| AUSTRALIA |
Macquarie: • Arrive
early, sleep on the plane, don't plan anything
the first week. Make friends, but not all American.
Bring cash and credit cards, shop early. Be
nice to your roommates and buy a step-down
transformer
or a new alarm clock, surge protector, and
har dryer. Electricity is 230 volts and it
fries
small appliances in seconds. |
| AUSTRIA |
| Actilingua: • Verify
with them that all prior arrangement have been
approved. |
| BRAZIL |
| Bridge
Linguatec-Rio: When
I arrived they did not give me any orientation
about the institute or the downtown. • Good. • Some
comments made were insensitive. |
| CHINA |
| Shijiazhuang: • Summers
are hot and humid and some buildings don't have
AC. Winters are cold. • You have to be
self-reliant to study here. |
| COSTA
RICA |
| CPI: • Driver
was esily recognizable at the airport and ready
to trasnport us to our immediate location.When
I arrived at San Jose airport, driver was not
there, having picked up another student thinking
it was me. • Orientation was unorganized
(Heredia). • When you arrive at airport,
you won't see someone holding a CPI sign; you
have to ask around for it. • Arrival orientation
varies by location. • Need to improve arrival
orientation and instructions for transport from
airport. • Informal, mostly reading a booklet. |
| ECUADOR |
BridgeAbroad-Quito: I
would have preferred to begin classes the first
day rather than spend the whole day doing orientation,
since I was only in Quito for one week. • Couldn't
open e-mail attachment with host family information,
and advisor did not get my arrival information.
South side of Quito less safe than New Town. • Could
have used more information about the host family,
the city itself, and where to avoid.
Pacífico: Needed
information on end of term, lack of textbooks
in classes, and the small size of the university. |
| FINLAND |
| Turku: • With
stipend provided, can live a limited lifestyle,
but cost of travel, eating out, clothing can
prove costly for exchange students. • It
will be cold, so be prepared with warm clothing. |
| FRANCE |
Angers: • Needed
to know about different starting dates among
university colleges, transportation difficulties
in the city, opening and closing times of stores
on Sundays, limited internet access.
LYON 3: French skills inadequate for orientation. Needed one day in
English to get questions answered.
MICEFA (Paris): • Be aware that in Paris mostly nobody speaks
English, so they need to be prepared to speak French. They also will walk a lot
and many places are closed after certain hours. Few places open 24/7. The weather
can be variable with cold and rainy days. • Paris very expensive, including
food and clothes. • Don't expect classes to start on time.
Savoie: • Not
very capable of handling handicapped students. |
| GERMANY |
| Marburg: Don't
arrive on a Sunday (every thing closed)! • Be
aware that you will be on your own for the first
day or two. Have sufficient funds to cover a
taxi ride and a night in a youth hostel. • First
day was very unorganized. |
| GUATEMALA |
| Proyecto
Linguistico: • Need to know
more about the size of the school, the number
of students, and the am and pm sessions. Xelaju: • Check
with school about who will meet you at airport--the
school or the host family? |
| JAPAN |
Chukyo: • Phone,
electric, utilities, transportation are all out
of pocket.
KCP: • I wish I had packed shorts. Heat wave and all. • Be
aware that KCP requires full payment up front.
Kansai Gaidai: • Exchange money before arriving at Kansai Gaidai,
since there isn't any place to do so once you arrive. Fill out all the paper
work promptly. Get vaccinated, buy your necessities before coming here. Don't
wait until the last minute to prepare. Fill out all possible scholarship applications
and immigration forms asap. • Should
have read Lonely Planet before going to Japan. • Didn't know that fees
and deposits were required before receiving stipend later. • Take advantage
of the speaking partner programs as well as the student run clubs.
Nagoya: • Bring lots of emergency cash with you and exchange it
all into yen. Also make alternate travel plans in case of unexpected weather. • Things
are more expensive than you will think so have sufficient money on hand. • Make
sure your paperwork is always accurate and up-to-date. • Japan is expensive. |
| MALTA |
| • Winter
was quite cold without central heating. |
|
| MEXICO |
BridgeAbroad-Playa
de Carmen: • Everything provided
by school was great. • It is hot and
humid, lots of mosquitos, rains frequently.• School
could have shown more concern after the hurricane.
Cuauhnahuac (Cuernavaca):• The school tells you during orientation
that their internet café and their laundry services are the cheapest and
best but their internet café is twice as much and super slow. Their laundry
service is also the most expensive in town. • Laundromat
is right next to the school. • Quality
of laundry service is not high, so don't take favorite clothes. • Tuition
included books, doctor's visits, use of swimming pool, and parties organized
by the school. • When large goups arrive, they get more attention than
independent students. • Programs offered at all ages, and should take some
nice clothes to go to clubs. • Wear tennis shoes when going to pyramids. • Take
extra money for emergencies. • Take bug spray.
