Catherine Cullen is writing for Bright Hall from Galway, Ireland where she is completing a study abroad program and enriching herself in Anglo-European culture.

The best advice I heard before studying abroad was to bring half as many clothes and twice as much money.

I listened-- or so I thought. I pared my wardrobe down to the bare essentials, converted my savings into traveler's checks and got on a plane to cross the Atlantic. Now, two and a half months later I have three dresses and a handful of shirts I haven't worn, two pairs of jeans that are on their last legs (pun intended) and 43 euro in my checking account to get me through the next three weeks. Oops.

The clothing issue is an obvious one: my idea of the bare essentials is a little too liberal. The money issue is a more complicated one.

These days, twice as much money in Europe is just barely enough. With the exchange rates fluctuating every day, budgeting has become significantly more challenging. With a USD to euro exchange rate that has topped out 1.6 in the last two months (and that's not even factoring in the international ATM charges), twice as much money is just barely breaking even. Three or four times as much money is a more accurate figure.

Ireland in particular is one of the most expensive countries in the EU. Although cities like London, Moscow and Paris have consistently ranked at the top of the list, this is more indicative of average cost of living expenses. While property in these cities is at a premium, little things like groceries and coffee and tourist trinkets are price-adjusted. Here in Ireland, taxes are so high on these everyday items that the cost of "incidentals" adds up quickly.

So here's the revamped packing list for Americans studying abroad: bring two or three pairs of jeans, two weeks worth of assorted short and long-sleeved tshirts that you don't care about, enough underwear to bail you out if you don't feel like doing laundry (or can't afford it!), and a pair of sneakers. Fill the empty space in your luggage with as much cash as you can! I'm being sarcastic of course... you're going to want to go with traveler's checks.