<p>For goodness sake, please, please, please send traveler's checks enough to cover him for at least 3 weeks on BASICS (meaning, only food, transportation, and shelter). God forbid should anything happen to his wallet filled with credit cards and ATM cards.</p>
<p>Yes, mac n cheese and peanut butter were not so out there outside of the US, especially at reasonable prices! And toothpaste tends to be in smaller tubes for more money. Definitely stock up. </p>
<p>Also, warn your S when he buys medicine to LOOK AT THE DOSES! Countries vary their doses from the uS. My friend nearly died from overdosing herself with medicine that she refilled in the country we were studying in. For example, in the US, ibuprofren comes in 200 mg whereas in Israel, they can come in 500 mg. Yikes! (But for better per unit prices :))</p>
<p>The only thing that my friends complained of from being in the UK was how expensive everything was. So I'd say that your son needs to make sure he brings a positive and fleixible attitude!</p>
<p>Note you can't just spend traveller's cheques like cash in Europe, as I believe you can in the US. You have to take them to a bank, queue up and get them changed by the cashier. This could be an incredible pain. Banks are only open 9-5pm weekdays and also Saturdays in big cities. When first arrived, you might not know where the nearest bank is (having said that, there will probably be a small one on the uni campus). I have never known anyone actually use travellers cheques which leads me to suspect they might be a lot of hassle. Just saying.</p>
<p>Just separate your cards into two or more wallets. Don't carry huge amounts of cash (or £50 notes. Most people in the UK have never seen these and most shops won't accept them, but for some reason overseas banks do issue them to travellers. £50 is a massive amount of money - $100). Don't carry 3 weeks money on you!!!! That would be about £600 if you included accommodation money! I carry about £10 on a daily basis (this is quite a debit-card happy economy).</p>
<p>You won't overdose from any medicine in the UK because most things are sold in tiny doses precisely to prevent this (to prevent suicide basically). Painkillers only come in packs of 16, and sometimes the cashire won't let you buy two packs at once. Having said that, if you're only visiting for a short amount of time it's just easier to bring your own medicine because all the different names are confusing. </p>
<p>Highland Mom - your link is brilliant. I didn't know of anywhere where all the budget airlines were in one place. I will use that too Thanks.</p>
<p>tmp,
Not a bad idea about travelers checks, but I've got to say that my daughter has never had them and she's traveled to England, Africa, Peru and now lives in China. They do have them at our AAA for free though so having them as a peace of mind insurance policy would be good.</p>
<p>Great tip on the medicine, I wouldn't have thought that there would be different doses.</p>
<p>Another budget airline site! Thanks cupcake and Highland Mom.</p>
<p>I don't see any breaks at all though for son to travel. Are there no fall breaks? Or do people travel from Fridays- Sundays and can do that because the countries are close and air travel looks fairly inexpensive? It would be a shame for him to be over there for three months and not be able to see more of Europe.</p>
<p>Which university is your son going to? You mention Norwich, is it UEA? Some universities have reading weeks halfway through each of the first two terms- about a week at the beginning of November. However, it's really for studying and I don't know if UEA has reading weeks. He should get 3 to 4 weeks off from the middle of December to the middle of January- maybe he can travel then.</p>
<p>The UK electrical voltage is different from that of the US- it's 220/240 volts in the UK. His laptop charger cable has a transformer bloc built in, all laptops have these. However, he will need a three pin grounded (US) to three pin grounded (UK) plug which is not expensive and fits right on to his laptop cable at the end where it plugs into the wall.</p>
<p>Yes, he's going to UEA. I really hope we didn't read this wrong, this is the info in his congratulatory letter regarding dates, </p>
<p>"Dates for 2008-09</p>
<p>Suggested arrival dates 17 & 18 September 2008</p>
<p>Autumn Semester 22 September to 12 December 2008
(Christmas break - 13 December 2008 to 11 January 2009)
Spring Semester 12 January - 3 April 2009
(Easter break: 4 April - 3 May 2009)</p>
<p>Assessment Period 5 May - 12 June 2009
(Examinations)"</p>
<p>There's nothing about going back for exams before the next semester starts. Am I not seeing something?</p>
<p>I bought a pack of adapters when we went to China, hopefully I can find them again. hmmm, I don't remember seeing them when we unpacked. I bought them at Target though and they were cheap, will re-buy if necessary.</p>
<p>kathie, thanks so much for starting this. D is going abroad for fall and hasn't gotten anything helpful in the way of lists, either. Same deal - she's a rising junior and has all she needs for dorm life at her regular school, but didn't know what to plan/pack for this fall. Thanks to all who've posted helpful links and suggestions - these are a good head start.</p>
<p>What about stuff like reading lamps? Do UK dorms have good lighting? </p>
<p>(Also like Kathie's S, D has traveled plenty in Europe, both with family and on her own, so we're not looking for "how not to be an Ugly American" or how to handle money tips. :))</p>
<p>
[QUOTE]
What about stuff like reading lamps? Do UK dorms have good lighting?
