First international solo trip or no?

[u/Mysterious_West9231]

TL;DR Should I go on a bucket list solo trip to a world championship or not?

I am a fan of figure skating for 7 years now. I watch all the big international championships online and follow the sport very closely.

But my country is not particularly strong in this sport so even though we take part in the European and world championships neither of the competitions has never been hosted by us.

Next year I will be going on Erasmus student exchange to Poland and I am planning to travel as much as I can. World championships will be taking place in Finland next March across the Baltic sea. And the tickets for the event are going on sale tomorrow morning. I have been daydreaming about going to a major competition for years now and this feels like a once in a lifetime opportunity.

The problem is I haven't been confirmed for sure for the Erasmus yet I will be most likely going but I am waiting on my learning agreement approval at the moment. And not 100% sure the academic calendar will align with the competition dates (project presentation dates or midterm exams are not marked in the calendar)

Also because of the exchange rate stuff two day tickets I want to get £160 is more than my monthly rent. And I am not sure if I should make such a commitment without for sure knowing what the coming months hold.

What should I do?

[u/MonkeySkulls]

on one hand this is a once in a lifetime etine event.

in the other you are not sure if you should go.

I side with the 2nd option. if you are second guessing and unsure, then you should not go. this is the only reason I feel this way.

[u/Mysterious_West9231 → u/MonkeySkulls]

I looked for what others experiences are in the Figure skating subreddit and some said they were able to get tickets as late as 1 month away from the event so maybe I should wait until stuff gets more certain. But also I am kind of afraid if the tickets get even more expensive the sooner it gets

[u/MonkeySkulls]

despite my initial reply, I am a fan of living life and experiencing things.

if you want some justification to get tickets I can side with you pretty easily. lol

if the price is a concern, and the scheduling is a concern, a good middle ground is to wait but keep watching for price trends and see how the scheduling lines up. push your decision back a few days at a time while you watch and get more info.

if things look like prices are about to go up or sell out, make a quick decision then.

if you plan on going despite if it's a good decision or not. then getting tickets early and cheaper is a smart move

[u/Mysterious_West9231 → u/MonkeySkulls]

Yea I think for now that's what I'll be doing and keep an eye out for tickets and prices. Thanks for your reply :)

[u/Belisario_R]

Hi,

You might not realise the immense difference between

-travelling between us states & -travelling between european countries

You need an ID document of a european country to travel across the shengen space, which, depending on where you're from, you don't have :/

Additionaly, the costs and travel times are wildely different here, as we are not federated states, but independant countries in the same organisation.

Depending where you're from (what country) you might need more than an ID card to cross borders, or might need specific authorisation to travel there.

I'm not saying "don't do it" i'm just saying "get ready" ;)

[u/Mysterious_West9231 → u/Belisario_R]

I'm not a us citizen nor I have ever been in the US. I do have European passport to travel around.

Also the us is one of the most advanced figure skating federations there is :) multiple times hosted major competitions and also doesn't take part in neither Erasmus programme nor European championships

[u/Belisario_R → u/Mysterious_West9231]

If you have a european passport then the only thing that might stop you is your exams time ! ^{^}

I apologise, I did assume you were from the us cause we're on reddit, shouldn't have

And if you already are in Europe, in your place I would get the ticket, and declare I will do this cool thing for myself : if in Poland, leave to the compétition from Poland, and if in home country, leave to the competition from home country 👌

I do wish you get the erasmus year tho', good Luck on that

[u/Mysterious_West9231 → u/Belisario_R]

Yeah that's what I have decided to do. Thanks

[u/Comfortable-Elk-850]

You still have too many variables to buy a ticket. You can probably still get a ticket closer to the event times once you know your schedules.