Make Your Bedroom Feel Like Yours
Nothing says far away from home like flying 34 hours across an ocean to the foreign place youāll call home for the next four years. I have to admit, between the stress of potentially overweight baggage and connecting through different international airports, I didnāt realize just how far away I was from home until I made it up to my dorm room.
Accepting this as my residence for the next year would not have been any easier without the photos of my family and friends that I pinned to the wall. I didnāt decorate my room much at home, but my character had rubbed off on it over the years. I quickly realized that if I wanted that same sense of belonging here, Iād have to spruce it up with some string lights at the very least.
Anything you can get through customs that will help your room feel more familiar to you, I would bring. For me, that was developed photos of my family and I at my graduation, as well as my friends at our prom. I even brought this throw blanket that I always cuddled with on the colder days back home. For you, that might be a painting or a bracelet or some form of memorabilia that keeps you tethered to the ones you love.
Speaking of blankets, Iād highly advise against traveling with a bunch of them. As international students, thereās only so much we can pack into two of the standard 23kg bags that the airlines allow through. You could always purchase an extra bag/ extra weight, but thatās not very budget friendly, is it? My comforter, bed sheets, pillows and other bulky but necessary items were all ordered online, set to arrive at my school before I did. This isnāt to say that it was cheap, but it was definitely cheaper than the 255 dollars I would have had to spend on an extra bag at the airport.
Laundry
I happen to be from a country on the equator, meaning the weather is usually nice all year round. For this reason, my mother found it more economical to hand wash and sun dry our clothes, rather than rack up more in electricity bills than ever before by automating the process. While I was relieved to finally have my clothes dry the same day I washed them, I was not relieved to find that the cost of this luxury was an astronomical 2.50 per load.
After some trial and very expensive errors, I figured out a way to separate my loads so that itās the cheapest it can be. This is completely subjective to everyone, but hereās mine if itāll help spark a few ideas:
One load for bed sheets, blankets and pillow cases: These are thick and take up a lot of space in the wash. You also want to leave enough room for an even wash and to avoid overfilling the machines.
One load for darks. It just so happens that more than half of the clothes I brought with me are black, red or dark blue, all colors notorious for staining lights. It made the most sense to wash them all together, since thereās so many.
One load for coloreds and whites. Iām aware of the risks, but itās nothing the cold-water setting canāt handle. Plus, I only have two white pieces and nowhere to stick them in. This is the best Iām going to get.
One load for towels and bathrobes. I change my towels every week since I use them so much, but I only do my laundry every two weeks. These are also space consuming, so itās best to wash them separately.
For every-day items, i.e. bed linen and towels, Iād recommend purchasing these in a color that will survive their frequent use. A lot of our favorites tend to desaturate over time, but not gray. Grey doesnāt gray; it already is!
Lastly, get rid of stains as soon as you spot them. All it takes is some water, detergent, and a little manual labor. As soon as the affected area is dry, you can throw it in with the rest of your dirty laundry.
Being Prepared
One of my friends left for college with a meager 15 kgs of luggage and a whole lot of āYouāll buy it when you get thereā from his parents, only to discover that their budget for post-arrival shopping didnāt accommodate for the differences in costs of living. And Iām not talking electronics or anything extravagant, weāre talking about basics. Shampoo, Dish soap- the essentials.
Moving into a college residence is overwhelming, probably more so as an international student. Itās going to be a while before you find your way around campus, let alone the city and the various merchants it houses. Before you know where and how to go to buy what, itās important to make sure you pack enough to hold you over those first few days.
This means at least two weeksā worth of all dental products, hair and body care, must-haves like pocket tissues and wet wipes, and so on. Iād also recommend having enough prescription medication to last you until the next time you plan on flying home, just in case youāre unable to secure an appointment with a new doctor in a foreign country to refill your prescription.
If things are generally cheaper back home than they are at college, Iād recommend stocking up each time you go back home. Flights can be expensive, but if youāre going to book them anyway, you might as well make the most out of them.
Health and Safety
Prescriptions arenāt the only thing youāre going to need to stay on top of. If financially feasible, Iād highly advise keeping a few āconvenience medicationsā on hand. Painkillers, cough medicine, disinfectants, multivitamins and other over-the-counter remedies are great to have on hand. Being from a completely different climate and environment, youāre bound to give your immune system a shock every time you fly back in. For non threatening ailments and minor cuts, having these remedies on hand can save you a lot in unnecessary hospital bills.
Having your own fridge and microwave is also important, especially during school breaks that are too short for it to make sense to fly back home. There isnāt much that is budget-friendly about buying a fridge and microwave, but if preparing freezer-friendly meals in bulk saves you time each day, Iād argue thatās a win. Plus, thereās less risk of cross contamination when using your own appliances, compared to using the ones in the common area of your residence. Take it from the girl who had to wash out week-old mac nā cheese from a microwave turntable last week.
Finally, be very keen on how often you take the trash out. If youāre throwing perishables in there, such as dairy or meat scraps, you might want to take it out more often than not, even when it isnāt full. These things spoil, and when they do, they can attract pests and foster disease. Same thing goes with dishes; if they were in contact with dairy or other perishables, wash them as soon as youāre able to. The last thing you want is to spend all your flight money on a trip to the hospital due to food poisoning.
Lifestyle
To close this off, Iād like to share a few pointers that really just cater to quality of dorm life. As a neat freak, my biggest one might be the inside vs outside shoes. Getting a rug meant spending money on a vacuum to clean it, or forever surrendering to a dorm with a stale/ damp smell. This meant that I had to wear shoes in my room to keep my socks clean, and therefore make sure that these shoes never crossed the threshold. Likewise, the shoes I wear outside the residence never go any further than our doorstep.
Still, your floor and other surfaces will accumulate dust, and so I suggest investing in a swifter and a tablecloth or some other cost AND time efficient way of keeping your space clean. On this same string of thought, keeping your spaces decluttered and organized will make packing them away over breaks so much easier.
I found that homesickness didnāt hit quite as hard when I remembered I had hobbies before I left for college. Iām an avid reader, writer, Minecraft player and binger of k-dramas. Itās no coincidence that as soon as I put these hobbies on hold to focus on adjusting to college, I felt further from home than ever before. Keep your hobbies for some sense of familiarity, and maybe even pick up some new ones for a sense of belonging at your new college.
A lot of the time, itās the little things that do it for us. Decorating for Halloween, Christmas, Easter and other beloved holidays with the rest of your residence is a good way to build a sense of family away from home, especially since it doesnāt have to be anything expensive. Getting into the season of the year with people who also miss their homes is a great way to distract from everyone you left behind, and instead shift your focus to everyone you have with you now to share these moments.