Something to remember if you’re travelling to a different country, is that sometimes the plugs on your electrical appliances will not be compatible with sockets in the home of your exchange partner.

This means that if you are taking a cell phone charger, hairdryer abroad or any other portable electrical appliance with you, it’s possible that without forward planning, you won’t be able to use them.

There are several ways of dealing with this. Firstly, you can look on the map here and see whether your plugs will be compatible with the sockets in the country of your exchange partner by seeing if they have the same colour.

The second step would be to talk with your exchange partners. You could talk about the electrical appliances you want to take with you, and see if you both have the same. For example, it would be senseless to take your hairdryer with  you abroad, if your exchange partner is going to do the same. It would make a lot more sense to leave the respective items for the exchange family, and when you go to their home, you can use theirs. All this will save on the luggage you’ll be taking with you.

Alternatively, people who travel tend to have adapter plugs of various varieties in their homes. You could ask your exchange partners if they have an adapter plug that would be compatible for your items. If not, ask them if they can note down the address of a shopless than €1 or $2 where you can buy a cheap adapter. They are extremely cheap, costing .

Forward planning and communication with your exchange partners can save you a lot of hassle, and it can also lower the cost of your travel!