To travel alone at a young age

So much preparation.

I am a young person, and I have never fully experienced living on my own for an extended period of time. I am going to a foreign country for three months to live with a family I found on the internet. If something unexpected happens, I guess will have to learn from it and move on.

All that is on my mind is preparing for everything that could happen, so if it does, I will be ready for it.

SO, this will mostly be me going over what I’ve been preparing

• phone/data plan

I ordered a SIM card off of trazy.com. It is linked with the “Premium Lite” data plan that gives me unlimited data (or at least 15GB of 4g, then the rest unlimited). As a teenager not knowing how to speak the local language, I figured this was necessary. It was $46 USD for 1 month. I will renew my plan for 3 months, totaling around $150 USD. Trazy shipped the SIM card directly to my house, and I have to activate it the day before I leave. I am kind of excited to have a new phone number.

• mapping destinations and train/bus stations

This part was fun for me to do because I love looking at maps. The thought of going to the places I’m looking at from a satellite image is great too. I used Google Maps to save the places I would be staying as well as train/bus stations I needed to go to. I also marked hospitals and doctors offices that are covered by my insurance. I had to call the insurance company and be on hold with them for about an hour, but I think it was worth it.

• vaccinations- Japanese Encephalitis, Malaria, Typhoid, Rabies

I didn’t think about the diseases and vaccinations I should get until my therapist said something about it a month before my departure date. I made an appointment with “Passport Health.” I read online they could give me niche vaccines for my journey to East Asia. Sure enough, I drove an hour and a half at 8 am to see a nurse who gave me a consultation on the health risks of the area. I was given the Japanese Encephalitis and Typhoid vaccines. (2 doses for JE) The total came to around $1,300 USD including the office and administration fee.

• preparing for the 2 week quarantine I have to undergo

Once I arrive, I will be locked in a hotel room, and given 3 meals a day. I have been doing thourough research on what I need to bring. I just bought a hot pot and a mini washing board.

• petting and loving my dog as much as I can

I seriously don’t know if I’ll be able to handle not being around her. She became my best friend during quarantine.

• cleaning out my closet

I’ve been wanting to get rid of most of my clothes for some time, and now is the perfect time. I am going to a local thrift store soon to try to sell some of my unworn clothes.

• planning college registration and housing

I am going to college in January, only 3 weeks after I get back. While I am over there, I need to register for classes, register for housing, as well as keep up on my emails. I will be double majoring, so I need to be super organized with how I plan my four years. I have an excel sheet.

• eating less meat

Apparently in East Asian countries, they eat half the amount of meat that we do in America. I can’t help but think I may have a problem with this once I get over there.

• repotting my plants so they can have new nutrients for 3 months

I have about 30 potted plants that I take care of. I have given about 7 away so my mother doesn’t have to work as hard. I repotted them all so they would have enough nutrients. I just hope there isn’t an infestation of fungus nats while I am gone.

• getting enough of my prescription SSRI

My insurance only allows a 90 day prescription at a time, and I got it about a month ago, so I had to get an override and an extra 30-day supply.