I Made it to The US, So What Next?

So, funnily enough I made it to the US (If you didn’t gather that already) and all the planning beforehand didn’t decrease the number of things I needed to do when I arrived. Now fortunately, I had two weeks before moving into my my apartment in North Carolina, to hang out in the States with an American native, so I had a lot of help. But, these are the things that I encountered after flying into the US and what I did to prepare for my stay.

Something specific to my visa is that I had to check in at the international office. I did this about 3 weeks after I flew in. As you have a 30 day period to check in I wasn’t worried about staying in Virginia due to accommodation problems (mentioned in a couple of my previous posts). I would have checked in sooner but, they only run check ins on Wednesdays and the Wednesday I wanted to do had an orientation class running meaning no international check ins could take place. Fortunately, I was still within my 30 days and I could go to the next meeting. The session itself wasn’t really a meeting, it consisted of bringing your paperwork; signing in and then sitting through a presentation on how not to get your visa terminated. There was a lot of information on what not to do and about what identification you can get. A good portion was irrelevant for me including social security and taxes as I am unpaid. I found out that I have to be at NCSU for 30 hours a week and that I must have up to date insurance the entire time. Luckily, the Office of International Services was 10 minutes from my second bus stop so, I could easily get to work after my check in. Overall, not a particularly stressful experience, just a bit boring.

Buses were another thing that I had to understand when I arrived. Growing up near London I have a good idea of how to navigate public transport systems. I found out that NCSU has a free bus service and so I can get to work for free. I have to get two 15-20 minute buses although if there is traffic sometimes one of them can take 30 minutes or more. It is a pretty straightforward route and the service has an app which is really handy as it shows you all the stops and how far away the bus is for all services in the area, including Durham and Cary! The app can be a little bit out of sync and sometimes the buses don’t stop at the stops but for the most part the buses are pretty good. One thing I found unusual was the fact that to stop the bus at the next bus stop you have to pull a yellow cord instead of pushing a stop button. It made me nervous the first time because usually in the UK there are only pull cords for emergencies and at that point I don’t think me getting off at the right stop could be considered an emergency. It’s the little things. That’s not to say that I didn’t manage to get on the wrong bus and then have to wait at a bus station for an hour (because I did).

Jet lag was also something I wasn’t quite prepared for along with having to work close to a full-time job for the first time in my life. Granted I choose when to come in and when to take breaks, but I have to show up to a place of work for a significant number of hours, about the same amount of time spent when I was in school (even before high school because I ended up with free periods all throughout High School, woo no P.E). Recently I have been sleeping really early and waking up really early. I guess its my body trying to find the right rhythm in combination with jet lag but mostly it’s  because I haven’t worked so hard before. Especially being at University for the last two years where you kind of make up your own schedule and have days off. So, far I am enjoying the change of pace. I am in a shared office with 4 other people, all of whom are scientists of some kind, mostly microbiologists and veterinarians. There are a number of NCSU undergraduates who come in and help out so there is always someone my age and experience level in the lab and there are two labs: The microbiology lab and the molecular biology lab. Obviously, I am mostly in the Micro lab but I still do washing up from the molec lab. At the moment, my jobs revolve around housekeeping. This includes cleaning dirty equipment and autoclaving it; making media and helping with the projects that are going on. I am currently helping on 2 of the 3 projects being hosted in the lab that I am working in and they are both fun and interesting. Needless to say, I am being kept busy until I decide what I want to do own project on.

Another important aspect of life to organise in this modern era is your phone. You want to get a US phone number as soon as possible! It really is important that you can contact people especially if you are travelling alone and don’t have anyone in the country to help you. I had massive problems with O2 the UK service provider as they would not send me the unlatching code for my phone which would allow me to access a new SIM card. First, they said it would take one day, then 7 working days and then 14 days. It was ridiculous the amount of trouble they caused and even now they are still trying to bill me. So, if you can sort out what you are going to do with your phone before you get abroad, do that. I think unlatching codes are valid for a little while so its worth getting the unlatching code before you travel and just getting a new SIM when you arrive. You can also get a new phone and contract but as a student that is not an option, especially when my phone works just as well as a new one, since I’ve only had it for 2 years.

Another handy thing to get when you arrive is a checking account. For the US a lot of places which charge rent will include fees with the use of credit and debit cards so by having a local checking account you can set up a direct debit and skip the stress and fees. I also found that my Post Office Travel Money Card doesn’t work on all online shops such as grocery delivery services and would not work for my new US PayPal or Venmo after I had used it on my UK account. So, having the checking account just allowed me to have access to these services. It is worth mentioning that there are fees for transferring money into the checking account, so I found it was worth transferring a large lump sum to cover as much as my time here as possible with minimal fee paying.

Finally, all these things would be more difficult if you didn’t try and get to know your local area. Try going to local sites of interest, parks and shops to see what is around and where you can pick up various useful items. I am currently on the hunt for stamps and am planning trips to an art walking trail and an Arboretum (Not related just activities).

I will now be uploading once every 2 weeks and it should more interesting things that I am up to. Does anyone have any suggestions for things I should see or do? Leave a comment below with tips for acclimatising to a new place and what you would visit first. Thanks for reading and speak to y’all soon 😊