| INITIAL
ARRIVAL & ORIENTATION |
| COUNTRY
QUICK LINK A-D • E-H • I-L • M-P • Q-T • U-Z |
| 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: •
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 |
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TO TOP |
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.
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| 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 |
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TO TOP |
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
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|
• Winter
was quite cold without central heating.
|
| MEXICO |
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TO TOP |
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 |
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TO TOP |
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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