Thread: Random questions

New student entering Fall and i had a few questions.

Is there a bus to take to Cost-U-Less? And whats the cost and where is the pick up?

Are the items at Cost U Less more expensive than in the US?

Whats the best phone service to use? I will be bringing the iPhone 4 unlocked. What are the rates for incoming and out going calls to the US?

Is there a gym at AUC?

Do I need a surge protector?

Thats all i can think of for now. Thanx!

New student entering Fall and i had a few questions.

Is there a bus to take to Cost-U-Less? And whats the cost and where is the pick up?

I think they stopped there on the bus tour this sem...but you can just rent a car for 20-30 bucks and go there. I'm sure you could get there via bus but it'd probably take quite a while and getting back may be interesting...especially if you buy a bunch of stuff...just rent a car with some people.

Are the items at Cost U Less more expensive than in the US?

Depends on the items..generally i'd say things are more expensive. Also, some things are cheaper at grand marche...you'll just have to shop around.

Whats the best phone service to use? I will be bringing the iPhone 4 unlocked. What are the rates for incoming and out going calls to the US?

Get a chippie card for calls on the island and use skype to call back to the states. You can get a skype number for ~$60/yr I believe...I just use skype to skype to call family/friends back home

Is there a gym at AUC?

yes

Do I need a surge protector?

I'd bring a decent one...i'm sure you could live without one, but I'm not a fan of getting my things fried

Thats all i can think of for now. Thanx!

Thanks for the study break

To add to the above post:

Grande Marche is right by Cost-U-Less, so you can hit both in the same trip. There is also a store a little further down the road called Save-A-Lot which has things like surge protectors and other random household things like kitchen utensils.

Regarding the phone, one way or another you'll probably end up buying a Chippie card and getting a local number for your iPhone. Don't stress over this too much. There will be a Chippie stand on campus for incoming students sometime during orientation, so they can help you.

good pooh pooh (lol they changed 5h1t to pooh pooh haha)

Originally Posted by joubeen

New student entering Fall and i had a few questions.

Is there a bus to take to Cost-U-Less? And whats the cost and where is the pick up?

Yes. The buses here are pretty much just well air-conditioned vans with advertising on them. You can tell if they are buses by either their destination signs or their license plates. (They read BUS-nnnn, where nnnn can be any number from 0-999) Pay attention to this, because they look exactly the same as taxis, that are much more expensive. (Taxi license plates begin with "Taxi")

To catch a bus from campus, you walk down from the campus past the casino (you will know this when you get here) and wait at the intersection of roads, across from the WIB ATM in front of the casino and next to the large rocks. (you will also know these things once you get here)

The bus, when they see you, will stop to pick you up. You can also hail the bus to make sure, but that may be unnecessary.

The destination signs, pay attention to them. They are placards placed on the dashboard of each bus, rather than the large LCD's on large vehicles you normally see in the States. If you're going to Cost-U-Less, which is in Philipsburg, then take the Philipsburg bus. Most buses coming that way are destined for Simpson Bay/Philipsburg anyway, so you won't have a problem with this.

The bus rates... "it varies." However, don't expect to pay more than $2.50-3 one way going to Philipsburg. To get to Simpson Bay, which is much closer, the cost is usually $1-1.50 one way.

As far as bus stops, the only place I've seen them are in Philipsburg. for other places, you can simply tell the driver that this is your stop and pay the fare. (You can also tell the driver you are going to Cost-U-Less and pay the fare then, simplifying things, but this may not always be possible.)

One word of advice when shopping at Cost-U-Less without a car/on public transportation: Buy the orange shopping bags near the front of the store. They are large, durable, and reusable. Cost-U-less, like Costco, do not give you shopping bags. They are perfect for food shopping as well, and packing them well will make for a more comfortable trip home.

As for the trip home, this requires the most attention. There is a proper bus stop right next to Cost-U-Less. Look for buses that either have the Mullet Bay or Marigot destination signs, and tell the driver that you are going to Cupecoy, near the AUC campus. These buses will often drive you right up to the guard shack on campus.

Are the items at Cost U Less more expensive than in the US?

