A Peek Inside a UEA Dorm Room

I spent my year abroad at the University of East Anglia, or UEA for short. UEA offers both on-campus and off-campus student accommodations. Some of the on-campus housing blocks are much like the dorms/suites you'd find in college campuses in the US: a number of rooms per hall and a shared bathroom. Others differ in one main (and exciting!) aspect: each room is en-suite, meaning you have your own bathroom. After living in the dorms my first two years of college and sharing co-ed bathrooms with sometimes-not-so-considerate hallmates, this was probably the most enticing part of UEA's housing for me. The flat's kitchen was exciting as well. I chose to live at an off-campus site called the Village, which is about a 10-15 minute walk from campus and has en-suite bathrooms. I wanted to experience of living off-campus but not have to take the bus to school. One of the disadvantages of the Village though, is that many exchange students choose to live there, which means you don't get to mingle with the British students as much. The following are pictures of the Village from when I stayed there so you have can a view of what your housing may look like. I took these photos in the middle of unpacking (i.e., don't judge me for the messiness):

The room itself was tiny. I could stand next to my bed and take one step to stand in front of my desk. But it probably wasn't that much smaller than my single dorm room at home when I really think about it.

The closet. Can you tell from the lack of warm clothing (minus a wool coat) that I was unprepared for an English winter?

The bathroom or "pod." The bathrooms in the Village consist of a toilet, sink, and shower rolled up into one. You can't see the showerhead behind the curtain on the left in this picture. Basically, the whole pod is made up of waterproof material that is a little hard to define. Picture a plastic bathtub stood upright against a wall and given a door. One family member described it as a Star Trek bathroom. As mentioned earlier, I was tired of sharing a bathroom, so this unconventional one was good enough for me.

I don't have a picture of the outer part of my accommodation, which was nothing too exciting anyway. Instead here's a picture of some of the more architectural halls on-campus, referred to as the Ziggurats.

Question:

What are you looking for in terms of housing for your time in the UK? Or, if you've already studied abroad, what were the pros/cons of where you lived?

-L.

Let the Games Begin! (No, Not the Hunger Games)

Happy 2012 Summer Olympics everyone! As you’re probably well aware, the Summer Olympics are taking place in London this year. Perhaps you’re lucky enough to be in the area right now, or will be in the next couple of weeks. If you are, you’ll get to experience the infectious energy that the Olympics hold. I’ve always found that the Olympics can bring sports fans and non-sports fans together alike. (Personally I don’t watch sports with any regularity, but the Olympics make me want to watch. Platform diving competition on a regular year? Naw, that’s okay. Platform diving at the Olympics? Yes, please!). The excitement of rooting for your favorite athlete/team or country, the water cooler moments (ex. the men’s 4x100 freestyle swimming relay in Beijing) and personal stories, or just the liveliness of the big event, all of them bring people together.

(source)

If you’re in London right now, you’ll get to experience the culture of the city in what will most likely be a heightened state. Yes, there will be the usual attractions of London to see, such as the London Eye, but there will also be other events to go to and things to see related to the Olympics. Even if you don’t have event tickets, there are still ways for you to enjoy the games whether you’re rooting for the UK or the US (or maybe neither). Get some friends together and go to a pub to watch one of the football games, which will surely be one of the more popular sports to enjoy. Or if you have access to a tv in your living arrangements, throw a potluck viewing party. Better yet, check the official London Games website to see if there’s an outdoor showing on a big screen “live site” near you. This applies to those outside of London too, as there are outdoor events held throughout the country. If you’re in the city for the day, there will be tons of opportunities to just people watch out on the streets near the arenas. Maybe you’ll see someone famous, who knows?

For “live site” listings: http://www.london2012.com/join-in/live-sites/

For other official events: http://www.london2012.com/join-in/interactive-map/

Wish I could be there with you to take it all in in person! I’ll just have to be satisfied with watching it on tv.

-L.

Banking in the land of Shakespeare?

Shara's POV:

To bank or not to bank? 

This was one of the first questions I asked myself when I arrived in the UK.  The advantages were being able to write checks, not losing the value of my money due to fluctuating exchange rates and it would be close at hand.  However, it meant that in times of need, such as paying my credit card bill, my parents here in the States would not have had access to my account.  Credit card companies like money. Access was necessary.  It also meant that when I began running out of money, they wouldn't have had as easy of a time transferring much needed emergency funds into my account.  Food is necessary and unfortunately, money is needed for food!

