Pack Your Mind

You are not really ready to study away until you have spent some time packing your mind and your imagination for this specific experience.

• Talk with Macalester faculty, staff, and international students who have lived and studied in your destination.
• Read at least one novel (classic or modern) or history of your destination.
• Read travel books.
• Take tools for your memory and imagination, such as: cameras, a blank travel journal, or sketchpads and drawing materials.
• Keep up to date on current events.
• Reflect on who you are, what you value, your routines, and the way you interact with others. Based on what you know about your destination, what challenges do you foresee? How do you anticipate adapting to them?