Introduction of food, shelter and transportation
About food
Because most graduate dormitories cook by themselves, if you want to eat well, you must cook well. Supermarkets in Britain have all kinds of goods. Because the school is not necessarily in the city center, we usually buy food and daily necessities once or twice a week. English lunch is usually simple. A sandwich or hamburger, a cup of coffee or milk tea is a typical English lunch. When you first arrive in Britain, you may feel uncomfortable because of the different eating styles and habits between China and Britain, but please remember: a scientific diet is the way to stay healthy in a foreign country. I suggest you arrange your daily meals reasonably: eat more fruits and vegetables and eat less fried food; Eat some staple foods, such as bread, potatoes, rice, noodles or macaroni; Eat some high-protein foods, such as bean products, eggs, fish or meat; Eat some fresh milk products, cheese or yogurt. If you miss the food in your hometown, you can go to restaurants or supermarkets in China City, where you can find most China foods.
clothes
Britain has a maritime climate, and most of the temperature in a year is between 10 and 22 degrees, so you need to bring more clothes in spring and autumn. In Britain, windbreakers or wool coats are worn more. In addition, because Britain is mountainous, it is recommended to bring more sports shoes and less leather shoes. Summer in England is very short. Generally, the temperature will be above 25 degrees only for 2-3 weeks. Short-sleeved shirts or shorts/skirts, two or three sets are recommended. In winter in Britain, the temperature in the north is usually around minus five degrees to ten degrees, and it will not be lower than minus five degrees in the south, but it will be humid, which is similar to the winter climate in China, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai. Therefore, it is recommended to bring down jackets and warm pants. British people dress casually, but they should prepare one or two formal clothes on some important occasions. In Britain, you can buy clothes of different grades and tastes from international brands to supermarkets, most of which are reasonable in price and high in quality. Especially on holidays, it is much cheaper than in China. Formal clothes can also be bought in Britain, and big brands are cheaper than domestic ones. British women's wear starts from sizes 6, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, etc. Most girls in China wear size 6 or 8, which is equivalent to XS M in China. Especially petite girls can buy British children's clothes, most of which will reach the size of 160cm. If possible, cotton textiles such as bed sheets and sheets should also be brought by themselves, but the baggage consignment restrictions should be considered. If you apply for an on-campus dormitory, the school will generally provide bedding.
To rent/live in a house
host family
A. time: minimum 1 month.
B cost: 50- 150/week (including room and board)-the cost will change with time and region.
C. Advantages of choosing a host family: It provides you with an opportunity to learn British culture, which is an experience that tourists living in big hotels can't experience. It is a life journey of "self-discovery". When you are familiar with the British people, you will find their different lifestyles, and you will have a deeper and clearer understanding of yourself and the cultural values you belong to. It reduces a lot of troubles and expenses of renting a house outside, especially when you have to spend more time and energy on your studies. In a host family, you will have private space and furniture.
The rent also includes most of the living expenses:
Food, shelter, water and electricity, etc. If you rent a house or share it with others, you have to spend a lot of money to buy furniture, apply for a telephone, pay utilities and so on. These expenses are quite expensive compared with those of host families. It allows you to practice real English constantly and makes up for the lack of formal English training in class. It provides an opportunity to establish lasting friendship, and many students still keep in touch with their host families after returning home.
Note: First of all, we should adapt to the culture of the host family and abide by their family rules. Some host families are quite strict. They have quite strict rules about when to lock the door and turn off the lights. Some families may even be vegetarians. Although they will prepare other food for students, many students in China do not have enough to eat.
Tips: Homestay families are suitable for middle school students with weak self-control. For college students with independent and self-control ability, especially those who study for a one-year master's degree, there is no need to live in a host family. However, it is suggested that students can spare some time, preferably in festivals, such as Christmas and Easter, to participate in homestay projects, feel the festive atmosphere of local families and appreciate the real foreign culture.
In addition, the private host is mainly for students below undergraduate level, and the parents of homestay families supervise the students' situation on their behalf. Students and parents can write down the special requirements for host families on the application form.
On-campus accommodation
Usually, the school will give priority to the accommodation of international students in the first year, so this is the easiest way to solve the accommodation.
