Initially I was worried about coming to London because I'm known as the "over-packer" of the family. Though I brought more than most people, I made good use out of almost everything. For clothing try to bring clothes that can be very versatile and layered. I made sure to bring all the basics, plain colored v-necks and t-shirts, jeans, black jeans are very European, one or two professional outfits for class presentations, dress up clothes for going out to clubs and to the theatre. I'm sure most of you have a pretty good handle on what to pack clothes wise. And remember, you are probably going to buy clothes there as well.
I really recommend bringing a comfortable sheet to sleep on. I took an old queen sheet, folded it in half and sewed half way up the side to create a little sheet sleeping bag. The linens provided at Nido Student Housing aren't super comfy, so I used this all the time. It can also come in handy if you plan on staying in hostels and it doesn't take up a lot of room in your suitcase. I was really glad I brought thumb tacs for the bulletin board provided, 3M wall hooks (with the sticky backing, found at Walmart), and pictures from home. Though you can use Facebook to see your friends and family's pictures, it's nice to have something on the walls. I also brought a small tapestry to add color to my room and give it a homey feel. I recommend bringing 3 coats: a raincoat, light autumn coat, and a heavier winter one. To make it looked like I had more than three outfits, I brought and bought a lot of colorful scarves to change things up. Some people suggest buying a converter for abroad, the adaptors in London work fine and are really cheap. Also, some of my friends bought hair dryers at a place called Argos (it’s a cheap catalogue store) so they wouldn’t have to worry about using an adaptor and changing the voltage settings. If you’re a big movie buff, you may want to bring a couple of your favorite DVDs along so you can watch them on your laptop. The TVs in the Nido kitchens didn’t have DVD players and the screening room was under construction when I was there. From what I saw, London didn’t have anything like a Redbox but I wasn’t really looking. Cell phones are really cheap and easy to find abroad but if you have a smart phone and are considering bringing it, check with your carrier to see if you can change out your SIM card for a UK card. My friend brought his iPhone and it helped us navigate through the city and came in handy a lot.
As for staying in contact with family and friends, the first month I had 100 minutes of international calling but ended up switching to unlimited texting/calling in the UK towards the end of my stay because I wasn't using my minutes and it was less expensive. I mainly used Skype, email, and Facebook as forms of communication back home. Nido’s internet usually gets really jammed up at night so Skype was quite slow at times. I’m not the type of person who gets home sick a lot, so this didn’t really bother me much. I know one of my friends who had a Gmail account used Gtalk to call the US for free but I’m not totally sure how that works. I will ask her though if anyone is interested. Just remember there is a 6 hour difference from London to Wisconsin so try to come up with a good time to talk. If you don’t bring a laptop, there are a couple apple computers in the Nido lobby and 2nd floor café. There are also computers at London Met in the libraries but are being used most of the time by other students.
Casey
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