While Abroad

While abroad, you will most likely be in a different time zone than your friends and family back home. Similarly, as you spend more time with the local community, you will want to find ways to stay connected with your new connections. Making a communication plan will be helpful to stay connected with those back home and in your new community.  

Things to Consider:

• What medium of communication will you use? Will you call or text? Will you use WhatsApp, FaceTime, or messaging applications?
• How frequently will you schedule calls with your friends and family? 
• What phone/data plan do you have? Are there limitations to data usage?
• Are certain communication platforms preferred by local connections and are certain platforms blocked in your host country?

Review Resilient Travel – Managing Stress and Enhancing your Experience Abroad, a U-M web resource that helps travelers think proactively about personal challenges and build skills to successfully cope with difficult situations.

Managing your mental health while abroad is important. Explore Managing Mental Health Abroad to learn about common study abroad stressors, travel myths, and UM resources to help you manage your mental health while abroad.

While preparing to go abroad, take time to explore the Identities Abroad section to learn more about how your social identities can influence your experience abroad. Regardless of your various identities, we encourage you to learn about your place within the diverse communities that you’ll be interacting with.

It is always best to overestimate your expenses when creating a budget. Be sure to pay attention to the currency exchange rate and consider various costs, including but not limited to, 

• Transportation
• Housing Accommodations
• Groceries & Meals
• Phone/Internet
• Trips & Sightseeing 
• Souvenirs
• Other Personal Expenses

For help creating a budget, see U-M Budgeting for Travel and Financial Planning for Travel.

While traveling abroad it is often important to have multiple forms of payment. See the International Center’s Finances section for tips on how to carry money safely.

Before departure, ensure that you are equipped with vital emergency information by downloading the complete General Emergency Protocols for U-M International Travelers. Be sure to also visit the In Case of Emergency page and save emergency contacts into your phone.

Read more in the event you are faced with one of these specific situations:

• What to Do: Civil Unrest or Political Instability 
• What to Do: Detention or Arrest 
• What to Do: Loss or Theft of Valuables 
• What to Do: Natural Disaster or Severe Weather 

In the event that you need to seek care or treatment while abroad, log in to your GeoBlue account and access the Member Hub. Review the GeoBlue Global Health Services Overview or the GeoBlue Student Member Guide for the instructions on how to locate a provider, schedule an appointment, arrange DirectPay, and submitting a claim.

If you plan to travel outside of your host destination, we highly recommend registering your personal (non-UM related) travel in the U-M Student Travel Registry. This allows U-M to locate and contact you in the event of an incident occurring in your travel destination. 

While studying abroad, you will want to document your experience through photographs.  Review the U-M guide to ethical photography page to help you think critically about photography abroad.

While abroad, there are many ways to make your travels / lifestyle sustainable. From choosing trains over airplanes to taking advantage of walkable cities, consider making active choices to promote sustainability in your own abroad experience. See this Sustainable Travel Guide for more inspiration.