Pre-departure:
My semester exchange was at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia. I found the preparation for the trip and the application process to be very admin intensive. It was the first year our faculty had sent a student to HSE, and I was the first SU student to go. I prepared a checklist of the documents I needed, a list of items to pack, a shopping list, and a to-do list. In your last week before you fly, it can quickly become overwhelming and having a checklist of essential items that need to be done and packed helps one to focus. I found it daunting to pack and prepare for a country where I knew the weather, culture, and circumstance would be very different from what I’m used to at home.