Why is Everything in the UK Expensive?

UK Studying Abroad Tip #8: Shopping to live in the UK!
In the UK, Oxford Circus is a famous area for shopping -- mostly for high end fashion and department stores. Of course, it is an expensive area to go shopping, but for good reason! This tip will mostly be about knowing where to shop in the UK for cheap and smart deals. I wish I had someone to guide me to these places or at least tell me about them. I could have saved more money and could have felt better about some purchases. Since I lived and went to college in MA, I have great respect for students who are able to move from their home country/town to a new place that they do not know anything about! Learning the good and bads of places to shop is a hard thing to do.

This will seriously be a great tip for those studying abroad in the UK in the future!!

When you're studying abroad in the UK, you have to buy your own bedding, cutlery, cookware, and groceries, if you live in a self-catered hall -- which most likely would happen. The following three stores are awesome about having nearly everything you need at good values:

1) Argos, http://www.argos.co.uk/
Price Range: Under Ten Pounds = Under $15
When you first move into your hall, it's always a good idea to make friends with your flatmates so that you can share the cost of cutlery and cookware. Argos is a SUPER bargain home-ware store. There are a bunch located throughout the UK, but in central London, Argos is located near Holborn and another one near Oxford Street. It's a catalogue based store, so when you walk into the Argos store -- you have to look through pages of the catalog, write down the product number, and check the inventory in their little calculator. From there, you take your list of product number and go to the cash register to pay for the item(s). Because I found out about this store so late and September is college/university move-in season, everything inexpensive was/is pretty much sold out. Tip to avoid this upset, check online to reserve the items you want!

My fellow flatmate managed to share dinnerware sets of folks, spoons, and plates, etc. for only a couple of pounds/pence with other people. The same for a cookware set that come with 5-6 pots/pans and they simply split the set amongst themselves. Individual pans/pots were sold out, but not big sets of them. I wish I had someone to share the costs -- I ended up buying items separately which were a little more pricey.  In comparison, buying everything individually is more costly then splitting up the price for sets from Argos.

2) Primark, http://www.primark.co.uk/
Price Range: Under Ten Pounds == $15, homeware can be under Five pounds == $7
While researching online, I saw that Oxford Circus was a great area to shop and thought that buying things from department stores would be a bargain. I was totally wrong. Primark is a company from Ireland that sells clothes, bags, and homeware (bedding, linens, duvets, duvet covers, etc.) for bargain prices. They are located on Oxford Street, closer to the Marble Arch underground and past Forever 21.

Shopping at Primark can be crazy. There are tons and tons of people in the store every single time I've been there. The clothing seem to be of okay quality and there are a lot of tights (since this is a fashion staple in the UK). The bag collection is huge, but some of the bags are not great in quality. Accessories are very inexpensive and cute!

I bring up Primark because I know that everyone has to buy their own bed linens when they study abroad, unless you have them shipped over. In the UK, they have this interesting combination of bedding needed. Instead of buying a comforter, they have a thing called duvet and duvet cover. The duvet is simply the cotton inside a comforter and it is stuffed into a duvet cover like an envelope. Primark sells very inexpensive duvets/duvet covers and they are pretty cute too! I wish I knew about Primark earlier, I bought bedding from John Lewis, a department store. I got them for a good value, but Primark is even cheaper than for how much I initially bought my bedding.

3) Tesco, http://www.tesco.com/
Price Range: Under Ten Pounds == $15
The UK has many chain grocery stores such as Costcutter, Sainbury's, Waitrose, etc. but I believe Tesco has the best bargains. They also have a rewards program, so you can sign up online for a card to accumulate points. After a while you can cash the points for coupons to use on your next visit. But overall, it doesn't matter where you go grocery shopping, you just have to keep an eye out for bargains of the food you eat. :)

I guess this is a tip to help you get started in living in the UK. Of course, you can still shop on Oxford Street at Topshop, H&M, and Zara, etc. for fashionable clothes. Argos, Primark, and Tesco are just shops I wish I knew about when I first arrived in the UK. This whole experience is a learning process and I'm glad! :)

Til Tomorrow!

xoxo,
Kristian

Start of the New Academic Year... Finally

This week is called "Induction Week" for the new undergraduates at UCL. The new students are welcomed to their departments and taught the ropes of being at UCL. In the UK, students have to apply directly into their department, aka major. In the life of a CS student, they have 7 out of the 8 courses chosen for them. So they only get to pick one elective, relating to CS or any other department at UCL.

