6 weeks in Europe - Things to think of

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pretty incredible how ignorant some of these posts are, like “so much terrorism in Spain” or “the French hate Americans”.
Or one year of HS French and you can’t speak the language- no kidding. One year of math and you can’t do integers???
Re camps: There are plenty of language camps for children, teens, adults because, guess what, Europeans learn foreign languages.

Some practicalities:
Check with your health insurance- ours covers emergency services abroad. Other than that, a Dr visit in Spain is very inexpensive- I paid 2.00 to get a prescription filled when I extended a stay abroad and ran out of meds.
Phone has been covered.
Alcohol for teens- talk to your kids beforehand. A glass of wine with a meal is fine.
Laundry- get a place with washing machine- they do have those in Europe
Drivers license- never had a problem with my US license but if you feel the need, get an international one from AAA.
Money- even grocery stores now take CC, so obviously get some that don’t have foreign transaction fees.

You need to check the country for the international driver's license. Rental companies may rent to you with a US license but if you get stopped for speeding in some countries, the police may demand to see an international license and fine you if you don't have one.

I will add to this - a mainstream car rental company (can’t remember which but it wasn’t one of the smaller local ones) in Barcelona would not rent a car to me because I didn’t have an international drivers license. Even though other folks that came separately earlier than me were able to rent a car with their US license. So might be worth getting just to be safe.

[Anonymous]

For medications, think about things that are easy to get here and hard to get in Europe. Pseudophedrine is an obvious one, but even drugs like ibuprofen are sold under more restrictions and in smaller amounts. I always bring my own melatonin, advil, and sudafed in case I get a cold and need to fly (the only thing that helps, in my experience)

Little American goodies to give folks you get close to are appreciated -- popular items are things like Reeses pieces, but really most non-gross US candy is a nice thought. People appreciate the novelty.

I have younger kids and I find bringing a specialty American food they love (Annies m&c, for example) is popular. It's a once-or-twice in a trip kind of treat, but can help a little with homesickness. Another example is something like el paso taco seasoning; you can find taco shells in most large super markets in Europe in the "American food" section, but the spice packets are always a little off.

HOT SAUCE. If you like spicy food, like, AT ALL, BYO hot sauce. I bought some in Norway over the winter and while even their "extremely spicy" was our "eh" the ability to add spicy flavors to things really made a difference. Next time we go abroad for a longer period, I'll bring some of my own.

Similarly, any American things you really like. I am a die-hard iced coffee drinker in the hot months and the little mini espressos of Europe just don't hit the same way for me. I've started bringing iced coffee bags (yes, I know you can also make cold brew yourself but this is easier for shorter trips) and it's such a nice thing.

I find these little bits of home can make trips of this length feel more enjoyable, and I *love* traveling places and staying as long as possible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For medications, think about things that are easy to get here and hard to get in Europe. Pseudophedrine is an obvious one, but even drugs like ibuprofen are sold under more restrictions and in smaller amounts. I always bring my own melatonin, advil, and sudafed in case I get a cold and need to fly (the only thing that helps, in my experience)

Little American goodies to give folks you get close to are appreciated -- popular items are things like Reeses pieces, but really most non-gross US candy is a nice thought. People appreciate the novelty.

I have younger kids and I find bringing a specialty American food they love (Annies m&c, for example) is popular. It's a once-or-twice in a trip kind of treat, but can help a little with homesickness. Another example is something like el paso taco seasoning; you can find taco shells in most large super markets in Europe in the "American food" section, but the spice packets are always a little off.

HOT SAUCE. If you like spicy food, like, AT ALL, BYO hot sauce. I bought some in Norway over the winter and while even their "extremely spicy" was our "eh" the ability to add spicy flavors to things really made a difference. Next time we go abroad for a longer period, I'll bring some of my own.

Similarly, any American things you really like. I am a die-hard iced coffee drinker in the hot months and the little mini espressos of Europe just don't hit the same way for me. I've started bringing iced coffee bags (yes, I know you can also make cold brew yourself but this is easier for shorter trips) and it's such a nice thing.

I find these little bits of home can make trips of this length feel more enjoyable, and I *love* traveling places and staying as long as possible.

Oh, one more since you have older kids -- sports drinks powders. Super easy to grab some prime or gatorade powders from the US grocery stores to mix with water. Those are harder to find abroad.

And BYO deodorant. The European kinds are frequently spray on and in my experience don't work as well.

[Anonymous]

Hi OP, we’re considering something similar in Spain. Do you mind sharing the camps or schools you have found? Many seem to have bad reviews, and there are not many choices once you narrow it down to places with a more neutral accent.

[Anonymous]

Health insurance is something you need to worry about since you have no EU citizenship. Someone I know had an emergency and they required $$$ upfront right there in ER

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi OP, we’re considering something similar in Spain. Do you mind sharing the camps or schools you have found? Many seem to have bad reviews, and there are not many choices once you narrow it down to places with a more neutral accent.

OP here: I will soon, I've been focused on first the country (Spain), the region (Costa del Sol), city (Malaga) and now hung up on neighborhoods and villa's vs apartments in terms what makes the most sense for such a long period.

Marbella has easier to find camps (for whatever reason), so I'll be building out a spreadsheet in the next month. It's not such a rush as I imagine a lot of camps won't be posted until Jan/Feb.

Appreciate all the advice here so far, the health stuff in particular I hadn't given enough consideration.

[Anonymous]

Hi! My kids do this every summer with their dad in calpe spain (east coast). Its bloody awful hot end of july to august. You cant be outside day time. But thats where he is from so its non negotiable. Kids do aquatics camp but barely engage with other kids (and my kids already speak spanish). So not much to gain language wise. They still love it! Younger kids can also do pony camp or other sports. However again its bloody hot. Plan on driving and picking up kids every day for camp. Many camps are only morning due to heat.

Surely other places have similar set ups. We live in Vienna and there are plenty camps here but German may not be too exciting!