Traveling in a foreign country can be difficult, especially when you are studying at the same time. Navigating is hard and the language barrier can make something as simple as ordering dinner a huge ordeal. However, the technology we have these days can be life saving! Here are a few tips and tricks to help you navigate study abroad.

1. The art of the screenshot. Screenshots on your phone just might be your new best friend. Most students don’t have cell service all the time while they are abroad, but if you look things up in advance and screenshot them then you will always have them! For example, this is handy for train and bus schedules. You can screenshot your boarding pass for planes instead of printing it out. You can even screenshot or take pictures of your notes from class so that you can be studying while you travel.

2. Google Maps. Google Maps has added public transportation for almost all cities. That means that this one app can give you walking directions to the metro station, tell you which metro to take, and when to get off. It can also recommend places for dinner and things to do (it even shows pictures). If you won’t have cell service while you are traveling, you can plug in destinations while you are on Wi-Fi and it will still give you directions even after you have left Internet connection.

3. For flights, you can almost always check in ahead of time on your phone. This will save you tons of precious travel time so you don’t have to wait in the extremely long lines at the airports.

4. Document your travels. Last but not least, the technology we have today makes it majorly easier to take pictures and document our favorite moments. Take videos throughout the trip and make a montage at the end. Or perhaps take lots of pictures to put in a scrapbook back home. You could even keep a journal in the notes section of your phone so you don’t forget a thing! Whatever you do, do something to help you keep track of this awesome opportunity.

5. Google Translate now has a feature where you can hold your phone camera over words such as a menu, and it will automatically translate it to your language! This is a quick easy way to beat the language barrier instead of having to type it all out or just guess what it says.

These days we have so much technology at our fingertips and it would be silly not to take advantage of it! It may feel a little tricky at first, but once you get the hang of it technology can really enhance your travel experience.