Learn top study abroad souvenirs—and even get some study abroad tattoo ideas?! ☆ Is the thought of returning from your study abroad experience making you sad? Are you not ready to leave all of your new passions and interests behind? Well you don’t have to—souvenirs can help you relive the feelings and excitement of your time abroad long after you return home!
You can take your memories home with you with these great souvenir ideas!
When you study abroad in another country, you want to be able to come home and share these experiences with your loved ones. Sometimes it can be hard to find something that captures (and fits in your suitcase!) the experience of being abroad. A keychain or magnet just don’t quite cut it.
Finding a cool and memorable souvenir can be tricky if you’re only looking in an overpriced souvenir shop in a touristy area. You want to bring home something that is authentic and special to help bring the experience to life for those at home you want to share it with. With these 10 must-buy souvenirs from studying abroad, you will be able to bring home a piece of the world to share with your friends and family.
10 of the coolest study abroad souvenirs
Souvenirs come in all different shapes and sizes. Everyone has something that speaks to them, and you’ll find that most travelers have some sort of collection from their time abroad. Start your souvenir collection today with these 10 must-buy ideas for study abroad souvenirs!
1. Piece of Art
There’s so much art to choose from while abroad you’ll want to take it all.
One way to make your apartment or dorm room stand out is to fill it with international art. Art can be anything from a tapestry to an oil painting to a small sculpture—whatever your taste is! Art is timeless and moves with you through your adulthood as a beautiful and decorative way to remember your time abroad. Paintings are easy to roll up in a tube for transfer back home and then you can get it framed once you’re settled in.
2. Bars of Soap
Capturing the sensations from abroad can be challenging once you return home, especially the sense of smell. Try collecting bars of soap made from the places you visit! You’ll get a variety of different ingredients and fragrances, which you help you relive the experience of being abroad during your morning showers. It makes for a reflective and thoughtful way to start your day!
3. New Haircut or Fashion Statement
When you travel the world, you’ll see all sorts of different fashion and beauty trends which might inspire you to change up your look. Coming home with a new cool outfit or hairstyle is a great way to celebrate the style of your destination country. This unique souvenir is also a great way to spark conversation with loved ones once you return.
4. Tattoo
Go home and show off all the amazing places you traveled!
If you want to truly remember your experience studying abroad forever, consider getting a tattoo! This meaningful and permanent symbol of your transformative time abroad will be forever special to you. Young people today are getting tattoos much more frequently than in the past, so why not join the movement?! Some popular study abroad tattoo ideas include a map, a compass, a favorite word in the local language, or the coordinates of your study abroad destination.
5. Flags
In the age of Instagram, having a souvenir that is photogenic is always a bonus and flags are a perfect example! Versatile and memorable, flags help capture the spirit of your time abroad and are easy to squeeze into tight luggage. You can pose with the flags as you travel and then hang them on the wall once you’re home for a unique piece of art.
6. Local Recipe
Impress your family when you come home with new cooking skills!
Are you the type of person who doesn’t collect things but prefers to collect experiences? Coming home with a new recipe that you learned abroad is a great souvenir for the less tangibility-minded folks. You can share stories from your study abroad experience with loved ones over a globally-inspired meal that you cook! It brings to life the experience for people who weren’t there with you in a tasty and enjoyable way.
7. Sew-On Patches
A common, but still cool, souvenir to bring home from your study abroad experience is a sew-on patch. You’ll see backpackers with their bags covered in patches from all over the world, making for a great conversation starter as you travel. You can add them to bags or a jean jacket, and you’ll be suprised by the number of people that ask you about the destinations along the way. Plus, it makes your backpack easy to locate and totally personalized to you!
8. Postcards!
Your friends and family will love receiving these, but save some for yourself too!
This is a classic souvenir that stands the test of time. Postcards are a fun snapshot into the various places you visit during your time studying abroad. We recommend getting in the habit of sending yourself a postcard in the mail from your visits because your collection will grow over time, creating a very special version of a travel journal. Your future self will thank you for the collection of memories!
9. A New Skill
Did you pick up some French language abilities during your studies in France? What about a new love for dance after living in Spain? Skills that you learn while studying abroad can be an excellent souvenir to bring home with you because it keeps your experience alive even as you transition back to your routines and schedule at home. It is also a great opportunity to meet new people and pursue your new interests.
10. Local Maps
Throughout your time abroad, you probably picked up a few different maps—whether it was a subway map, a map of a local museum, or even a country map, these can make awesome study abroad souvenirs. Another plus is these items can be crafted into a variety of different memorabilia once you get home. What’s more, they’re lightweight and easy to pack. You could turn your old maps into a shadow box for your wall, you could papermache them onto a table top, or you could glue them into a scrapbook!
Your time abroad is sweet, even if it is coming to an end
Getting study abroad souvenirs will help you say goodbye.
Returning home is always a bittersweet experience and reentry can be a real challenge for some study abroad students. Souvenirs are a way to relive some of your memories from the time abroad, and we recommend having at least a few keepsakes.
We hope these 10 cool study abroad souvenir ideas sparked your creativity, but did we miss any of your favorite souvenirs? Comment below with your suggestions for what to collect from your time abroad!
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