Got my visa grant letter this morning. I took the subject tests too late for Ivy League and was unable to get into MIT so I'll be going to Australia as a student.
What is your advice on living in a foreign country for the first time? Academic/Social/anything.
I normally wouldn't listen to the Internet, but the people here like 8bit and tng seem cool ^_^
Bring less stuff. Seriously. Pack your bag. Unpack. Throw half away. Pack the remaining half. Unpack. Throw half away. Then you are ready. Maybe. Make friends. Fall in love with Skype and Google Hangouts. Stay in touch with people stateside, but not obsessively so. Download whatsapp, chances are you'll be on a plan with not unlimited text messages. Prepare for terrible Internet prices and speeds due to lack of infrastructure. A USB dongle is a better deal than a Internet plan that you typically have stateside. Get a world unlocked phone here if you are looking to get a new phone. If not, it's not bad to get your phone unlocked there. Kiosks in the malls all do it. I recommend Nexus 5 if you are looking for new world unlocked phone. I love mine - plus it is relatively cheap. Drink more. Listen more. Engage more. Flights via Hong Kong are occasionally cheaper than going directly from Sydney to the States. Keep an eye on these and you could score a free trip to Hong Kong when you come home to visit. Order flat whites at the coffee shop. Don't put sugar in that shit. Never say no to adventures or things that make you scared. If you are apprehensive and it's not because the activity in question is physically dangerous, it's a sure sign you should do it. Things to bring rather than buy: make up, cosmetics, hair products, guitars, electronics, things from Victoria Secret, and anything else imported from the states. Things are just more expensive in Australia. I know the above are mostly female based but you get the idea. Things not to buy or bring: OTC medicine (Australia's versions are better and same price range). Google us brand names to find the medicinal name or Australia brand name before you go to the pharmacy. Pharmacy workers are really sweet and will help you though too. It's quite different than here. Plus codeine in everything. Money: I had bank of America when I was there and they partnered with one of the biggest banks there, meaning I could withdraw cash for free,rather than 2 atm fees and a foriegn transaction fee. Walk into your bank. Talk to them. If they can't offer you no fees on Oz, get a new bank. Seriously. If you think you can handle a credit card, get a credit card with no foreign transaction fee. http://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/top-credit-cards/no-foreign-transaction-fee-credit-card/ There's only a couple out there but they are worth it. If you don't qualify for them, go get a chase freedom csrd TODAY. Use ~20% of your credit every month and pay it off every month. Before you leave, walk into chase and attempt to get them to upgrade you to their no foreign fees card.
Awww man. Half my advice just became useless. :( Where are you from? For banks, the only one I'm familiar with is ANZ (a en zed) because they are all over Sydney. As far as fees, customer services, etc I have no idea how they fair.
That makes sense to me, it's essentially what separates a writer from a great writer, the ability to conceive of and know what to pack. In the past, I have thrown everything but the kitchen sink at my songs and handed them to a professional to "fix it in the mix." -No more! The album I'm working on will be a much more deliberately packed suit-case. Have I beaten this metaphor to death yet?
I worked abroad in Japan for three months and I knew a couple of foreign students at my university and I think the most important thing, which will probably happen on its own anyway, is to make friends. If you befriend locals, you will experience the trip probably better than you could ever on your own. After a couple of weeks in Japan I knew all my colleagues pretty well, and they were so nice to me! They took me out to various places to eat, on the weekends they asked if I'm busy and we planned trips (even a little bit further away). And I got the same vibe from the foreign students: the time I saw them having the most fun on pictures was always when they were with others, instead of sitting in their apartment and waiting for the time to be over. See this as a maybe once in a lifetime chance! When you're back and you settled with a girlfriend, maybe a house and later family, something like this will be almost impossible. So in short: make the most out of it and use every day, in best case with new made friends who either share your experience of locals!
Can't stress this enough, make friends. Not lovers, friends. You might seem lonely sometimes and wish to be back with friends and family from home. But make friends, be open to things that you wouldn't have done back home. Good luck :) P.S: stay away from the snakes, crocodiles and spiders.
Oh yeah, the "do things that you wouldn't do at home" is also a big thing, in my opinion. Even if it's sad, you will only keep in touch with little people probably afterwards, but you can use this to do all the things you always wanted to do but for whatever reason you did not. Go out somewhere new without a plan of anything, without preparation. Get lost (literally). Over the Golden Week in Japan a buddy of mine visited and we did so many stupid things. Literally got lost in the city at 2 am and walked to our apartment for 3 hours, but we met so many people and it was such an unforgettable experience. We saw things which we never would've seen otherwise. I did go to clubs (which I normally never do) and a lot of other things. Try things you'd never thought you'd like. I think this is one of the little occassions where YOLO actually fits :D
This is important for everyone, everywhere, especially during college. I would add to focus on making friends but love your lovers, too. Don't feel guilty for one or two or five of those during college. :)Not lovers. Friends.
Ask people lots of questions. About language, culture, history, whatever. People are experts in their own language and culture. By asking them, they feel like the experts they are and will be surprised by how much they know and how valuable it is to you. They will like you for it and perhaps be amused by your wonder and appreciation. This is a very fast way to make friends and learn a LOT quickly! I'd suggest keeping a blog, a simple one on blogspot. Document differences between your new culture and old. Your family and friends will enjoy living vicariously through you, you'll have a record of the things you did, and writing the blog will give you time to reflect on what you've learned, prompt you to learn things more deeply and give you direction for finding new things you think you might want to learn. You're going to love it! Good luck!
._. fuck this countryI took the subject tests too late for Ivy League and was unable to get into MIT
Hey, thanks, that's nice to read. Good luck abroad, I think insoms advice seems solid. I'm gonna badge it.