I don't know if this model of learning is better or worse than the US system of "finding yourself" and "choosing your major later." There are those students who end of changing their minds and transferring into new departments. This leaves them to spend another year at UCL.

Coming from Wellesley, I find that this way of learning intimidating. I worry about having all the required prerequisites to take second and third year courses. I actually haven't fulfilled the basic requirements needed for the CS major at Wellesley. So I am a bit worried and stressed, but I am just going with it.

I've decided to take the following courses and hopefully I get approved to be in all of them. Another difference from Wellesley is that I have to submit the courses I want to take, then get approval by the department to register for the course. There is no way of knowing if you're officially registered for the course.

• CS Courses:
• COMP1002 Theory I
• COMP2009 Software Engineering and HCI
• COMP3080 Computer Graphics
• Art History
• HART1602 19th- and 20th-Century Art in London Collections II

I've been wanting to take an art history course! So I hope to take this course. What's even better is that classes will be taught at major museums such as the National Portrait Gallery, Tate Modern, etc. Learning from the primary source is one of the best things about studying in Europe.

As for the CS courses, I'm taking Theory I in replacement of the CS231 Fundamental Algorithms course at Wellesley. Also for the CS major, there are one-200 level course and one-300 level course requirements. So I am taking the other two courses to fulfill those parts of the CS major. Of course, I am interested in the courses, aka "modules." I want to learn about how to be a software engineer and I want to learn how to make 3-D graphics on computers.

So right now, it is "induction week" and it's a waiting game for classes to start next week. I seriously can't wait for everything to get going... maybe I'll finally feel at peace and time will fly much faster.

xoxo,
Kristian


UK Tip for Studying Abroad #7: Don't travel through Ireland, Scotland, etc. when studying abroad in the UK.

• You won't get a student visitor visa from Britain and you will face problems in enrolling and registering yourself to officially become a student. 
• It will be a stressful process! 
• So travel straight to Heathrow or at least to a country that will make you go through customs when going to the UK. :)

Things That Happened A Billion Days A Go..

I have officially been in the UK for one whole week, but my body feels like it's been forever. So much has happened in the past few days, meeting people, experiencing new things, and adjusting to a new life.

One thing that I dislike the most about UCL is classes not starting until the first week of October. I feel so much pressure about studying for my courses in as little as 12 weeks. I still haven't finalized my course selection... but that is going to be another entry...

I finally am an official student at UCL! I have an id card and I am all set to go. The UCL campus is definitely unlike Wellesley. The layout of the campus is urban and similar to Harvard. The difference from Harvard is that the halls of residence are so far away. I have to walk 20 minutes to get to UCL and this is considered lucky in the UK.

After attending talks about budgeting, living in London, developing new study skills, and making a program of study, I learned so much more about UCL then before. UCL was the first university in the UK that accepted students on secular grounds and without regard to their sex. UCL has famous alumni such as Charles Darwin, all the members of Coldplay, and notably Christopher Nolan (director of Inception, etc.). I suppose I feel proud to be a part of this community from not only the famous alumni, but with all the people in the UCL community. 

I have met and chatted with UCL students from all over the world -- Germany, Norway, Slovenia, Australia, Taiwan, Singapore, etc. UCL makes me realize how London can be international and how it is very different from the US. Wellesley has a large population on international students, but not compared to UCL (UCL is must bigger, so it has an advantage there).

As it is 1am in the UK, I'll leave you here... I have much more to update...!

-- My first pub quiz event

-- Visit to London's Chinatown

-- Open Roof Bus Tours

-- Shopping on Oxford Street, specifically Primark

And many tips! Most tips do not come from my own personal experience and are usually noted through observation of others. :)

Hiatus and ISOP

I haven't updated in two days! The International Students' Orientation Programme (ISOP) at UCL is so intense! There is something to do almost everyday...

I will update soon with pictures~ hopefully tomorrow!

