Things To Bring Along
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What kind of clothing to get from India?
Winter Wear:
We would advice you to NOT buy your winter jackets in India. The temperature here varies from as high as 35 °C in summer to -10°C in winter. The jackets that most people brought from India did not get do them any good once the temperature went close to even -3 °C. They also end up taking a lot of luggage space in your bags. Here, a good durable good winter jacket would cost you $40-60, so bring some extra cash. You have lot of time to buy it once you get here. The temperature doesn't start dropping till about the first week of October.
Other winter wear like sweaters, sweatshirts, woollen socks, gloves, ear muffs (if you think you need them), thermal underwear can be brought from India. If you like wearing leather jackets (not essential) you may want to get it from India as there are really expensive here, but the winter jackets that you get here are quite good and CHEAP.
It would be a good idea to get an umbrella and/or a raincoat. Whether winter or summer you'll mostly be roaming around in Sneakers. So get a good pair from India. We suggest that you get comfortable footwear like Slippers: Hawais and Leather/Sports Sandals from India itself as they are expensive in the U.S. unless there is a sale. Again emphasizing get enough and comfortable pairs as you have to walk long distances. There is no need to buy a new pair of sport shoes from India as you get them dirt cheap out here…atleast the unbranded ones which last real good…also the branded ones like Nike, Adidas, Reebok can range anywhere from $25 to $75 and you get regular sales here on them.
Summer Wear:
Summers are warm with temperature at times going upto 35°C. So you need to bring shorts and cotton T shirts. Get atleast 3 to 4 pairs of jeans. Account for the fact that your waist size may not remain the same (for the better or for the worse !). You will need to bring about half a dozen good shirts. Do bring some traditional Indian garments like saris, salwar-kameezes, kurta-pyjamas, you do get to show them off at Indian festivals and international gatherings. Try and bring some formal attire too. A blazer or a suit, ties, a formal wear shirt, a skirt-suit etc (though you get better ones here but there are expensive). These are useful during professional meetings and interviews. Last but not the least, unless you are fond of doing your laundry often, get enough undergarments to last you for at least 2-3 weeks! The numbers here are all relative. Bring more or less accordingly.
Linen:
Other useful items are a blanket(not essential as you end up buying a comforter here), bedsheets(double sized as single sized ones would be small for the beds here), pillow covers, towels, napkins. Also, make sure the bed sheets that you bring are the larger size ones, like the ones from Bombay dyeing or Fabindia and make sure the clothes that you bring do no bleed color as you will be putting then in the washer/dryer.
You will have to cook your own food..!!
Cooking stuff:
Raleigh has its share of Indian stores. You would be surprised by the variety of stuff that you get in them. Unfortunately, everything would have a price mutiplied by the going exchange rate and they will all seem outlandishly expensive. So, if you are going to be starting with a fresh bunch of roomies, get the essentials like rice, dal(in very limited quantity just to get started). Also get all the basic masalas and condiments that are required as per your style of cooking. And most important learn to cook! You want to stay alive and well. And you possibly can't achieve that by eating sandwiches, pizzas and tortillas. Focus on the essentials. Cooking rice, dal and vegetables (well) would be a good starting point. It is always a good idea to bring a cook book or two along else you end up downloading recipes online. It is highly advisable that you get along with yourself the Everest Masala packs for Garam Masala, Chhole masala, Biryani masala, pav-bhaji, etc. You can also get stuff like the ready-made gravy mix. Also get along other spices & condiments (turmeric, jeera, chilly powder, etc). Get along sweets and namkeen(for us!!) …you will miss them the moment you reach here…It takes time to get adjusted to the crap that you get here!
Kitchen Utensils:
A pressure cooker (big enough for 4-7 people i.e. atleast 4 liters size...trust me you will need it if 4 of you are planning to stay together) with spares, a non-stick pan and/or kadai (understand how it needs to be treated). A few medium sized dishes. Tumblers, spoons, forks, knife, glasses, coffee mugs, bowls. Flat-bottomed pans are highly-recommended keeping in mind that most stove-tops here are electric-coiled, the round bottom vessels do not work on these stove-tops. We suggest that you purchase microwaveable dishes, bowls etc. from here rather than getting it all the way from India. ASK MOM, SHE KNOWS BEST !!!!!!
Other Miscellaneous Items ?
Textbooks:
Bring all textbooks you think you might need to keep your 'fundae' clear. These are very, very expensive here. Also, bring some stationery to get you started.
Hardware Stuff:
Toolkit (small screwdriver, spanner, scissors), sewing kit, safety pins, a good leather purse or wallet with sections for the bunch of credit cards/key cards/id s etc that you'll accumulate in no time here. Audio cassettes/CDs (Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi etc.)
Money:
The one-time expenses that you will incur probably even before you get your first stipend include apartment deposit + first month's rent (about $350 in all per person), health insurance ($1100 for a year or $550 for six months to be paid in two installments), telephone deposit ($100 shared among housemates),electrity deposit (about $100 shared among housemates) initial expenditure on house (foodstuff, kitchen stuff, furnishing about $200 shared among housemates) and/or buying cycle ($100-300). There are a lot of smaller expenses which add up faster than 2 and 2 add to 4. If you get your first stipend quite late, you must also include your living costs (see below). About $1200-1500 should suffice, $2000 should be comfortable. DO NOT BRING THOMAS COOK TRAVELER'S CHEQUES. There is some problem with processing them and it may even take more than a month for your money to be converted back. Get American Express Travellers Cheques if possible.
Things NOT to get along...!
Electrical appliances, unless you are sure it works here (i.e. you have a AC/DC convertor). The electric supply here is 110V, 60Hz. Mostly all the electronic items are very cheap in US. So you can always get them here.
Other Important Stuff:
1) YOUR CERTIFICATES, TRANSCRIPTS. Laminate them in thin plastic if possible.
2) Your application material in case you wish to reactivate your applications at another place for the following quarter/year. Lot of passport size photos (13-14 per pair here!).
3) All important documents like medical records, letters of communication with the university, etc.
Remember..!!
Keep the passport, I-20, all the certificates, Marklists (your folder), medical records etc. in your handbag. Very rarely airlines misplace your luggage. Ofcourse they refund you for the same but as you can see, some documents are too important for any refund.
You will complete your customs formalities at your first port of entry. ENSURE THAT YOU HAVE SUFFICIENT TIME (at least 2 hours, considering the queue) BETWEEN YOUR FLIGHTS AT THAT AIRPORT.
Carry a few quarters (25c coins) in case you have to call anyone from the airport.