Transcript PARIS & AUP How to Prepare A Student’s Perspective Information is subject to change.

PARIS & AUP
How to Prepare
A Student’s Perspective
Information is subject to change
Before you come to Paris
• Register with CampusFrance first
• Get your VISA
– Make sure to bring a bank statement
– Double check all requirements needed
• Copies of Passport
– Put one in a safe place
• Numbers of your credit cards
– Put one in a safe place
• Call credit card company to tell them you will be
away
• Make sure your parents have a copy of
everything
Packing…
Check with the Airline First
• Allowed a carry-on
and a purse
– HIGHLY SUGGEST:
pack a few outfits in the
carry-on with your
toiletries for the first
couple of days in the
FIAP
• Two suitcases usually
allowed
– Confirm weight of
suitcases
– Pack light because you
will buy things there
• Very important to
bring
– Umbrella
– Comfortable shoes
– Clothes that can go
with many things
• Plus you could be in
single independent
room or an apartment
with French host with
no elevator and on the
6th floor
Insurance
• Ask your insurance company if you are
covered abroad
– Make sure to have copies of the letter
• If you are not covered
– AUP has an insurance plan
• Automatically covered unless you show them the
letter from your insurance company
When you Arrive…
• Try to stay up
– Harder to adjust if you
take a nap
• Drop things off at the
FIAP
– FIAP – youth hostel
where you will stay until
you find an independent
room
• As more and more
people are finding
housing, you may be
moved to different
room in the FIAP
• Don’t worry if you don’t
find an independent
room right away – you
can stay at the FIAP
for as long as it takes
• Paper work for registration
(should be done before you
arrive)
• Housing appointment
– Find out when your
appointment is
– Tell them what you are looking
for in a single independent
room
• Get to know your student
advisor
– You’ll go out to dinner on the
2nd night
• Get to know Paris (ie. Metro
tours, AUP functions)
Where the School
Buildings are:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
31 Avenue Bosquet
10 bis, rue Amelie
9, rue de
Monttessuy
147, rue de
Grenelle
102, rue St.
Dominique
6, rue du Colonel
Combes
Pierre Villey (not
shown)
*Really not that far away
– have 10 minutes
in between classes
and have plenty of
time to make it
AUP
Bosquet & Combes
• 4 computers for
recreation use
• AMEX café
• Classrooms
• SGA
• Some administrative
offices (registrar,
student activities, etc)
• 4 computers for in
between classes
• Art gallery
• Office
• Classrooms
Grenelle
•
•
•
•
Study Lounge
Classrooms
Printers
Technology Services is
here
- VERY helpful if you have
computer problems
• 1 Mac lab & 3 PC labs
– only one lab not for classes
• But if the other labs aren’t
signed out then you can
use them
Amelie & Pierre Villey
• Bookstore
• 2 classrooms
• One classroom
Library & St. Dominque
•
•Careful: Library hold hours
different than in the States
•Be aware of due dates – fines
are expensive
Bursurs office is there
– Where you pay tuition
– Where you get financial
aid and loans
– They will help if your
wallet/purse gets stolen
• Will give you euros to
eat if your wallet gets
stolen – have to pay it
back
Computers/Email
Computers at School:
• Macs and PC
• Printers
***Labs don’t open until 9am on weekdays and close around 9 or 10pm
depending on the day
***Hold different hours on weekend hours – be sure to check
Email:
Login required
• Your student ID
–
–
–
–
Gets you into buildings (PV and Amelie)
Allows you to take out books
Gets you student discounts at museums
If Art History Major – gets you into museums for free
• Your student ID number
–
–
–
–
Login to computers
Login to blackboard
Login to wireless network in AUP Buildings
Login to your AUP email (both go to the same place)
» [email protected]
» StudentID#@aup.fr
Internet
Internet:
• Internet in your house – if it is available
– Could be included – however, not likely
– Need a French bank account to pay for it –
– About 30 euros a month + installation
• May have some deals
• Internet at AUP
– WiFi connection restricted to AUP buildings
Your Appointment with Housing
• Meet with housing office
• Get their early - if you late, may loose appointment
• They give you a few choices of single independent
rooms within your requirements
• You choose one and visit it
– A student advisor will take you and help you find how to get
there, talk to your landlord, etc…
You are allowed to put ONE single independent room
on hold for ONE day BUT you CANNOT look at
another room when you have one on hold
If you put a room on hold and decide you don’t want it,
have to get a new appointment and start again
Once you Decide…
• Get the keys
• Sign an agreement
• Pay the rent and security deposit
– Security deposit is one months rent and you
get it back when you leave – provided there
are no outstanding bills or damage to the
room
• Cannot be used for last months rent!!
• Move in
Housing - General
- Most people pay around 600 euros
- Don’t expect to live with a roommate – very hard to find
housing with another person
- Utilities, heat, etc could be included – housing office will
tell you
- Can live with a family or in a single independent room
- Most independent rooms are converted servant’s quarters
• Housing insurance is 32.5 – 60 euros – non negotiable
– One time payment on tuition bill
– Good for theft, plumbing problems, etc.
• Any problems - tell Housing office
– Very helpful
– Can lead you in the right direction or help you speak with your
landlord
Housing - Misc.
• Don’t loose your keys!!
– Very expensive to replace!!