Being Lost and Grocery Shopping

I was sort of lazy writing this post today, but I managed to write it!
So I decided to wake up today and find UCL because I will be going there for orientation the next day. I never managed to find it yet though.

In the midst of everything, of course I got lost. I think it's great to be lost in a city that I never been in before! I discovered so many things such as a Vietnamese baguette store, burrito shop, Dominos, etc. mostly new food restaurants that I would love to try.

During my adventures, I landed at the Southwark bridge and I tried a new eatery called "Eat." Once again their sandwich/baguette was amazing! I can absolutely understand why sandwiches in the UK are so popular.

After eating, I ran into the "Tate Modern" museum. Pictures weren't allowed in the museum, so I couldn't take too many. There were interesting exhibits relating to expression in abstract ways. I seriously want to take an art history course to better understand art.... :(

From there, I crossed the Millenium bridge, heading straight to "St. Paul's Cathedral." It was simply beautiful. I wish that I could go inside, but there was an admission fee. I didn't know what to think about seeing it. I am catholic, but I don't really understand the significance of this cathedral. I suppose it takes researching some history. This place reminded me of the "Da Vinci Code" movie with Tom Hanks.

Other than that -- I finally made some friendship with my fellow flatmate today!! The funny and strange thing is... we actually have 35 friends in common on facebook and we both go to Boston area colleges. This will be exciting. Even though we are in another country, it's a small world after all.

We went grocery shopping at the Brunswick Centre, which is a shopping centre in the Bloomsbury area which is really close to my dorm! Shopping for food can be really confusing, I have no idea what to buy and I am worried about being malnourished. I tend not to eat vegetables.... so as I am aware of that, I look forward to cooking my own meals!! So I hope that you all will enjoy food photos too.. :)

I am looking forward to starting my life in the UK, everything seems to be working out... It feels like I've been here for such a long time already! I need to take better pictures.... :)

xoxo,
Kristian
Tip#6 for studying abroad in the UK: Get Lost! 

• When you plan to get lost, don't carry around heavy things such as your laptop, it makes the experience miserable in some ways.

Living by oneself can be lonely

I am finally unpacked and settled into my room! It is an en-suite room which has a full bathroom (toliet, sink, and shower). The room is a part of a flat with 6-8 other people living on the floor. I haven't met too many people on the floor yet.

Living in an en-suite room can have its bad traits. There isn't a communal bathroom, so people won't have the opportunity to run into each other. There is a common kitchen to make up for it though. As this house is "self-catered" (meaning no dining hall and you cook for yourself), there is the chance of meeting people, but people eat at random times. So who knows? Another thing is that the doors of the rooms have to be closed at all times. So it's a bit hard to socialize with your door closed. These are some of the things I'm missing from Wellesley and the community feel, but it's only been a couple of days

One thing I don't like about my dorm hall/house is that it's sort of scary because the lights in the hallway only turn on by motion sensors. I'm a person who is afraid of the dark, so I don't know how I will handle this... Other than that, everything in the room seems great! I wish I brought some pictures from home to decorate my walls... :)

Sorry to bore you with my long writing posts~! I finally have pictures to share!

first glass of wine ordered (and will be the last, I don't think it tastes great) -- because I can?

John Lewis Department Store on Oxford Street
beautiful and lovely. it reminds me of Japanese department stores...

complementary English tea :)

I never had sugar cubes before!

I think Krispy Kreme made these cool donuts because of Fashion Week in London?

Don't the frosting look exactly like lipgloss?? How gross??

The soda bottles in the UK are definitely skinnier than their US counterparts.

Yay for fashion week in London! I saw so many well-dressed people, but I was too nervous to take their pictures. :/

more yummy drinks at the corner store

EXTREMELY YUMMY SANDWICH!!! Scottish Smoked Salmon with butter and lemon. The store's motto is that sandwiches are made fresh the day of and never sold the next day.

I got the sandwich from a store called "Pret." I believe it is a chain store/restaurant because I saw a bunch of them throughout London. If you ever go to the UK, eat a sandwich from them!!

The view of the London Eye and House of Parliament from the Waterloo Bridge!

How pretty? I can't wait to go to these places!!

xoxo,
Kristian

I think it would be cool if I can share a tip per entry to keep it interesting. :)
Tips for Studying in the UK #5: Make sure to get an "Oyster Card" to ride the tube!

