What am I forgetting?

Preparing to Leave

What are the most important things to pack for study abroad?

How do you decide what to pack and what not to pack?

What things are you worried about finding when you get there?

Discuss…

You’ll be getting to Murray at the end of summer and heading into fall. You need to pack accordingly. This will mean you’ll wear shorts there, but pack plenty of jeans, a cou-ple sweaters and a light jacket. Remember, it’s far cheaper to shop for clothes in the US than it is here. If you like shopping, pack light and hit the malls!

Packing

You can bring one or you can buy at Wal-Mart when you get there, but American electric outlets are of a different current and shape than those of Korea. You will need a converter for your notebook PCs!!

Korea: 220 voltsUSA: 120 volts

Power Converters!!!!

Even though you’ll be there in autumn, Mur-ray is relatively warm compared to the upper Midwest.

Weather

Have you ever experienced jet lag?How many days did it take to recover?What are the best ways to get over jet lag?

Discuss…

Jet Lag

Going away from your time zone is much eas-ier to adjust to. Heading into time zones takes a lot more adjustment. Unfortu-nately, you’ll be heading into different time zones to get to Murray.

1. During the flight, DRINK A LOT OF WATER and STRETCH AFTER MEALS! Avoid alcohol and coffee dur-ing the flight. Also understand what time it is at home. Only sleep when you’d be sleeping at home.

2. Try to sleep on local time when you get there! The adjustment will go more quickly. If you sleep right away, your body will take 3-4 days to catch up, if you wait, it may only take 2 days (trust me I’ve done this a lot).

3. If the university allows it, break the trip up! You will adjust more quickly. For example, take the long leg of the trip to California and stay for two days. Then, board for Murray. You’ll be in much better shape by the time you get to school.

Dealing with Jet Lag

For those of you new to this, you will receive an I-94 arrival card and customs declara-tion form on the plane. You should fill these out during the flight. You have so much time.

Prior to leaving, the university should have helped you with all necessary paperwork to acquire a J-1 exchange visa. CARRY ALL PA-PERWORK WITH YOU ON THE PLANE! Present it to the immigration official at the port of entry in the US.

Arrival

If you are like me, you are addicted to coffee. Here is a list of local Murray cafés.

Fidalgo Bay http://www.fidalgobayky.com/

Coffee Addicts!

Thoroughbrewed Cafés (on campus)

Gigabites Café and Deli

5th and Main

Cornerstone Coffee House

What are ways to survive abroad on a tight budget?

How can I travel cheaply once we complete our semester at MSU?

Discuss…

1. cut corners – If the university provides meals in the cafeteria, eat there as much as possible (no matter how disgusting you think it is). This will save money for you.

Buy generics at the store if you can. Generic brands are basically the same thing if you look at the nutritional information on the boxes, just not a famous brand.

Ballin’ on a Budget

2. Budget travel options after the semester:Rail

www.amtrak.comBus

www.megabus.comwww.greyhound.com

Airwww.southwest.com

www.spirit.comwww.flyfrontier.comwww.virginamerica.com

Ballin’ on a Budget

Amtrak

Bus

AIR

Nashville, Memphis and Louisville are nearby. New Orleans, Atlanta, Miami, Wash-ington, D.C., Chicago, New York, L.A., etc. There are so many places that you may want to visit after your semester, but you can’t see them all. Here are some sites to find budget friendly hostels or hotels while traveling.

Budget Lodgings

www.hostels.comwww.motel6.comwww.hotels.comwww.tripadvisor.com

MSU uses the Murray Bank and BB&T. They also have a US Bank ATM. I suggest getting US Bank if you plan to travel during or after the semester because there are more loca-tions and ATMs throughout the eastern part of the country. You can open an account downtown and there is an ATM in the General Services Building.

Banking at MSU

Using your phone browsers, decide on what location you would like to visit after the se-mester. How are you going to get there? Where are you going to stay? What can you see? What can you eat? What else can you do there?

Smart Phone Activity