Okay so I’m going in to month ten and there are things I know now that I wish I had known before launch… most of them concerning what apps to have downloaded and set up before leaving the States.
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Venmo- literally 90% of my squad uses this (FREE) money-transfer app for everything under the sun. You wanna buy some oranges from a fruit stand in the middle of nowhere but you don’t have any cash.. a teammate spots you the $2 it takes to buy the 30 oranges and instead of paying $5 or $6 to take out the $2 you need to pay her back, you just send her a Venmo and boom: everyone’s happy.
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Uber- in countries where Uber is available, this is the safest, most reliable, AND cost efficient form of transportation.
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Spotify/iMusic- this one is pretty self-explanatory, but if you don’t don’t set it up before you leave the States, you have to be able to receive sms messages.
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Google Translate- it doesn’t work for all languages but it’s a life-saver for the ones it does work for!
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Netflix- this app is what has gotten me through all the 72-hour bus rides and double-digit layovers! Also, it really helps you “be alone” when you can’t actually be alone.
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WhatsApp- great for texting non-iPhone users (which is the majority of the world). It also tends to work better on WiFi than iMessage!
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Maps.me- after you’ve downloaded the map for the country, you don’t need WiFi to use it. It’s great for finding coffee shops, markets, and almost anything else you can think of.
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Xe Currency- the most accurate currency exchange app.
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Your mobile banking app- even though you think you’ve taken care of anything that could possibly go wrong with your card(s), it’s better to be safe than sorry!
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Facebook messenger- not super important to have but it gives you another option for communicating.
Not all of these have to be downloaded and set up before you leave the States but things are MUCH less frustrating to set up at home than out in the field (in my experience at least!)
Meanwhile, Romania is AMAZING. I’m not sure if that‘s because I’ve spent the last four months in Africa or if it’s because I now have regular access to WiFi.. Africa was great- a little rocky at some points but an overall great experience that I’m so grateful to have had!
We are living in the church we are aiding in ministry, and we’re in the city of Pitesti (pronounced Pitesh). My team and I are with another all-girls team and we will all be doing youth and homeless ministry together! We’re spending four weeks here before moving on to OUR LAST MONTH in Portugal!