• Without an oyster card, the fare is double the amount. So don't buy tickets and save by getting an Oyster card.
• You have to pay a 5 pound deposit -- when you return the card, you will get it back.

Tips when going abroad.... to the UK at least :)

Today I feel soo much better than before! Sleep definitely helped.

Throughout the night, my mind was anxious about writing tips on my blog-- so here I am at 11am in the morning... just so that I'll remember them for the future and I am sure you all would like to hear for your futures of going abroad to the UK!! :)

1) Bring Pepto Bismol

• an upset stomach happens when going to a new place with new foods...or when you are on an uncomfortable plane ride...this will be your best friend in helping you through... haha

2) Lacking Internet Connection? Locate a Starbucks

• when you lack internet connection, starbucks is better than going to an internet cafe. So make sure you have a registered starbucks account to use their free wi-fi services! To register, you have to have those starbucks giftcards loaded with $5 or 5 pounds (here in the UK).
• I think this tip only works when you go to a country with a starbucks though...
• **BEWARE** Free wi-fi will definitely be slower than connection rates at colleges/universities... also it won't be a "secure" connection. So you will run into trouble with logging onto your gmail account. Google and their security settings will prevent you from logging onto your own account.

3) Always exchange money before you leave the airport or the states

• Barclay's is a UK bank that has a sister relationship with Bank Of America. So definitely locate their cash machine before even stepping out of the airport.
• This will prevent you from using your card per transaction and accumulating fees and bad exchange rates. You can simply make one withdrawal from an atm.

4) If you lack internet connection to contact home, get a sim card
I am a big fan of technology in the sense that one will be able to contact home via skype, email, facebook, twitter, etc. BUT this can only happen with an internet connection.

• So what about those times when you forget your user id (which is located in your email) and you don't have an internet connection to find it? You can call home via sim card to ask your family to retrieve your userid.
• The UK has a bunch of sim card deals, so make sure to bring an unlocked international phone to use them.

So far, these tips came from the worst day ever. I know that I should stay positive and will learn to love London... haha I'm already excited to go shopping today! Hopefully I will FINALLY post pictures.

Thank you for reading and I hope those tips will be helpful to you some day. IF you have tips for me, just let me know!! :)

Real-time updates via twitter @ktran13 or email me!

xoxo,
Kristian

First Day in a New Country

It is 10pm in London and I arrived about 12 hours earlier. This day was filled with many complications and disappointments.

The plane ride was horrible and very bumpy. Despite the positives of the flight-- where I looked out the window and saw beautiful constellations, bright lights of unknown cities, and vast amounts of land-- I felt sick, had a headache, and simply started to hate airplanes. The landing and air pressure was tough to deal with. But I suppose the sky-high view of London may make up for it. I will post pictures soon.

Other than that, the bad day continued on the way to my flat/accommodation. The tube (subway cars in London) are tiny! I wasn't able to take pictures because I felt sick and awkward. :( From there, wheeling my suitcase on London streets caused one of the suitcase wheels to break off... T_T; The streets of London are certainly not tourist friendly!

The sunny-rainy-cloudy-cold weather, the trouble with establishing internet connection, the complications of locating a Barclay's Bank (Bank of America's sister bank) contributed to the bad day. Right now as I sit in my dorm, thinking about what to write, I am at a loss for words.

My first meal in London was at Subway (the sandwich food chain). It gave me a sense of home. The drinks are totally different and the man making the sandwiches was surprised about the fact that I didn't put pepper in my sandwich.

I feel totally unprepared in London. I know nothing about it! AHH! T_T; This is just a simple post to remind me about my first day. I can only think of it as a bad first impression.

*I wish I didn't study abroad in London*
*I wish I studied abroad in Japan*
*I wish I researched about London more*
*I wish I talked to Wellesley upperclasswomen about their experiences more*
*I wish I knew more about London*

I wasn't in the mood to take pictures as I felt sick the entire day. So this might be a boring post... I'm usually more excited about going to new places!! I think I'm getting too old....

I hope to shop for bed linens tomorrow ! Wish me luck and for a better day...


Thank you for listening to my free flowing thoughts and my head hurts from the jetlag... :/

xoxo,
Kristian