Dormitories in Britain are generally divided into single rooms, suites and standard rooms:
Studio dormitories generally have their own bedrooms, kitchens and bathrooms;
A suite means that the dormitory will include the bathroom, but not the kitchen;
The standard dormitory will include a washbasin and the kitchen and bathroom will be shared with others.
(Then the next paragraph is the original: General food takes care of itself ...)
General food is self-care. Single room, each room has a bed, desk and wardrobe, with its own or * * * bathroom; An apartment has 3 to 6 people, a fully equipped public kitchen, and is generally equipped with a microwave oven, toaster and oven. Water, electricity and Internet access are free. Accommodation on campus can be divided into self-cooking and self-cooking, and graduate apartments are mostly self-cooking. For China students who are not used to western food culture, cooking by themselves is the most economical, nutritious, suitable and easy way to open communication scenes. Cooking is time-saving, but the variety is single, such as eating potato cakes for breakfast, French fries for lunch and mashed potatoes for dinner, which turns China students off.
Advantages of on-campus accommodation:
A. it is close to the class place, saving traffic time.
Having more opportunities to meet foreign students is of great benefit to practicing foreign languages and learning foreign cultures.
C room facilities, such as beds, tables, chairs, cabinets, etc. Both, there is no need to buy them separately.
D. The lease term of the dormitory is the same as that of the semester. Those who leave school in winter and summer vacations can no longer pay the rent, but this room is still reserved for you.
Disadvantages of on-campus accommodation:
A. the rent of university dormitory is slightly higher than that of renting.
B.foreign students like to be active. They often get together to drink and have fun. Every weekend or holiday, they will hold a dance. Even if you don't attend, you will be too noisy to rest.
C some university dormitories are divided into male and female dormitories, and different rooms on the same floor are arranged in the order of application. Some students in China feel a little inconvenient.
D. Students should sign an accommodation contract with the school when staying at the school. Students should pay attention to the contents of the contract and whether to leave one month in advance; Because it usually takes a long time to refund the deposit, even some students have returned to China and still can't get the deposit. Accommodation fees can be paid in installments, with a deposit or part of the accommodation fee paid first. During their stay in China, international students should smoke as little as possible and cook by themselves, so as not to cause fire reports. Students should also actively cooperate with the fire drills in the dormitory.
Tips: If the school provides accommodation, I suggest you accept it first and make sure to apply within the specified date. It is not easy to find a house by yourself, especially in September, when tens of thousands of freshmen are looking for a house to live in, it is even more difficult to find a satisfactory place in a short time! Not everyone likes living in a school dormitory, but at least you have a foundation, you can have time to get familiar with the surrounding environment, and then it's not too late to find a suitable residence slowly. More importantly, living on campus has its own advantages. Generally close to the campus, you can easily use the library and computer, and you can live with students of different nationalities. This is a good opportunity to practice oral English, make friends and learn about other countries' cultures!
Off-campus accommodation
Renting a private house can be renting a family room (host family), or renting an apartment and an independent house (renting ATS & amp； You can find a list or advertisement for rent from the school accommodation, bulletin boards and local newspapers, and you can also help you find a suitable house through the Student Union or your relatives and friends in the UK. If the dormitory on campus is full, students can contact off-campus accommodation through the accommodation office. The rent for off-campus accommodation is relatively cheap, averaging more than 30 pounds per week. But the rent does not include some utilities and internet fees, so students are more worried. In addition, the sharing partners are mixed and need to be extra careful. The specific cost depends on the size, location and services provided. Usually you have to sign an agreement with the landlord and pay a deposit. When reading advertisements and contracts, you will encounter some code words, so you must pay more attention.
Temporary accommodation
If you plan to get to school early or look for a long-term residence after you arrive in Britain, you should contact a temporary residence first anyway. You can ask the accommodation office of the school to make a reservation for you, or you can contact the local youth hostel. Youth hostels provide short-term accommodation and the rent is relatively cheap. If you plan to travel, a youth hostel is a good choice. Please contact http://www.yha.org.uk Youth Hostel Association for details.
