Preparing to Leave
Travel plans
Make travel reservations well in advance of your departure date. This is especially important if you travel in the United States during peak tourist seasons or holidays. These include the Easter observance (either in March or April); the summer months of June through August; and the Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day holidays in November, December, and January. The ten U.S. Federal holidays are listed below.
New Year's Day - January 1
Martin Luther King Day - observed the third Monday in January
Presidents' Day - observed the third Monday in February
Memorial Day - observed the fourth Monday in May
Independence Day - July 4
Labor Day - observed the first Monday in September
Columbus Day - observed the second Monday in October
Veteran's Day - November 11
Thanksgiving Day - observed the fourth Thursday in November
Christmas Day - December 25
Check the following Web site for more information on U.S. holidays:
http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/factover/holidays.htm
What to bring
- A good bilingual dictionary, since it might not be possible to obtain one for your language in the United States
- All of your essential identification papers and documents, to be carried on your person or in your hand baggage (DO NOT PUT IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS IN BAGS YOU HAVE CHECKED ONTO THE PLANE - KEEP THEM WITH YOU.
- Books, manuals, or journals that you think may be useful for reference in your field of study and that definitely will not be available in the United States
- Pictures of your family, home, and country, for yourself and to show to your new friends
- Items from your culture, such as musical instruments, recordings of traditional and contemporary music, picture books, arts and crafts, and small gifts, to share your talents and customs with people in the United States (For festive occasions you may consider bringing traditional dress and accessories from your country.
- This would be a great way to show and tell Americans more about your culture and traditions. There will be many opportunities to share your culture while at K-State.)
- Enough money to live on until you can open a bank account and arrange for funds to be transferred from home
What not to bring
You can obtain a booklet on customs regulations at the consulate or embassy where you acquire your visa. Prohibited items include some foodstuffs, narcotics, weapons, and items for resale. The U.S. Customs Service also provides this information on their Web site at http://www.customs.gov/travel/travel.htm.
- Expensive jewelry, treasured possessions, family heirlooms, or delicate things, since there is always a chance that these items can get lost, stolen, or damaged during travel or during your stay
- Firearms, knives, weapons, or articles that could be perceived as weapons
- Narcotics or drugs
- Medications, unless you have written prescriptions from a doctor
- Any article of clothing, artifact, or medicine made from endangered animals
- Electrical appliances (Appliances in the United States work on a 115 volts and 60 cycle system. It is usually best to purchase electrical items in the United States, especially if you plan to live in university housing, as some items will not be allowed. Most items are reasonably priced. Also note that video systems, including televisions, VCRs, and DVD players, including those in laptop computers, use different systems in different parts of the world, and those you bring from home are unlikely to be compatible with the U.S. media.)
- Things you can easily buy in the United States, such as notebooks, pens, paper (paper in the United States is of a slightly different size than in countries following the metric system), toiletries, towels, or bed sheets (These items will take up valuable space in your luggage.)
- Food, seeds, or plants (The United States has very strict restrictions on importing foods, perishables, and agricultural goods into the country.)
- Books that can easily be obtained in U.S. libraries (Some universities have their library catalog on the Internet, where you can check the availability of books. You can also contact the university library staff to verify the availability of any essential books. You can usually also obtain books through interlibrary loans. The web site for KSU's Hale Library is http://www.lib.ksu.edu/index.html )
- Animals
Contacts
This is a listing of the international student
organizations at K-State. The presidents of these organizations are
listed along with their contact information. These contacts are a good resource
for answering your questions and providing other assistance you may need.