[/QUOTE]
Depends on the place. they are always fully furnished with bed, closet, desk, chair and lamp (and always single rooms. if they try to put you in twin rooms just because you're American, complain. UK students never share rooms and they are just trying to rip you off and get twice the money for a single). Usually draws and a sink as well. I have a desk lamp which cost about £4. I would wait till arrival to see if one is needed (otherwise adaptors will be needed, as discussed above. I'd forgotten about that. Almost every US student in the UK has at some point blown up a hairdryer they brought from home. Remember you need a 3-pin UK plug. Two-pin 'European' plugs don't fit in the UK - unless you put a pencil in the 3rd hole, and hope not to electricute yourself..... My Swiss microwave has been happily working like this for years and years).</p>
<p>
[QUOTE]
There's nothing about going back for exams before the next semester starts. Am I not seeing something?
[/QUOTE]
No, most UK schools have exams only once a year, in the summer.
Christmas and Easter breaks are travelling times. Arts students get very little teaching contact time. maybe 10 hours a week. The rest of the time they get a reading list and are sent away to study/do assignments. It needs organisation and self-motivation, but it's quite easy to take Thurs-Sunday off for a break occassionally. A flight from the UK to France for example takes only 1 hour so it is easy to visit the rest of Europe whenever you want. for only a day if you want to. Plus your son is going to make lots of English friends who will invite him to their homes for weekends. When my parents lived really far away, I found this a good thing to do.</p>
<p>They only have exams once a year? Does that mean that fall study abroad students don't take exams or that they take proctored exams in the Spring for their fall semester courses? I sure home it's the former! </p>
<p>Harriet, what part of the UK is your daughter going? A great website that someone suggested (was it you cupcake?) on the parents forum is the student room. I hesitate to post the link because it's very similar to this site. They have a whole forum for UEA, so I assume they have may one for many of the larger uni's. Much of the chatter is about accomodations from rising freshman so very helpful for us. I don't think I will post there as it's a real students forum but passed it on to my son.</p>
<p>I found a great book series for study abroad kids called, "When in ----, live like a local". Amazon.com:</a> When in London: The Ultimate Study-Abroad Guide: Spark Publishing: Books Unfortunately for us the UK one is London but alot of the information is about the UK in general. I got that along with a UK map and a couple of other books for my son's 21st birthday- he found out about the abroad the day before his birthday. I just realized I probably should have read that before I posted here. :~</p>
<p>^^ oh I hope your D gets to go see some of the Highland games! She'll enjoy Edinburgh - there's so much on the Royal Mile, all within walking distance.</p>
<p>I agree with cupcake regarding not being able to make recommendaitons until we know what kind of place he'll be living in... a dorm, flat, or with a family. That can make a huge difference in what he'll need. </p>
<p>My D went abroad in her spring semester, so for Christmas, we got her a couple of good books on hostels in Europe since we knew she'd be taking some long weekend trips. I know she used those books quite a bit, and shared them with her other friends she was rooming with. Also found a book published by MTV that was helpful for kids of that generation traveling throughout Europe that she really liked. </p>
<p>Regarding meds, when I was visiting her, and ran out of my tylenol, I went to the chemist to get more, and asked for acetaminophen; they kept insisting that paracetamol was the same thing, but I didn't want to take anything new while away, so I stuck with my ibuprofen. Got home, did some research and found out paracetamol is the same ingredient in acetaminophen.</p>
That is generally the norm for all UK colleges and hgh schools, yes. Sometimes minor module exams occur at other times, but the main ones are in the summer. </p>
<p>
[QUOTE]
Does that mean that fall study abroad students don't take exams or that they take proctored exams in the Spring for their fall semester courses? I sure home it's the former!
