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You made it! You have actually managed to make it to the United States of America. You were not held at Immigration –as you feared- because the color of your passport cover is a bit faded, nor did they seize your suitcase at customs for bringing one pack of paracetamol –as you also feared-. Life is good and fair! But now what? Moving around
First things first: get a grip of your public transport options! Uber and Lyft are great, but your wallet won’t be able to handle them for long. Look online for an app that can help you out with figuring out where you need to go, or just go on Google maps and check out the best route.
Connecting to the world
Two things you need to do ASAP when you move to the States: get a US phone number –so that you don’t have to pay hundreds of euros on roaming charges- and open a US bank account. When you set up your mobile connection, ask if your service provider has an international call plan, so you can call home on cheaper rates. And when you visit the bank, do not forget to carry ALL necessary documentation with you and definitely ask for a debit card to be issued as soon as possible. As you will soon find out, no one really uses cash in the States. Oh School, where art thou? Next step: locate your school and your International Office. This is the place you will go to whenever you have questions regarding your VISA, your work permit (if you have one), your taxes etc. If you are there on a Fulbright grant, then you also need to have on speed dial your IIE advisor. Whenever you have ANY kind of question about anything having to do with your VISA status, your taxes, your grant or even your safety, feel free to reach out and ask for help or instructions! No place like home
Definitely locate the nearest Embassy or Consul of your country of origin. If you are lucky, you might have one in the town you moved to! This came in very handy to me when my wallet was stolen. I went straight to the Consul, filled a report and asked for help on how to re-issue my missing document.
What year is this?
By now you must have realized that you feel unreasonably tired, constantly sleepy and hungry at the weirdest times. Congrats, you are officially jet-lagged! Do not fear, it will go away in a couple of days as long as you treat it right. You must hydrate and eat well. Just treat yourself! Imagine you are getting over a bad hangover: you need fatty foods and a lot of fruit and salads to replenish vitamins and help your body re-adjust. So, what’s better than a burger with a salad in the country that created to burgers! Also, do not let yourself sleep at the wrong times. Yes, you can take a half-hour nap during the afternoon, but no more than that. Pressure yourself into staying up at least until 10 or 11 pm, so you can start waking up at normal times again!
Your first days are scary and tiring, and you feel like you have a million things to do. Don’t put more pressure on yourself by trying to reach your year-long goal of going to the gym daily and meal-prepping. Give yourself some time to adjust to your new environment and take care of all the practical issues that come up during that first week. Chill, sleep, watch Netflix and try to make your new apartment or room feel like home! You will need a steady base to support you for the year to come! And also, take a breath and celebrate the fact that the best year of your life is about to begin!