Some youth hostels offer the service of booking "beds" online. Through the network, you can also find the contact information, quotations and surrounding maps of youth hostels all over the country. It is suggested that students who have just gone to learn a language live in the dormitory on campus and get familiar with the local environment first; After two or three months of language, if a friend wants to live together and is familiar with the local area, he can consider renting a house.
Traffic travel
subway
London's subway network is the densest and most complex in the world. * * * There are 273 stations, 12 line and dozens of intersections. In central London, you will see a subway station in a few steps. Never evade tickets. Britain is a conscious country, and you can get by without buying a ticket. But bad luck, if found, will be punished badly. Renting a house off campus often takes the subway, and you can make a package or something.
bus
There are one-way tickets and round-trip tickets, which will be cheaper than one-way. International students are advised to buy a bus card, which saves trouble and money. There is no conductor on the British bus to announce the stop. If you want to get off at the next stop, just press the button on the bus to inform the driver. Where are the buttons? See where other passengers press. Just press it.
train
Young people's railway card, 16-25 years old (also suitable for over-age students) can enjoy the discount of13 of the original price. There is a fast and efficient railway network and a number of long-distance buses connecting trains with British cities. All kinds of special travel tickets allow you to travel unrestricted within a certain period of time and distance, thus providing convenience for you to travel everywhere. Young people railway card suggests one. It's more cost-effective to take more trains. There are many companies in the British train, which company to buy tickets and which company to take the train; Otherwise, the ticket inspection fine will be miserable, and it will be worth ten train tickets. Trains usually arrive at the station five minutes early. Pay attention to your train platform and wait. Don't be late. Trains in England are like buses in China. It will be much cheaper to buy a round-trip package online in advance to avoid the rush hour.
plane
On the same route, the ticket prices can vary by thousands of miles. Flights between Britain and Europe can sometimes even find a ticket of 5 pounds. Book air tickets as early as possible, preferably more than 3 weeks in advance. At the last minute, the more expensive the reservation, it limits your flexibility. Foreign planes are seldom late. If they are delayed for more than 45 minutes (probably), they will be forced to pay compensation, so be sure to arrive early! ! !
mobile phone
There are two different ways to recharge and use mobile phones in Britain: recharge (prepaid card) and monthly payment (monthly card). Most domestic mobile phones can continue to be used in the UK and can be recharged. However, charging by the minute is actually more expensive than paying by the month. This method is generally suitable if you don't use your mobile phone often or only use it for answering. If you choose to pay monthly, you need to sign an agreement with the mobile phone network company for at least one year, and pay monthly, usually 12-75. According to the agreement, mobile phone network providers provide several free short messages and free talk time every month, and you can also choose free fashion mobile phones according to the agreement. There are many well-known wireless communication providers in Britain, such as China Mobile. When choosing a mobile phone and its service, you should comprehensively consider your calling habits, such as calling duration and calling type (international, domestic, calling card), and choose a package that suits you. British students studying in Kai Tak can contact your advisor before leaving the country, and get a free calling card of British Mobile Communications, so that they can contact their families and schools as soon as they land.
Please note: many students are new to Britain, and some lawless elements can easily target freshmen who are looking forward to studying abroad but are at a loss, and set various traps to defraud freshmen's trust and induce them to transfer money to them. There are many cross-border telecom fraud routines, and it is even more difficult to recover the amount cheated. Therefore, we must strengthen our awareness of prevention, always be vigilant and not give criminals any opportunity!
Anyone who claims to be a Chinese embassy or consulate abroad, a domestic public security organ, a courier company, a telecommunications company, etc. , claiming that there are important letters, documents or parcels to collect, and asking for personal information to verify their identity, and then actively "assisting" the victim to transfer to the domestic "police station" and "procuratorate" to explain the situation (actually a virtual fake phone) on the grounds that the letters, documents or contents in the parcel indicate that the parties involved in the case. Don't panic when you receive a similar call. You can hang up and contact the British Embassy in the UK or the Global Consular Protection and Service Emergency Call Center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 12308 for verification.
Don't disclose your name, address, family situation, bank account, BRP and other personal information to strangers on the phone. If a stranger calls and asks "don't contact with family and friends to ensure their safety", or makes other unreasonable demands, be vigilant and don't be deceived.
