Thread: List of things to bring for new student....

MIND YOU, YOU DON’T NEED TO BRING EVERYTHING ON THIS LIST….ITS JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA….
Clothing

• T-shirts (10)
• Shorts (5)
• PJ’s
• Undergarments
• socks
• Flip flops and sandals
• sneakers
• 1 or 2 pairs of jeans
• 1 sweater/long sleeve fleece (for those cold nights)
• 1 or 2 bath towels
• 1 or 2 hand towels
• backpack

MEN

• 3 dress shirts
• 2 dress pants

--- for those nights out and formals etc...
WOMEN

• pretty dresses and anything else that will glamour you up ;p

--- for those nights out and formals etc...

• spring jacket/rain jacket
• baseball cap
• 1 belt
• laundry bag
• A VERY STURDY UMBRELLA (u can buy them in DOM but got to look hard to find a good one and prices are reasonable)

Hygiene and accessories

• razors
• antibacterial soap
• eye drops
• Benylln
• throat medication
• Tylenol
• cologne
• deodorant
• a couple of bottles of shampoo (Ziploc bag them) - (they have shampoo here but not major brands like Pantene Pro-V, HeadnShoulders, Garnier, Pert Plus)
• soap
• you DONT really need to bring plates/spoons/forks/cups etc.. b/c the houses usually are furnished with them (but u can bring enough to serve 1-2 ppl just to be on the safe side)
• shaving cream (once again they don't carry the major brands like we have back home)
• aftershave
• Pepto-Bismol
• antacids
• water bottle
• lighter
• band aids
• aspirin
• sunscreen
• insect repellent
• wet naps
• pocket knife
• small flashlight
• loads of batteries
• sunglasses
• contact lenses
• contact lense solutions (bring from home b/c its MAD expensive here)
• locks and keys (padlocks)
• sleeping sheets and pillow covers (u can buy them in DOM but selection and quality SUCK so you're better off bringing from home. suggestion - IKEA!!!!
• alarm clock
• posters (to personalize your room/house)
• if you exercise...then bring your exercise bands and balls, BUT NOT WEIGHTS...hehehe

StationaryDOMINICA has a few really good stationary stores...they don't compare to Staple/Business Depot but hey...you can't complain...in any case, here's a list of items that might interest you:

• Calendar Pad/Hanging Calendars (really useful for counting down days till school breaks)
• AGENDA/Day Planner (if you’re into that sort of thing)
• pens
• pencils
• pencil crayons (for assignments that ask to draw structures)
• markers
• post it notes
• highlighters
• stapler
• hole punch
• staples
• scissors
• pencil sharpener
• erasers
• binders
• line paper/white paper
• paper
• file folders
• tape
• paperclips
• thumbtacks pins
• posters (to hang around your room and house)

• BIBLE
• Qu'ran

• TEXTBOOKS - bring your textbooks...for now or atleast until the school sets up a system where you can buy them from DOMINICA

Electronics

• laptop and cables/wires and case (if you don’t’ have a laptop….Highly Recommended that you get one…
• software/games etc… (even though you should be studying…)
• small printer (to print up notes) ....Printers are VERY Expensive HERE ..however you should also note that Dominica only sells ink cartridges for certain makes and models... i.e. buy a simple laser jet Hewlett-Packard HP printer... or if you'd like buy whatever printer you want......just stock up on ink cartridges when you come to last you until you go back home........REMEMBER...think SIMPLE...and SMALL
• mouse
• digital camera (also highly recommended)
• external speakers and headphones for those who love to listen to music...
• blank dvd-r’s (since there’s no Theatres here, students tend to d/l movies through bit torrent/limewire/kazaa etc… and then swap with each other)
• blank cdrs (to back up notes and files and music)
• cell phone and charger - if you're bringing a cell phone....MAKE SURE YOU HAVE IT GSM UNLOCKED If you don't have one know that cell phones here are relatively cheap All students at ASUSM have a cell phone and everyone is on a pay-as-u-go system which is very very cheap. The major cell phone providers in Dominica are C&W (cable and wireless - the local and largest company; and DIGICEL – they are new but have a network range all over the Caribbean; personally I have a Digicel b/c they have better international rates and txt msg rates)
• Flash/MEMORY KEY with at least 256 MB of memory - trust me you'll need swap notes and songs and things of that sort.....everyone has it ........its COOL!!....;p
• mp3 players

Cooking utensilsONCE AGAIN, you don't necessarily need to bring all this unless you truly want to...they sell all these here and/or your house may have them already but if you're into brand name and quality then bring your own!

