Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
The Random Ramblings About UL Thread
Options
Comments
-
Mate of mine was there last year; I'll ask him. Have you accomm sorted or a hostel for the first few nights?Im going up the road from there. Huntington Beach is where im headed. Cant wait:D According to USIT you could be asked to prove you have $950 to set yourself up. Seemingly the only two forms that they are gauranteed to accept is cash or travellers cheque. So im going bringing cash. I reckon ill burn through it fairly quick anyway what with having to pay deposits for houses and rent and stuff as soon as I get there. I was under the impression it was hard to set up a bank account over there, am I wrong?
We had no probs whatsoever setting them up with WaMu (Washington Mutual). They were crying out for us to pass on the word to other J1ers. Really easy to set up the a/c - afair it was easier than Ireland: didn't need a proof of address, just needed passport/visa. No hassle at all with it and was dead handy cos got an ATM/debit card as well with it. And a cheque book. Yes, a cheque book. Never used that though. :rolleyes:
Oh, TARGET IS YOUR FRIEND!
You'll find one; we (and pretty much every student we met) got airbeds for $20 and pillows for $5. Purrrffect and a great way to píss off a housemate is to deflate one right before bedtime . Sunscreen: you will need it. If you're fair (like me) factor 50 is the least you'll need; you'll get down to 30 by the end of the summer - maybe even 25. Make sure it's both UVA/UVB: can get it much cheaper over there so don't bother bringing any. In fact now that you're at your packing stage: pick out everything you're thinking of bringing, then pack half it and leave the other half behind. :pac: Seriously! You will not see one cloudy day! Bring one pair (may two, so 
) of jeans and one hoody. Other than that beach shorts and tees! And you can get a lot of that over there too cheaper than here.
If you are gonna travel, go to San Diego, go to LA, go to San Fran but if you go only one place: GO TO VEGAS!!! Vegas is like something you'll never see again. If you do get there, I'd seriously recommend a day trip to the Grand Canyon: unbelievable. We got cheaper tix online for about $80 (that includes 5 hour bus there, back, lunch, and guide the whole way pointing stuff out on the bus) which were about ~$20 cheaper than anywhere selling them in Vegas itself. Oh yeah, Vegas is hot. Desert hot. It's like stepping into an oven. Really, the air is just that hot air. It's an experience!
Internal flight are dead cheap - use them. Or if someone has a full licence you can hire a car (some firms only deal with 25+, but some will give to under 25s with a loading...When we hired it was something like $20 loading!! So not too bad!).
I'm guessing you're 21? If you're not, it will be a hard summer...well in San Diego anyway (and especially Pacific Beach where we were) they scrutinized passports - UV lights, the lot! A friend of ours came over for a 3 week holiday and at the local bar we were messing going, 'ahh her passport's fake' cos the bouncers were recognising us at that stage. They smiled. And then gave her the third degree; including making her sign her signature and spell her whole name and all this! :eek: Just something to be wary of - bring your passport out, not a driving licence: they think they're fake automatically!
With you Social Security no. it's a bitch... you gotta have an address before you can register for it and you need the number before you can get a job. Some places will take you on before having a number (once you show them the proof that you've applied for it), but very few. It can take a few weeks to get it which is a wreck head, but then you'll have it for life.
Argh, I could give you so many more tips if you were going to San Diego (including a fantastic waterpark!!).
You'll have a savage time; the Americans are really friendly and they love the Irish (except the cops and bouncers who abhor us...may be justifiable...). Forget about finances; they'll sort themselves out and if you need to go into debt then do...you can pay it back when you're 30 and earning but you won't be able to do all this stuff then, so do it now.I plan on doing something similar next year if I can get the money together, with an ex-SU guy you might know actually (well at least know of him, not sure how well you'd him!!).
Oooh, who?Plan at the moment is something along the lines of: Thailand, Singapore, Australia (Work and build up some money again maybe even get a "real" job for a while I hear they are crying out for engineering types) then onto New Zealand, possibly Fiji or somewhere, finally Tokyo then home. Lots of saving to do if I want to do that though since flights alone will cost about 2.5k. Would love to do Africa and C/S America but ill do it at some other stage!!