If you can't tell whether it is a fraudulent phone call, please check with the Embassy of China in the UK or the Global Consular Protection and Service Emergency Call Center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (12308) in time. If you are deceived, you should report to the British police in time and report to the domestic public security organs at the same time. If the victim can't report the case directly to the domestic public security organ, he can report the case in time through his close relatives in China and seek help from the anti-telecommunication network fraud center in the domestic reporting place (telephone number 1 10 is enough).
medical service
Each of us doesn't want to have any health problems during our study abroad, so we have to mention the British national medical service system. (National Health Service, NHS for short)
British national health service system
A.IHS medical surcharge is applicable to the reunion of students, staff and their families from countries and regions outside the European Economic Area who have been working and studying in the UK for more than 6 months. It also includes non-EEA citizens who are already in the UK but need to extend their stay in the UK. If you plan to stay in the UK for more than 6 months, you can pay the IHS medical surcharge when you apply for a visa. The student IHS medical surcharge has a student discount of 300 pounds per year; If you are not a student (working in the UK or reuniting with your family), the annual IHS medical surcharge is 400. If the stay time exceeds 1 year, it shall be counted as half a year for less than 6 months and 1 year for more than 6 months. The fee is automatically calculated during the process of filling in the visa application form, and the visa application fee and IHS fee are paid online before submitting the online application form. In other words, if these two fees are not paid online, online form submission and visa reservation materials submission cannot be completed.
After paying the IHS medical surcharge, you can enjoy NHS UK's medical services like British permanent residents, including: general practitioner treatment, hospitalization, outpatient minor injury treatment, contraception and gender health services, maternity services, excluding dentistry and ophthalmology.
B. After students arrive in the UK, they need to register with GP (General Practitioner) and get free medical care when they get sick.
Find the general practitioner to whom your address belongs.
The principle of seeking medical treatment in Britain is "seeking medical treatment nearby", and every general practitioner has his own scope of responsibility. Please check which GP your coordinates belong to when logging in to NHS official website. You can choose your favorite GP according to the convenience of outpatient transportation and whether to provide Chinese service. Some general practitioners may not accept new registrants, because the registrants are full, so be careful when choosing general practitioners. If you live in a dormitory, your GP probably belongs to the health care center of the school. Of course, the situation of each school is different, and students can send emails to ask the relevant departments of the school. British universities take great care of the study and life support of international students, and the school will give detailed guidance to international students on how to complete registration and seek medical treatment.
Registered general practitioner at home
If you find your favorite general practitioner, you can make an appointment to register at home by phone (if the school has a health service center, you can register directly at the school). You need to bring your passport, BRP and proof of address (bills, bank accounts, housing contracts or police registration letters will do). The clinic staff will ask you to fill out a GMS 1 form, including some personal information and medical history. Under the age of 25, the staff may test your urinary catheter for chlamydia. The English name is Chlamydia, which is a sexually transmitted disease (STD). Of course, if you don't need or want to do it, you don't have to do it. This is not mandatory.
Registration was successful.
About a week after on-site registration, you will receive an NHS medical card, and GP will give you an NHS number. You need to bring this card with you every time you see a doctor.
physical examination
Within six months of successfully registering for GP, you may be required to have a comprehensive physical examination to verify your medical history and personal cases. Different GPs have their own zip codes. If you move or change city life, remember to re-register at the local GP. If you don't like the existing GP after the experience, you can also apply for a new GP.
Medical procedure
After registering as a general practitioner, there are generally three ways to make an appointment: telephone appointment, on-site appointment and online appointment. Everyone should write down the appointment number of the clinic after registering, and you can make an appointment by phone when you need to see a doctor. If some students find it inconvenient to make an appointment by phone, they can also make an appointment directly at the GP front desk. In addition, online booking is another convenient way. Many GP websites support online booking, and students can log on to the website to operate on their own. Some general practitioners will provide walk-in emergency, and every city will also have walk-in centers, where you can go to see a doctor directly without making an appointment to register, but the number is relatively small. Students are advised to remember to be close to themselves or go to a convenient walk-in center. If you feel unwell and the general practitioner has to wait a long time to make an appointment, you can go to a walk-in center for treatment.
1. Model essay on community work summary in senior high school
A semester of volleyball club work is over. Under the correct guidance of scho