but sometimes it’s just as important to know what should be left at home.
Go easy on the valuables. Some things you’ll need, like your laptop. But jewelry and irreplaceable items should stay in the states.
Don’t bother with toiletries. If you want to take a bottle of shower gel or shampoo for a shower on arrival, go for it. But you can find them in all of our intern cities. Pillows and towels might seem sensible, but you’re covered in this regard. They’re just wasting space in your bag.
Oh, and go easy on the shoes.
Still struggling with packing related questions? Reach out to others in your cohort or your Sage Corps Program Manager for last minute packing help.