Fenix: • Need to get host family information earlier. • Did
not receive arrival orientation. didn't have adequate information around arrival
transportation or the receiving host family. • Always
know your address, phone # and name of host family. Keep all receipts from payments
to the school. • If you are planning to go by bus after you get your student
ID at the school, if they (Mexicans) have vacations then you can get your bus
ticket half off to come home.
ICO (Oaxaca): • Definitely
try to attend the Satuday morning orientation meeting.
NRCSA: (Cuernavaca) • As
an independent student (not with a group) you must assert yourself to get things
done. (Guadalajara: • Double check housing and transportation
arrangements with the institution shortly before leaving home in order to avoid
being stranded at a bus station or airport.
TEC de Monterrey: • Ask for information about what to do upon
arriving and where to report. m• If they stay at a residence hall, expect
that some of the things will not work properly (i.e., the fride, the stove).
If you need to talk to a certain person you should be prepared to wait for an
hour or more because there are so many people also seek help the first two weeks. • Be
prepared for a lot of security around the campus (Monterrey). Always have to
show your ID. • Dual U.S.-Mexico citizens need to check what their visa
requirements are. |
| NETHERLANDS |
| Radboud
Nijmegen: • Excellent. • Have
to get information yourself. Utrecht: • Places
close at 6 p.m. and not open Sundays. Vrije: • Had
no orientation, but arrived late. • Before
going go to ESW university website and sign
up for a mentor who will pick you up from the
airport, explain transportation system, etc. |
| NEW
ZEALAND |
| Auckland
Tech: • You are expected to
be self directed. |
| PERU |
| BridgeAbroad-BL-Cusco: • The
open-site orientation is very good. |
| SPAIN |
BridgeAbroad:
(Sevilla) • Be
sure to have current information. School is
hard to find without a correct address or phone
number. • Ask lots of
questions since school didn't let me know about
1 free hour of tutoring each week, the location,
and time school started each day. (Malaga) • Too
many high school students. One washing machine
for 200students. • Need more in-depth
information about food and housing, since the
on-line descriptions are too vague. • Hills
in Malága steep making walking difficult. • Be
prepared to pay for every thing, such as snacks
and activities.
Murcia: • Utilties can be more expensive than expected. • Be
prepared for everything to close from 2-4 p.m. Keep
up with the international relations office--ask them exactly where you are going
and what to do or have (phone numbers, for instance) if you get stranded. Having
everything closed in the middle of the day for siesta takes some getting used
to. Everything is closed on Sunday, too.
NRCSA:
(Sevilla) • Needed from school time school started, addrress
of school and host family, plus better map and more organized testing.
PIEE-Ronda: • Sometimes
it is hard to buy "American" products such as face wash, so bring this
with you. • Only extra cost was a $20 book. • No Spanish students
at part of PIEE because it only teaches Spanish to foreigners.
Texas Tech Sevilla Center: • Bring your daily necessities but
also know that they have many places here to get what you need, so only pack
things you can't do without. Keep an optimistic perspective the whole time. • Ask
for a schedule of trips and classes before leaving the U.S. • Sevilla5.com is
a great website for useful information about Sevilla and travel around Spain. • No
one met at airport. • Recommended
monthly out-of-pocket spending is $250, but this is too little if eating out
a lot, going to weekend activities, buying souveniers, shopping, traveling.
UPO: • Be advised on every detail so when arriving to city you
won't feel lost. don't be afraid to ask a person if they have a question about
a destination. Spaniards are very friendly and are willing to help anyone, especially
foreigners. • Exchange
students in the Hispanic Studies Program will not be integrated with Spanish
students. Only those who are fluent in Spanish will become integrated. |
| SWITZERLAND |
| Fribourg: • Needed
more information on how to register for classes,
what offices to go to for help. • Language
of business is French everywhere. • Switzerland
is expensive, but much can be done with proper
planning. |
| UK (England,
Scotland, Northern Ireland) |
British
Studies London Summer Program: • Make
a checklist of what you need. • If
traveling separate from the group, make sure
you have address of St. Mary's College and
all documents you will need to pass customs
and immigration. • You won't have a pre-meeting
with MSU staff, so find out from them by e-mail
what to pack, what books you need, how much
time for classes, etc. • Make sure to
know when the arrival orientation take place. • Budget
extra $ for food,entertainment, and travel
and always ask for student discounts. • Bring
travel alarm, since hard to get up first couple
of days.
Bournemouth: Participate
in the International Student Orientation
Programs activities to meet people from
all over.
Plymouth: • Make sure you have all forms of the pre-arrangements
with you, but the university does a great job with help you to make it easier.
Keep records of every thing, and pay attention to country specific currency.
When you do settle in just remember to keep an open mind about the culture and
the people, and fully enjoy the experience as a whole. • Double
check what your local housing will be. |
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