After Dimbleby last night I started planning my route across Europe/Asia. I was in Warsaw for my Erasmus and bussed it to Vilnius and then got the train from there to St Petersburg, then from St Pete to Moscow and then from there back through Belarus to Warsaw. Trains. Are. Amazing. Fact. Really fantastic experience. Granted, the longest I was on one was 24 hours (Moscow-Warsaw) but it was an unreal way of seeing the countryside. Esp in January, so everywhere was just blanketed in white. But anyway my plan would be to stop off loads, not just in the big cities but in some little towns as well...just to get a real insight into Russia. Haven't decided whether to go Trans-Manchurian/Mongolian yet but I think Mongolia is supposed to be pretty nice so might go that way, then on to Beijing...trek around China a bit before making my way to Shanghai and then cross to Osaka and up to Tokyo. I was originally thinking about 5-6 weeks but I'm thinking of extending it to about 8 so that I can really allow for diversions and going off the beaten track if I feel like it. It'll take a looootttttttttttt of planning, cos of smelly Russian train rules but I'm hoping to go fully independent rather than through an agency...So, me is learning Ruski for the year :pac:Depends where ya go really. Tchad is rather ****. Malawi is supposed to be fantastic. Avoid Zimbabweh atm. Uganda not bad, Tanzania too.
Just a few places off the top of my head. I'll get back to ya on what Kenya is like in a few weeks.
Uganda I'd like to see, and Zambia and S. Africa. I'd love to do an African version of the trans-Siberian, but I don't think one exists!!!! I've a cousin living in S.A.: I might start communicating with her! ergonomics wrote: »This is all after my year as PPO obviously
Hope you have a campaign manager sorted........ :pac:ergonomics wrote: »Although I still have another year of college :mad:
Don't rush it!! :eek:0 -
-
Happiness!;)It's not so bad, you'll have lots of money and umm... well, you can buy stuff with money. Whoever said you cant buy hapiness was looking in the wrong shop!
Well there's a high chance that I could be living in Dublin myself come September as alot of jobs advertised seem to be for there..Come to Dublin I'm sure us Alumni could introduce you to new levels of depravity.
The Gambia and Senegal.bluedolphin wrote: »Oooh! Where were you?
Hopefully!:)bluedolphin wrote: »Good things come to those who wait, right?
Luck duck! You better do a safari while you're there!! At home in your natural evironment and what not!:pI'll get back to ya on what Kenya is like in a few weeks.
Damn you for getting there before me! Now I can't show off my German skills!:cool::DGrammar. Sie werden sehr effizient, wenn sie zurückkommen.0 -
-
-
Advertisement
-
Grammar. Sie werden sehr effizient, wenn sie zurückkommen.
The joys of using Google Translator, I should have done German instead of French.Fast_Mover wrote: »Well there's a high chance that I could be living in Dublin myself come September as alot of jobs advertised seem to be for there..
It's not so bad living up here, give myself and a few of the others a shout for a pint if you do move up.0 -
Anyone heading out tonite?
Alas, my shackles will not be untied until tomorrow and then I shall be freeee, freeeeeeee, freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!Fast_Mover wrote: »Or if your require futher information on Africa the bathroom attendant in the womens bathroom in Mollys is from one of the countries there.
Had a great chat one night to her about their traditional african food (domoda/benechin) and how gorgeous I thought it was!
Ah yes I think I know the lady. I engaged in a 30-minute drunken conversation (eh, she was the conversation, I was the drunken so I'm sure I was just rambling) with her once about Africa and my longing to go there. I wouldn't mind volunteering for a bit considering the whole Red Cross/medic thing I have going on, but a lot of volunteer orgs are profit-based and I do not want to pay an organisation to volunteer.0 -
-
-
-
Advertisement
-
-
Fast_Mover wrote: »Will do! But knowing me now I'll end up in shitty Laois or something!:p
Dont knock it until you've tried it!!
Ah who am I kidding....20 years living there, and I cant stand going back that often anymore, except for a good pint of Ale 0 -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Advertisement
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Advertisement
-
Sorry, as Pete told me today its, "eeefffff"
It's what?! :eek:
Stop sabotaging my name! As my Facebook says, the following are permitted: "Aoife, Aoifs, Breenie, Chief, Chiefie, Chief Breenie, Beeeenieeeee (followed by a slapping of the forehead with an open palm)...like below". :cool:
0
Advertisement