Orientation: What to Expect, Top Tips, and Reflections

Orientation 

I’ve been living in London for three weeks! While it’s still a little surreal and sometimes my emotions go up and down, I feel like I have enough perspective now to talk about my experience moving (temporarily) to the U.K. 

I’ve read that studying abroad is similar to starting college - you’re new at everything, you have to learn your way around, adjust to a new environment, and make new friends. I definitely think this is true, but in some ways, it’s been easier for me to adjust to living here. I’ve lived on my own, cooked for myself, and made new friends before. I know how it feels when you don’t have your people in a new place yet, and I’ve realized friends at home are just as valuable as the friends you make in college. I also know that real friendship doesn’t happen overnight; you have to keep showing up. In some ways, I know what to expect, and I think overall I’ve approached my first weeks here with a better mindset than I did my freshman year.

So, on to my experience arriving in London! I’m usually overprepared for just about everything, but I was pleasantly surprised at some of the nice things IES Abroad did to help make arrival easier. 

• A “print me” document for travel. It has instructions on how to take the tube to your housing as well as what to do in an emergency or if your flight gets delayed. The tube instructions aren’t super detailed, so I would still maybe look it up if you can, but it’ll get you there. 
• UK SIM cards from Lebara. These were free at check-in, which was so convenient. As long as your phone is unlocked, you can just put in the SIM card (using a paperclip or something similar) and go to the site to pay for your month’s data and phone plan. I chose the £10 plan, which includes unlimited UK texts and minutes, 20 GB data, and 100 international minutes. So far it has had no issues at all, even in Scotland. There is also international roaming in many European countries included in the plan. (Also, they gave us a nice little welcome bag with some snacks, tea (because it’s England), a printed orientation schedule, and even toilet paper.)
• A personal kitchen set. Not only did our housing provide bedding, we each also received a dish set which included a plate, a bowl, a small plate, silverware, and a small pot and frying pan. Although we’ve been flipping eggs with forks for a while in my flat, it was definitely better than nothing, especially since I’m only here for a month and didn’t want to have to invest in a ton of kitchen supplies. Plus, after about two weeks, someone purchased a spatula, so things are looking up for our flat. 
• A neighborhood tour of Walthamstow, including the mall, which contains most of the stores you’ll probably need. It was helpful even if, like me, you’ve used the tube before. 

We were kept busy even the day we arrived. There was a housing orientation on Zoom in the afternoon (I think everyone was half asleep), and then an optional social event in the evening. The day after we arrived, we started orientation. The orientation schedule was quite busy, especially on the first day, probably to help get our sleep schedules on track. We had three days of orientation sessions, which seemed like a lot, but honesty, there is a lot to cover. It also gave me a chance to meet other students in the program, which was particularly nice because my tutorial in London is just my flatmate and I, so it’s not easy to meet people. We had academic, health and wellness, and other sessions, some of which were panels or small group sessions. This included an Oxford-specific session, where I got a few questions answered. 

My Top Tips

Here are a few points of advice on the first week. These are things that either tripped me up or were very helpful.

Packing 

Okay, this is a little earlier than arrival, but here’s a short list of things I’m so glad I packed (or wished I had).

A desk fan - everyone acted like they were dying of heat stroke when we arrived (there is no AC or “air con” in most UK.. buildings), but my desk fan helped so much. Also, I got a free fan from the front desk by asking twice. Also it’s already been so helpful for travel!

Paperclip - small detail, but helpful for the SIM card.

Slip-on shoes/shower shoes - I wish I had brought these or ordered them right away. Having to put on your tennis shoes or boots every time you have to go down to the laundry room is a pain, plus I needed shower shoes for traveling. I couldn’t find cheap flip-flops in any store, so I finally ordered cheap slides from Amazon. Also, when your heel starts hurting from walking in shoes that don’t quite fit, you’ll wish you’d brought sandals (me right now). 

Laundry 

You won’t need to do this as soon as you arrive, but it’s inevitable that you’ll have to do it eventually. You’ll need the Circuit Plus Laundry app to use the machines at our housing, as I learned from a random person in the laundry room. It’s also a bit of a pain to set up - I suggest you learn from my experience and do it before you head down to the laundry room. A wash currently costs £3.80 and a dry is £2.30, so budget accordingly. Finally, don’t make the mistake I did and use the permanent press dryer setting. It didn’t seem to do anything, and I had to pay for another dry because I was not going to try to hang up all my damp clothes in my room. Just use the “colours” setting and it works pretty well.

Shopping

In London at least, most stores are fairly specialized (either grocery or home or pharmacy, etc.), but they are all over the place. The Walthamstow Mall is a pretty good place to go if you need a variety of things, but sometimes you may have to go on a hunt for specific items. 

For groceries, LIDL is surprisingly cheap. The prices are similar or slightly cheaper than going to Walmart or even Aldi at home in Missouri, which I didn’t expect at all. Snacks and packaged foods especially seem to be cheaper than at home.

Finding non-grocery items is a little more difficult. Good luck buying a kitchen knife, for one thing - I couldn’t find one in stores, and Amazon requires verification that you are over 18, which didn’t work because my address is temporary. This is due to strict laws on weapons in the UK. Instead of going to every specialty store, we’ve pretty much all given up in my flat and are cutting everything with our butter knives. 

Reflections on making friends

If you’re studying abroad and you don’t feel like you’ve immediately found your new BFFs, you’re definitely not alone. I often take a while to really feel like I’m friends with someone, and I’ve talked to others who feel similarly. While I’d guess many of us are enjoying our time here overall, I know I’m not the only one who’s had nights when homesickness hits. It’s going to take a while for us to feel at home here, but that’s ok. 

I was glad I tried to meet a decent number of people during orientation instead of sticking to a small group. Even though I don’t have class with them, I’ve run into people at the IES Abroad  London Center or been on IES Abroad fields trips with people I met during orientation and been able to reconnect a little bit. You never know who you might click with - which is also a great reason to include the people who don’t immediately find a group. I find that’s how I meet the coolest people.

Orientation week was overwhelming, surreal, tiring, and sometimes hard, but it was also exciting and helpful.