Some Thoughts on Getting Ready

I hope you don't find this cheeky, but where I would normally write a new blog post about getting our incoming spring 2012 students thinking about money (accessing it abroad, forms to carry it, paying rent, etc.), I'm going to direct you to a blog post I wrote on this very subject last June by clicking here.

Instead, let's take a quick look at the pile of things on your mind right now.

• I got my visa!/I haven't gotten my visa yet!/I have my student visitor letter!/I haven't gotten my student visitor letter yet!

As I think I start most of my emails, that's great news if you have your visa!  If you haven't already let us know that you have it, please email the London Center.  If your visa is a work in progress, there's no need to start sweating.  Let us know if you have any questions about the process.  Student visitors, if you should have a student visitor letter and don't yet, contact International Programs.  They should have everyone's letters.  These are only needed for students who are not getting visas and do not carry an EU passport.  If you are getting a visa you should not have this letter.

• I've heard about my work placement (internship)!/I haven't heard about my work placement!

Some people know where they will be working some don't.  It's the nature of the beast.  Some sites take longer to get back to our coordinators than others.  Some students' fields of interest are difficult to find placements in.  All I can say is that our coordinators want to find the best fit they can based on the forms you filled out on our website.  And our best advice is to be open minded.  Placements are easier to find, and often provide more work for students to do, at smaller companies rather than large.  Placements are also harder and harder to come by in the current climate.  Unemployment seems to be spreading like plague.  Work placements are part of the cultural exchange of studying abroad, so even if the work isn't exactly what you had in mind, there is always something to be learned from every experience, even if the lesson is that this isn't the kind of work you want to do.  For the most part our students are happy in their placements, though, so again, please don't sweat this.

• What do I pack?

Very good question, start with the practical aspects.  What is the luggage/weight limit of the airline?   Research this so that you aren't surprised by surcharges at the airport.  What's the weather like?  If you ask me, it's a cold winter here in London.  It's not a snowey Ithaca winter, but it's chilly and windy.  How much should I pack?  You're coming over for 4 months and will have the ability to do laundry, so don't weigh yourself down with your entire wardrobe.  Bring what you wear to class (aside from pajamas, no one really wears those out of the house in London like they do in college towns) and bring something appropriate for your work placement.  Bring comfortable shoes (some people swear by their rain boots, some say they were a waste of luggage space), most classes utilize London and don't spend the entire semester in the classroom.

• When do I register for classes?

I promise that's a work in progress.  It is a very busy time in International Programs and Rachel will let everyone know as soon as she can.

• Where will I live?

Bill has sent out details for a couple student housing options which can be prearranged (Foundation for International Education and Anglo American).  Please drop us an email if you would like more info about these options.  Another option is a home stay.  This means living in a family home somewhere in London.  You often have your own room, and depending on the arrangements this may or may not also include some meals.  As usual, email the London Center if you would like more information.  If you plan on flat hunting during orientation week start thinking about a housing group.  Some students have already started posting on our Facebook group, this is a great forum to get in touch with most of your spring 2012 ICLC classmates.

• What am I forgetting?

If you would like an ISIC card, do this through OIP as the one you get in America before you arrive comes with insurance.  Plan your budget before you get here.  Rent is advertised by week but usually paid by month.  To figure out your monthly rent multiply the weekly amount by 52 (weeks) and then divide that by 12 (months).  Your deposit is also about 4-6 weeks more of rent (this should be returned to you at the end of your stay).  During fall 2011 our students' rent ranged from about £110-170 per person per week.  Familiarize yourself with the terms Council Tax and TV Licensing.  You are full time students so you are exempt from paying Council Tax, but YOU MUST APPLY FOR YOUR EXEMPTION.  Anywhere that has a television has to buy a tv license.  This fee keeps the BBC commercial free, and not paying can lead to a fine in excess of £1,000.  It can be paid monthly, or the landlord/estate agent may have already paid it.  It is important to know where you stand, because TV Licensing doesn't care if you plead ignorance.  You can't do these things before you arrive, but they may be foreign concepts, so we are raising awareness early.

This on top of finals, and probably loads more thoughts are circling in the developing whirlpool of your mind.  Please don't stress about any of it!  Stay aware of everything going on.  Read people's Facebook posts on our group page, read our emails, read the news.  We want you to find your feet in London as soon as you hit the ground.