In the end, I decided to to leave my money in my home bank and I added my Mom to the account so she could easily take care of any issues and problems I had.  This choice really had it's plus and minuses.  As mentioned, the biggest plus was having the availability to pay bills however, I lost money much more quickly.  At the beginning of my year there, the exchange rate was $1.50 to 1 British Pound, however, by midway through the year it had changed to about $2 to 1 British Pound.  It doesn't sound like a huge difference, but as you're spending money in the UK, it dwindles much more quickly and by the last two months I was completely out of funds.  I think in hindsight, I would have opened a bank account and transferred some money, but also left a good deal in my home bank.  The money in the UK could be used as spending money and the money at home for bills and hopefully a cushion for my return home. 

Just a note, you don't need to open a bank account to pay for the fees to the University.  These can actually, if you prepare your home bank and the University in advance, be transferred over quite easily. I just contacted the office before I went over to ask how they wanted to work out the payments and then discussed it with my bank.  The bank needs warning or they think your account is being tampered with. They frown on tampering.  When I arrived in England I went to the office to finalize everything and it all worked out just fine.  Also, if you are studying abroad and not going as an international student, you want to check with your own University.  They might prefer you pay them and they send the checks off to the British institution. 

Ultimately research of your bank here, the banks in the UK (such as Barclays, Lloyd's of London, NatWest, HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland, etc) and your specific needs will help you choose which path to take.  The question I put to you is, which way are you leaning?

-S.

You might also be interested in:

Money Matters - Banking (Lauren's POV)

Mind the Gap – Part III

Buying a Ticket and the Zones

So, you need to purchase a ticket for the Tube. The process of buying a ticket is pretty easy and doesn’t require too much explanation. Simply line up at one of the ticket machines in the station and follow the instructions: pick the type of ticket you want, insert money, out comes the ticket, poof! (Hopefully you’ll be buying your ticket when it is not rush hour and there are a multitude of machines available, not when there is a massive line that weaves around and around. I only experienced this once, but it felt like I was in line forever.) Probably the trickiest part of buying a ticket is determining what type you need. 

The Tube map is broken up into nine different zones and the price of your ticket depends on how many of these zones you plan on traveling in (as well as the time of day if you’re using an Oyster card, see below). The farthest I ever went out was where Heathrow is in Zone 6. You’ll most likely not need to go any farther out than that, as the other zones go out into more suburban residential areas, but you never know, so keep the zones in mind when planning your trips. Central London is mostly contained in Zones 1 and 2. If your trip consists of sightseeing in the heart of the city, then know that you do not need to buy a ticket that will go out of these two zones. If you do happen to buy a ticket for a certain set of zones but accidently go out of it, that’s okay. When put your ticket through the gate reader it’ll reject it, meaning you have to go up to one of the service booths and pay whatever extra fee is required to pass through. Nothing too bad. Trust me, I did this; it’s pretty much how I learned to pay attention to the zone map in the first place. Live and learn.

The dreaded zones! (source)

Once you’ve determined which zones you’ll need for your trip, you can select the appropriate ones when purchasing your ticket. There are a few different types of tickets:

·         Single fares: Need to go from one station to another in a single trip? Then you’ll want to buy a single fare.

·         Day cards: Thinking of spending the whole day in London hopping to and from different sites and stations? Buy a day card. This is where knowing the zones comes in handy so you don’t end up buying a day card for zones you’re not going to go to (i.e., spending more money than you need to).

·         Oyster cards: Living in London or intending to be in the city often? Consider getting a reloadable Oyster card. They save time and money.

(source)

Oyster cards are reusable cards that you allow you to add funds on a pay-as-you-go basis or at regular intervals (monthly, weekly, etc.). Overall, they offer lower fares on the Tube, but the discount is dependent on whether or not you’ll be traveling during peak rush hours. There are both regular adult cards that anyone can purchase and special 18-and-older student cards. There are restrictions for getting a student card, which you can read about here. Personally, I didn’t make use of Oyster cards because I was only occasionally in the city. Most of the time, I just bought day cards. Sometimes I wonder if I should’ve utilized an Oyster card, even if it was just to make myself feel cool by being able to scan it on the yellow-colored reader.

Happy traveling!

-L.

You might be also be interested in:

Mind the Gap – Part I

Mind the Gap – Part II