[/QUOTE]
No idea. US study abroad students are often assessed differently from UK students, by their home rather than host institution. I would advise you to find out exactly how assessment is being carried out if study abroad will count towards your son's GPA at his home school. UK grading is very different, and much harsher. If you get 75%, you're a genius (actually I don't know anyone who did this well. Getting 50% is completely normal). Some schools take this into account, whereas others don't, or at least not very well.</p>
<p>Also, the university year tends to be based on a year's work- most courses last an academic year- two teaching terms and one assessment term. This is another reason that academic assessment in the UK is unforgiving- if you mess up an exam in a year long course as opposed to in a half year course, it has double the impact on your academic record.</p>
<p>I lived in Norwich for 2 1/2 years. It will be a great experience.<br>
No real advice on what to take - food wise everything is fine and it's not like living in China where you can't buy books (I carry back a bunch in my suitcase every year).</p>
<p>As for flights - we always did the Northwest ones through Amsterdam - by the time you take the train it was often very close to the same travel time.<br>
You can also take a bus to the airports.
We occasionally flew out of Stansted airport to various places in Europe - a little closer to Norwich than Gatwick or Heathrow</p>
<p>Good to know about Stansted. I have a ton of airline search engines bookmarked now but good to know of another airport because it doesn't look like Norwich is too big. </p>
<p>Momtn, any suggestions on great cheap(ish) destinations? He has a friend doing a study abroad in Scotland so I think he will go there and friend will probably visit him in Norwich, but where else?</p>
<p>We STILL haven't gotten his info packet. I know it's months away but he can't even apply for accomodations until he gets an official student number.</p>
<p>Son says his classes will be pass/fail but doesn't know how the final will work.</p>
<p>I've just had an epiphany thanks to a couple of pm's from cupcake. I mentioned on the parents forum regarding a post on what to take for a study abroad in Ghana and China that there most likely be no dryers available in either country. Cupcake pm'd me that that's most likely the case in England as well. Or, if there are that they will be quite expensive.</p>
<p>And that's when I realized the reason that Americans have so much stuff- because we use clothes dryers! :) Cupcake said on her pm, "People in Europe just don't tend to have dryers, even in their own homes. bad for the environment, expensive to run, no space and ruins your clothes." I mean, what's the difference here? </p>
<p>The truth is we Americans (most Americans) have become used to buying whatever we want simply because we can. We've made it so easy to launder our clothes so we don't have to even take into consideration drying loads of clothes on a hanging dryer - we just pop them into the regular dryer and wait for the ding. And that's why many of us don't wear the same clothes more then once before washing, because it's no big deal to launder them. If I had to hand dry our families clothes, I think there would be some big rule changes around here. </p>
<p>The laundry aspect of this study abroad is becoming more interesting. Will son come home more appreciative of our home laundry facilities or will he take a hand dryer to his college in Virginia? I'm afraid it's going to be the former - he already has told me that he likes to do laundry at college better then home because he takes over a couple of washers and dryers at a time and it's free there too. Cupcake said it can cost $4-$6 for a load to dry in England!!</p>
<p>You never know, you might be lucky and attend a college with free laundry facilities in England. Some Oxford colleges include it in the rent (actually I think a few have staff who do your laundry for you, but I am not lucky enough to be at one of these colleges, and this will probably only happen at Oxford and Cambridge). Dryers do exist, it's just people don't dry everything and most clothes bought in the UK are not dryer proof, as I learnt to my cost...</p>
<p>For example, a load of laundry costs £1.20 to wash and £1 to dry at my college, but one dryer cycle will NOT get your clothes dry enough. 2 or 3 cycles are needed. Note also that European washing machines are about 1/3 the size of US ones. </p>
<p>There is a law of stuff you know - stuff expands to fill the space available. You know how when you go on holiday with only half a suitcase full, but you have to buy another suitcase to bring all your stuff home again? The same thing happens in college (dorm) rooms. They never teach this important rule in Physics 101!</p>
<p>The whole dryer thing in England made me laugh - even if they had a "tumble dryer" they preferred to hang the clothes - in a country where it rains all the time! I remember countless times when visiting friends that we would all have to run out and help the hostess bring in her wash in the rain. One time we visited a small hotel in scotland where they could only give us one towel to share because it had rained for 2 weeks straight and they had very few dry towels. </p>