-Claire

PS- The fall 2011 group wishes you well in their new adopted city and sends this message to you:

Tenterhooks- a True Story

If a person is on tenterhooks, they are in a state of uneasy suspense or painful anxiety.  This originates from the hooks or bent nails that hold cloth stretched on a tenter (thank you, dictionary.com).  On a side note, a tenter is a frame that cloth is stretched on so that it dries evenly.

The reason I bring up tenterhooks is because I was thinking of the excitement of getting ready to come over to London.  I know that you have packing to do, flatmates for find, money to sort out and summer jobs to wrap up, too.  But I remember being in your position.  With all that going on, I just wanted to get on the plane and come over to London!  My anxiety wasn't painful and there wasn't really any uneasy suspense, but I was waiting impatiently for that departure date to arrive.  I was so ready to be in London!

Everything I'm about to relate truly happened.  You can ask my mom.

There are only a few highlights of my own departure and arrival in London as a study abroad student that flash across my memory.  I knew what I wanted to pack, and I had everything laid out in organized piles in my room at home.  Of course I knew that they needed to be in a suitcase to get them over to London, but there they sat in my room until around 2am the morning of my flight (I think I was leaving O'Hare around 10am to connect to my transatlantic red-eye from Newark later that day) when I panicked and chucked my neat piles into my duffel bag and backpack.  I think I spent a lot of time sitting on my duffel, struggling to get it closed, and not a single moment of that night sleeping.  Another memory was my arrival at O'Hare.  My mother came with me to the check-in desk, and while I was waiting I was going through the checklist I had been sent.  I had my acceptance letter to show at the border, but I had completely forgotten to ask my parents to write me a letter of support to say that they would help me financially, if I needed.  So, very quickly, while waiting to check-in, my mom scrawled a note on the back of Bill's big summer quiz, which used to be posted to students in a big pack of papers (only some of the questions have changed in the last decade), to say that she wouldn't let me go broke while abroad.

This next bit now causes me to shudder, since immigration is now a large part of my job.  When I arrived in London I hadn't really slept on the flight and I hadn't slept a wink the night before, so I was perhaps a little loopy from lack of sleep.  One thing I do know, there were two border agents at the desk I approached, the trainer and the trainee.  As a result I received a thorough questioning from the trainer who seemed to be setting an example.  I was baffled when I was asked my mother's maiden name, because she didn't change it when she got married.  Then, more importantly, they asked me how much money I had.  That was a much easier question, knowing the contents of my pockets.  "$5," I said.  "$5?" he asked.  "Yes," I said.  No problem, I hit that one straight out of the park.  He just stared at me.  "Anything else at all?" he asked.  "Nope," I said, still batting 1,000.  "You're telling me that you've just flown over from the USA with an empty bank account and no credit or debit cards?" he asked.  "Oh.  Of course I have those.  I thought you wanted to know how much cash I had on me."  Batting 500.  And I completely forgot to show him the note from my mom (though the state of it would probably just have attested to my disorganization even more).  Batting 0.  He rolled his eyes and stamped my passport, and I entered the UK.  In my defense, I hadn't had much sleep, but I'm not here to make excuses for my moments of delinquency.  I was a bit of a numpty that morning.

Me as a study abroad student.  I'm the one in the middle

The moral of my story is this: no matter how ready you think you are, get some rest and don't panic.  The upside is that I'm able to bring experience to my job. 

-Claire

PS- I'm pretty sure it's not usual to be asked your mother's maiden name at immigration.

Hamlet Might Have Said As He Headed To Wittenberg, 'To Pack or Not to Pack?'

As August approaches and the number of days until your departure becomes more and more surreal, the ICLC staff are busily getting ready to welcome Group 79.  New carpets are being put in (we don't do that for just any group! Perhaps for a forthcoming group we will put in a new boiler! Or a kitten!), tickets are being ordered, mass emails and quizzes are being sent out.

On a side note, has anyone out there ever heard the phrase, "If Jamie Oliver (or anyone else) saw that, he would have kittens!" as a way of saying that person will have a tantrum?  Is that a British-ism? 

Jack Hrkach- Captain of packing lightly

We've touched on some of the major points of getting ready to come over- money, housing, football solidarity- and one major one still lies ahead: Packing.  For everyone but those with the most special personalities, this is a dreaded job.  There's the weather to consider (don't forget your winter coat, even though London winters aren't much like Ithaca winters, we have had some snow the last few years.  Last year's even made the news!), activities (will you be going on many walking tours, will you need to dress smartly for your work placement?) and airline luggage allowances to name a few.

