If you are joining in the Fall semester, make sure that you
have plenty of warm clothes for the upcoming winter season. Cold places in the
winter are bitterly chilly and the warm places do get pretty chilly too. Few
years back, even some places in Texas, which is considered to be one of the
warmer places, got plenty of snow. So be prepared for that type of winter.
And if you are joining in the Spring semester, do not get
confused with the name. There is no ‘Spring’ in January in the U.S. You may be
getting ‘home-sick’ sooner rather than later this time of the year. So make
sure you have plenty of warm clothes including everything. Some students might
think that why take so much stuff and luggage on this long journey. Well, that
is also a choice¸ if you want to go that route. It is also a choice¸ if you
want to go that route. However, one thing to keep in mind is that there will be
other ‘items of business’ that would require your immediate attention, once you
join the university. These include reporting at the international office,
registration for the classes, meeting the advisor, looking for a place to stay
on or off-campus, books and many more. So, you don’t want to ‘go shopping’
right away. Therefore, making long story short, get yourselves plenty of warm
clothes.
Arrive early at the airport to get your documents and luggage
checked. Make sure you keep your documents close to your heart. As for the
money, I would keep travel checks by American Express. That way, I would not
have to carry hard cash on me. It is unsafe to travel with big chunks of hard
cash on long travels. Either that or once your arrive at your university town
and have opened a bank account, have that money transferred to your bank
account. This may take a while but it is very safe.
Once in the plane, get yourself comfortable. If you are
flying from Pakistan, he flight is almost 17 hours long with a stop in one of
the Europe airports, normally in England. Most of the flights have to land at
the John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK) in the U.S. If you are joining in the fall
semester, you would see the weather similar to Pakistan, but if you are
traveling in December, then snow awaits you. However, snow and ice hardly
impedes the daily life. So, your travel plan will not be hampered by the ice.
Once at the J.F.K airport, you will again have to go through
the immigration. Your passport will be stamped and may be asked a few questions
on the way. If you have the connecting flight from J.F.K, you would only have
to be at the required terminal. Not all domestic airlines use J.F.K. airport.
So you may have to travel to LaGuardia airport for a connecting flight.
If you haven’t made any advance traveling arrangements, then
you would have to inquire about these flights to your local destination. Either
you may choose to travel over to the Greyhound Bus terminal or take the Amtrak
train.