– Don’t try to make it look like a break in
• AUP has a 100+ euro fine for fake burglary due to lost keys
• Plugs/converters
– Ask Radio Shack or your computer manufacturer
about the proper voltage converter for your computer
– Don’t bring hair dryer or straightener
• Just buy them there at Monoprix
Housing with a family
Be prepared for a small apartment that
will cost about 350 euros or higher
Some families have offer Babysitting
or teaching kids English
Average size of an apartment with
or without a family – 9-11 square
meters
-About a 5 minute walk to school
-could be on the 7th floor
-No elevator
Single Independent Room
• *500 euros a month
• *Utilities included
• 30 minute walk to school
• Shared bathroom and shower
• 1st Floor
* Fees and agreement subject to change
Single Independent Room
•
•
•
•
•
•
*500 euros a month
*Utilities included
30 minute walk
Shared bathroom and shower
1st Floor
* Fees and agreement subject to
change
Single Room
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
5 minute walk to school
*550 euros a month
*Utilities NOT included
Own bathroom and shower
6th Floor
Small elevator
*Fees and agreement subject to change
Transportation
• Tickets work for Metro, RER, and bus
• One ticket = one way
– If you switch metro lines you don’t need another ticket
– If you switch bus lines/RER you need another ticket
• One ticket = 1.40 euros
• Carne (10 tickets) = 10.70 euros
• Carte Orange (one month) = 51.50 euros
• Year pass = 276.50 euros
In general: Keep your ticket. There are random checks to
make sure you have it – if you don’t you could be fined
about 40 euros
-when on the RER you have to keep your ticket because
you need it to exit the station
Where to stop?
• Metro:
– La Tour Maubourg – Closest to Grenelle, &
Amelie
– Ecole Militaire – Closest to Bosquet
• Bus:
– 80 and 92: Stop right outside of Bosquet
• RER:
– Pont d’Lama
– Invalides
Banking
• Tell your bank you are leaving
• See if they have any fees for international
withdrawals
– Withdraw a couple hundred euro at a time so you
don’t have to keep paying a fee
– CAREFUL: Some banks and ATMs won’t let you take
out more than around 500 euros total a day.
• If you open a bank account in Paris – know that
they don’t like it if you bounce a check
• Banks in Paris
– HSBC, Societe Generale (partner w/ Bank of
America), CA, CC Paris, Credit du Nord, BNP Paribas
Phones
• Landline- (not recommended)
– 50 euros for installation
– Ask Landlord about it
• Cell phone– Can get a contract but need to be here for a year or 2
PAY AS YOU GO PHONES:
About 50 euros for the phone + minutes
– Orange, SFR, Bouygues
– Buy more minutes at a Tabac
– Get deals on if you buy 50 euros of minutes you get 65 euros
worth of minutes
• Best way to contact parents – Skype - need internet
connection and head set (microphone/headphone)
• AUP needs to have a phone number where you can be
reached if something happens
Shopping Clothes, Shoes, Accessories, etc.
• Gallery Lafayette
• Saint German de Pres
• Champs Elysee
• If asked if you speak
English – ignore and walk
away – they distract you
to get your wallet/purse
• Rue de Passy
• St. Paul on metro line 1
(Jewish quarters)
• Flea Markets –
– Port de Clingonant
• Be careful – lots of pick
pockets
Groceries…
•
•
•
•
•
•
Ed
G20
Monoprix
Franprix
Leader Price
Rue Cler – outside
market
• Real McCoy – American
food store
– Careful: its expensive!
Places
to
Eat
When Parents come to visit:
• Café Trocadero –
– great view of Eiffel Tower when it sparkles
Around School:
• Columbus Café – coffee shop closest to school
– on St. Dominque past Julien
• Boulangers
• 4 or 5 around school
– Julien (on St. Dominique) **highly recommend
– Cotas (on Grenelle)
• Rousillon – hang out place for AUP
• Japanais – Sushi
– St. Dominque
• Tribeca – great pizza
– Rue Cler
• Cote Sud – sandwich place
– St. Dominque
Night Life
• Lots to do around Paris at night
• BE CAREFUL!
– Each metro closes and opens at different times – check before
you go out
• Normally the last metro is at 12.10am and the first one starts around
5.30 am
• Buses stop running around 8
• Night bus – very sketchy and hardly goes anywhere
= NOT recommended
• Cabs are expensive and hard to find
– Go to a taxi stand
• There are many cab stands around Odeon and St. Michael
– Don’t call a cab - they charge you from when you call until your
home
Laundry
• Find the laundry mat nearest to you
• Very Expensive
– Small load of laundry is about 3.70 - 4 euros
to wash
– 1 euro for 10 minutes to dry
– Bring a small carrying bag/suitcase to put
laundry in
• Don’t use a laundry basket – no one does
Travel
• Trains:
– TGV
– EuroStar
– SNCF
• Airplanes:
– Cheapest if you book in advance
• Ryan Air – flies out of an airport about an hour outside of Paris
(called Beauvais Airport)
• Easy Jet
• Hostels:
– Hostelworld.com
Safety Tips
You are in a city - be smart and aware of your
surroundings
• Don’t take any magazines or pamphlets or
whatever from ANYONE – be firm and act angry
when saying no
• Don’t leave cell phone or purse or wallet on the
table at cafes – kids put newspapers or
magazines over them and take them.
• Keep purse closed and close to you when riding
on the bus/metro/RER
Survival French
• Its ok that your French is limited
– Show that you are trying
• Don’t expect people to know English
– Many do but you are in France and it vexes them off
that we would assume everyone speaks English
• When walking into a store always say
“bonjour/bonsoir”
• When leaving say “Merci. Au revoir.”
– Its just the custom here and if you don’t you get a
serious attitude from people
• SVP – s’il vous plait (again to be polite)
In General
• Don’t be afraid to do
touristy things
• Try and explore as much
as possible – especially
around your apartment
• Book traveling ASAP
• Nothing is open on
Sundays – except some
stores on the Champs
Elysee
• Strikes are common – be
sure to know when they
are happening
•Museums are closed on Mondays
except the Louvre which is closed on
Tuesdays
•Louvre is free Friday nights for
Students