Yes. Most of the items here are imported from the US, France, the Netherlands, or other places. Depending on where you're from, items may be comparable, or up to 2-3x more expensive than what you're used to. However, Cost-U-Less has one of the lowest prices in the areas.

Whats the best phone service to use? I will be bringing the iPhone 4 unlocked. What are the rates for incoming and out going calls to the US?

You have a choice of either UTS Chippie or TelCell. Go with whichever suits you best, but many people on campus opt for Chippie, as it is much easier to refill the balance (you can do so online as well.) The rates (for Chippie, as I don't know the rates for TelCell) are around $0.36/minute for outgoing calls on the island. Incoming calls are free, even from the US. I am unsure of cost to make US calls through chippie, but I imagine that it is much more expensive. I will attempt this later and come back with results.

On the iPhone 4:

DO NOT upgrade to iOS 4.0.2! Apple closed the PDF exploit in 4.0-4.0.1 that allows the jailbreak webapp to work.

Make sure your phone is jailbroken and unlocked in order to use it with any island SIM, or ask around on campus for someone who can do it for you. There are plenty of people, such as myself, that can help.

The iPhone 4 uses microSIMs, while the GSM carriers here only offer regular-sized SIMs. Both have the same contact area, so this will require you to shave/cut the SIM in order for it to fit the iPhone 4 SIM tray. If you can't do this yourself, someone on campus will be able to, just ask around. I can shave SIMs as well.

Is there a gym at AUC?

Yes.

Do I need a surge protector?

Yes. Not only are they convenient, but storms and power outages are frequent. Your electronics will thank you for it.

Thats all i can think of for now. Thanx!

You're very welcome, that's what this place is for.

Originally Posted by joubeen

New student entering Fall and i had a few questions.

Is there a bus to take to Cost-U-Less? And whats the cost and where is the pick up?

Are the items at Cost U Less more expensive than in the US?

Whats the best phone service to use? I will be bringing the iPhone 4 unlocked. What are the rates for incoming and out going calls to the US?

Is there a gym at AUC?

Do I need a surge protector?

Thats all i can think of for now. Thanx!

For calls to the US, use Skype. You can find the rates on their website. Make sure you don't upgrade your iPhone 4 to a firmware that can't be jailbroken or unlocked, and then get Chippie on the island and cut down the SIM card. The gym is pretty small, but sufficient. Yes, you definitely need a surge protector. One with battery back up would be even more helpful since power is not exactly reliable or clean.

Originally Posted by Ubuntu

Are the items at Cost U Less more expensive than in the US?

Depends on the items..generally i'd say things are more expensive. Also, some things are cheaper at grand marche...you'll just have to shop around.

this is true, but just fyi, there is another place similar to cost-u-less but a little cheaper called cash and carry... it's not a huge difference but it adds up

Originally Posted by mofogx

On the iPhone 4:

DO NOT upgrade to iOS 4.0.2! Apple closed the PDF exploit in 4.0-4.0.1 that allows the jailbreak webapp to work.

Make sure your phone is jailbroken and unlocked in order to use it with any island SIM, or ask around on campus for someone who can do it for you. There are plenty of people, such as myself, that can help.

The iPhone 4 uses microSIMs, while the GSM carriers here only offer regular-sized SIMs. Both have the same contact area, so this will require you to shave/cut the SIM in order for it to fit the iPhone 4 SIM tray. If you can't do this yourself, someone on campus will be able to, just ask around. I can shave SIMs as well.

Yes.

Yes. Not only are they convenient, but storms and power outages are frequent. Your electronics will thank you for it.

You're very welcome, that's what this place is for.

I hear that you can unlock the 4.0.2 now...is this correct? I'm going to try it later today and see what happens

Originally Posted by joubeen

I hear that you can unlock the 4.0.2 now...is this correct? I'm going to try it later today and see what happens

At the moment, Jailbreaking/Unlocking of 4.0.2 is only possible on the 3G. If you already upgraded your iPhone 4 to 4.0.2, you are SOL unless you either have your SHSHs saved beforehand, or a method of to Jailbreak is released.

Does anyone know what the deadline is to apply for Sept. 2010?? What's the class size gonna be like for this Sept? Anyone know?! :-\