• frying pan
• boiling pot
• spoons
• forks
• knives
• cutting board
• salt/pepper shaker
• plates
• cups
• bowls
• You can buy all the cleaning products here ......including air fresheners but if you like scented candles.......bring them from home.......the ones here are expensive and smell more like wax then anything else...

Appliances

• BRITA - I would strongly suggest bringing a BRITA water filter system with you (that gives 6-8 cups) even though Dominica tap water is good to drink...the majority of the students here either packed a Brita with them or purchased one here (mind you its very expensive here)...so my suggestion.....WALMART!!!
• TOASTERS (b/c most houses don't have them)
• Iron
• Kettle
• Small battery operated Fans (power outages are frequent and it gets bloody hot. All students either live in an home with A/C or FANS…but when there’s no power, a hand-held will do so much better than having resort to the old fashioned ‘paper fanning’ technique

* remember to bring converters and adapters for all these so you don’t blow them up!!!
FOOD

• Dominica has very good grocery stores such as IGA -WHITCHURCH and another larger store called ASTAPHANS
• you can buy almost anything at both of them, not to mention all the smaller shops and venders
• you can buy foods ranging from pasta to rice, to milk, cereal, cookies, bread, etc...
• HEADS UP - Imported Fruits are Very expensive - i.e.. apples are 2.50 EC (that’s expensive, relatively speaking) and a bag of grapes is roughly 20 EC (that’s seriously out of the question) On the other hand fruits like bananas are dirty cheap b/c they grow all over the island
• Things to try out - Drinking Coconut water straight out of the coconut
• Every Saturday morning, there’s a very large produce/fish market setup in town. Best time to go is between 6 and 8 AM and get all your groceries and fruits/vegetables from the local venders (plus you can bargain and get really good prices and while you're there you can have some freshly squeezed sugar cane juice or coconut water)
• For all those Desi/Indians/Tamils/Pakistanis - there is NO Indian store here so if your into the whole traditional dishes, stock up on all your spices, herbs, masalas, and things of that sort ...enough to last you a semester (or until you go back)

Extremely helpfull bro. Thank a million for this post

isn't this the forum of All Saints University of Medicine Aruba?
why are you giving advice for dominica?
according to the info i got, Aruba is like the US (little miami) and has everything

i agree silvi i dont understand why people talk about all saints dominica over here!! they should talk about it in all saints dominica forum.dont worry about aruba we ve got everything here..dominica is basically like a deserted island..so just bring the stuff which u think u might not find in aruba.let me know if u want my help in that.

problem is only 22kg's allowed going into Dominica

for aruba you can carry 2 suitcases of 50 lbs each and a carry on which can be up2 40 lbs

thank you so much for the heads up. great advice. Hey, can students from either the Aruba or Dominica campuses please give their feedback on the islands/island life/campus (the temporary campus in Dominica, and how the construction of the new one is shaping up)? Are there any Indian stores around in Aruba? (Clearly, none in Dominica) Would you recommend the Aruba campus or the Dominica one? How is the student-prof ratio there? How would you describe your experience away from home so far?
Is the sun really getting up on you?
Sorry, just some of my "miscellaneous" questions if someone doesn't mind answering

PS: is the list of things to bring for the Aruba campus anything like that one....or is there stuff we can omit (i.e Pantene Pro-V shampoo etc.)

I went to school in Europe in the past and basically had to bring everything with me (bedsheets, food, pots/pans, etc). Is this the case for Aruba, as well?
Also, do they have OTC meds available? (Tylenol, Tums, and so on).

No scorpio123 you dont have to get those things...if you are really picky you can get your own bed sheets but over here in the apartments you get pots pans etc..there are american stlye grocery stores here so dont have to worry much about food.

Thanks for the quick reply!
I just have a few more questions. Do you know how far the following apts are from campus? and which one is the better one?

Ocean View
Punto di Oro apartments
El Olimpico hotel
Montana Park apartments

Also about roommates, how and when can we find one? And I hear we have to have a car to get around in? How does that work for someone getting to Aruba about a day in advance to when classes start? Where do we stay on the first night when one arrives in Aruba? Does someone pick you up at the airport or do you have to take a taxi?

I know, thats a lot of questions I just asked, but I tried calling the NJ office, and there was no answer!
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.