Here are a few key things to remember when packing:
1. You are coming for 4 months, not forever.
2. If your luggage is too heavy for you to carry on your own, you have too much stuff and need to take things out of your bag.
3. If you bring enough clothing so that you can be fully dressed for 2 weeks, you're doing fine.  Don't weigh down your bags with enough clothing never to have to do laundry.
4. You will accumulate things to bring back by December.  Leave room in your bags for them.
5. The UK has loads of toiletries.  Many are the same at those sold in the USA.  And if they don't have what you like, be brave and consider it a cultural experience.
6. What is your airline's luggage limit?  You don't need to pay extra- that's a sign that you have overpacked

Having done a quick reread, I apologize for sounding a bit pedantic.  This is all common sense.  But it's also easy to ignore.  Perhaps there is one thing that you can't live without, but remember to be practical about it.  If it's your duvet you may want to tough it out with a British one for a few months.  If it's your Arsenal jersey, bring it by all means!

No joke, Drew really is attached to his kilt!

What are some important things to bring?  A converter plug for your computer is good, no need for many other electricals.  Good walking shoes hardly ever go amiss.  You're here to immerse yourself in British life and culture!  It will be ok to leave some of the USA behind for a few months!

-Claire

You can buy your soap in Britain, too!

I don't really know why oversize suitcases were invented.  It's like there is someone out there taunting students and willing them to over pack.  Over packing is an elementary error that can become painfully apparent the moment you try and pick up your suitcase.  The amazing thing is that a suitcase that is too heavy to move is sometimes not a deterrent to make the packer pack less.  Sometimes it's not until the case is weighed at the airport that the packer decides that there may be too much stuff in their bag.  And, more depressingly, some people don't realize that they have over packed until they get off the plane, having not slept very much, and try to lift their bags off the carousel.  Sometimes this is the moment of sad realization that they didn't need to bring four month supply of soap, shampoo and conditioner from home.

Fall 09 students arriving

September to December in London are not the warmest months, so you probably don't need to designate too much luggage space to summer clothes.  That space may be better used for your coat.  It's easy to forget to pack your coat in August, but often within a few weeks the wind will remind you how much warmer you would be with a coat on.  Another thing that's easy to forget is a towel.  Though you are likely to be looking for furnished flats to live in, this is something that is best provided by you.  You can of course get a towel here when you arrive, but in the past many students have brought an old one from home and then chucked it at the end of the semester.  On the other hand, sheets may be something that are better to purchase here.  Most people don't know until they find a flat what size bed they will be sleeping in.

This is probably what you will feel like when you arrive

You may also want to bear in mind that many students accumulate things that they want to bring back when they leave.  This could be stretching some people's ability to forward plan, but saving space in your suitcase from the beginning is a lot cheaper that having to having to pay for an extra suitcase or post things back home.  Many, though not all, flats have washing machines in them, so you don't need to bring every scrap of clothing that you own.  You may want to have a quick think before you start packing about the kinds of things that you think you will be doing while here.  Is there a dress code at your internship?  Have you picked up your London Centre school uniform from the bookstore?

Spring 10 students arriving

Some good things to remember are that plugs in the UK are different from plugs in the USA and both are different from plugs in continental Europe.  It's wise to bring your own adaptor before you get here, or else you will be carefully conserving your laptop battery.  There is also a different voltage in the UK.  Most laptop power cords have a transformer built into them, but many other electrical goods don't, and no one likes the smell of flaming alarm clock in the morning.  Another good thing to remember is that in these four months abroad you will get to experience food from around the world.  Leave that massive jar of peanut butter at home, give it's place in your suitcase to some more clean socks and consider the joy you will feel when you get home to your old favorite foods that you relinquished for British delicacies.   Before you fly find out the airline's weight limits for luggage.  Hand held luggage scales may make it easier to know how much you are carrying before you even leave home.  And make sure you can lift your own bags; most blocks of flats don't have elevators. 

Here is a parting narrative in the form of four limericks:

There once was a bag from Eau Claire

That had an itch to get out of there

It got packed full of stuff

Which was more than enough

But the packer didn't care.

*

The bag got on a plane

Though the airline complained

"This bag is too heavy,

It will have to pay a levy.

When we lift it we are pained."

*

When the suitcase had landed

There was no way to be candid.

It couldn't be lifted

Refusing to be shifted

And its packer just had to leave it stranded.

*

This story is a sad one,

 So here's the moral, then it's done:

If you are at all in doubt,

Leave those extra jeans out

And ensure that your bag weighs less than a metric tonne.

 -Elsie