What to pack when leaving the country

Crystal Barrow

1. Passport!

• Make sure you have this on you at all times! This is your golden ticket to get in and out of the foreign country you are going to. 
• Soon in the states you will need your passport or your new ID to be able to fly from state to state

2. Cellphone, reading device and tablet

• Make your flights as entertaining and productive as possible.  If you have a long flight use that time to catch up on a book you have been meaning to read for ages, that tv show you wanted to start watching or even responding to emails all from the sky.
• Some airlines have free wifi capabilities, to name a few airlines JetBlue, American Airlines, Airways Norwegian Air Shuttle, and Qatar Airways
• If you are not on an airline that has wifi or if the airline charges and you do not pay you can always download books, audiobooks, or shows.  I have downloaded a few shows on my phone off of netflix on one flight that I knew wouldn't have a great movie selection. 

3. Portable charger

• Make sure your portable charger is charged. Unfortunately I have made this mistake before and my phone died halfway through the flight.

4. Headphones

• Headphones are great! They allow you to be in your own world without any (minimul) interruptions.  

5. Charger and adapter 

• Depending on the country you go to they may have a different plug.  Researching the place you are heading to for vacation can be fun as well as resourceful/useful.

6. Earplugs, eyemask, sleeping pillow

• You will be happy that you brought these items.  Especially on a long flight!  This is a time when you can catch up on sleep, get ahead on sleep or try to adjust your sleep pattern if you are heading to a different time zone.  Get comfy and get some z’s.

7. Sweater 

• Have you ever noticed how on the airplane it goes from warm to freezing to warm again?  A sweater will keep you warm when the plane decides to be freezing and it is easy to take off when it starts to warm up.  It is also a great pillow if you forgot your neck pillow. 

8. Medications

• Make sure to have your prescribed medication on you just in case something happens to your luggage or if there is a delay and you need your medication right away. As long as the medication has been screened you should be fine.  If you do not want your medication to go through an xray you can ask for a visual inspection. 

9. COVID Vaccine card/COVID negative tests results

• During the time that I am writing this we are still in the pandemic.  Even though many places are starting to open up and we are able to travel to many foreign countries there are still many COVID regulations in place
• Even when COVID is just a memory it would be a good idea to see if there are any specific common illnesses in the country that you are going to.  Especially in for exotic places there may be diseases that you should be aware of that you do not want to catch.  You can never be too prepared.