A survival guide to the Twin Cities

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FACSS 2009 New Student Workshop
A survival guide to the Twin Cities
FACSS, Summer 2009
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• ???????????????,??FACSS
• ??????????????????
• ???1984?
• 2009????????1200?
• ???????????????
• ????????,??????????

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??????

• ???
• FACSS????????????
• ?????????????
• ??????
• ??FACSS??http//www.tc.umn.edu/facss/
• ??Join us,??????????????
• ??Submit,?????????FACSS???!!
• ????
• ??????????????????????????

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BBS?Facebook Group

• BBS
• ????????????
• http//www.facssumn.com/forum/default.asp
• ??????????????????
• Facebook Group
• ?Facebook???FACSS???????
• FACSS?????????????????

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2008-2009?FACSS????

• 2008/08/01, 2008/08/08, 2008/08/15,
  2008/08/22????(New student workshop)
• 2008/09/12?????????????
• 2008/10/25??(Minnehaha??)
• 2008/11/15?????
• 2008/11/22??OK????
• 2008/12/05FACSS??24???????OK????
• 2009/01/30FACSS???????
• 2009/02/21??
• 2009/03/07FACSS??????
• 2009/03/28????
• 2009/04/11??(Afton????)
• 2009/05/08FACSS????

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??????
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??(Minnehaha??)
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?????
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FACSS??24????
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???????
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??
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??(Afton????)
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???????!

• FACSS??????
• 2009?9?5?!!
• Sing for China Tour
• 2009?9?17?
• ???????
• 2009?10?2?!

??????
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FACSS Board

• ???
• ?????????????
• ???
• ??????????
• ???
• ???
• ??
• ???????

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Volunteers

• FACSS Needs your help to be excellent!!!!

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Contents

• Housing (temporary, permanent)
• Transportation How to get around
• Money Management
• Communications
• Eating, Shopping, facilities on campus
• Identity(Paperworks, SSN, Drivers License)

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Housing Temporary

• Right after arrival
• Option1 Host Family (Usually 1 week)
• Fill in the welcome form and send it back to us
  at facss_at_umn.edu
• Option 2 Try to find a place to stay until you
  could find a place to stay for the next year, and
  you could find the methods in next several slices.

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Housing Temporary

• Slice 1 UMN offer temporary (-Aug 30th) to new
  students
• Central AC, 20/personnight
• http//www.isss.umn.edu/new/temphousing.html
• Slice 2 sublease(????,??????)
• Short term usually one month or two
• Where to start looking? - FACSS BBS
• Slice 3 Start your lease at Aug. 1st

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Housing Temporary

• ????
• ???30,31?????,??
• ?BBS???Sublease
• ????HCC 651-659-9740
• HCC??????????????

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Housing Permanent

• Permanent
• ??????(??)????????????????
• 1. Neighborhoods(??)
• 2. Price range(??)
• How to find a room/roommate
• ?????

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Housing Permanent
???????
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Housing Permanent

• West Bank ????????????????,????????????East
  Bank??CTC, ??????????????????(?????,???,???????)
• Some apartments
• Cedars 94 2220 E Franklin Ave 612-338-5275
• Cedar Riverside1414 S 3rd St 612-338-1995
• Franklin2300 E Franklin Ave 612-338-4574
• Riverside Plaza1600 S 6th St 612-338-8925
• Seven Corners1400 S 2nd St 612-340-0738
• Seward Square2121 S 9th St 612-338-2680
• Seward Towers West2515 S 9th St 612-333-7472
• Success Family Housing910 25th Ave S
  612-338-7817

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Housing Permanent
???????
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Housing Permanent

• East Bank
• Stadium Village (close)
• Dinkytown (close)
• Como (No.3 bus)
• Marcy Holmes (No.2 bus)
• Prospect Park (No. 16 bus)
• St. Paul
• St. Anthony Park (close, Connector to East/West
  Bank)
• Larpenter/Lauderdale (No.3 bus)

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Housing Permanent, Price Range

• Level I 550-650, on campus, resident Halls
• Close to campus, good security convenience
• Expensive, small space

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Housing Permanent, Price Range

• Level II gt600, off campus, apartment buildings
  good services and facilities, in door garages,
  good security

• Stadium Village
• Melrose Apartments
• University Commons
• University Village-West

• Dinkytown
• 1301 University
• Bierman Place Apartments
• Elmwood Properties
• Marcy Park Apartments

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Housing Permanent, Price Range

• Level III 400-550, off Campus appropriate
  apartments, OK services and facilities.
• https//rentals.tc.umn.edu/
• http//www.tc.umn.edu/facss/offcampus/living.htm

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Housing Permanent, Price Range

• Level IV 350-450, off campus economic
  apartments provided by the university, certain
  requirements, long reservation time, cheap. But
  they are not easy to apply.
• Chateau (Dinkytown, UMN student only)
• 612-331-3911
  http//www.chateau.coop/
• CTC (St. Anthony Park, married couples
  favored)
• [phone]
  http//www.umnctc.org/
• CSCC (married couple only unless sublease)
• 612.378.2434
  http//www1.umn.edu/cscc/

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Housing Permanent, Price Range

• Level V 250-350
• Houses 2-4 roommates or even more watch for
  for rent signs along the roads. Worse
  conditions, worse security than apartments.
• Somebody. Living in the living rooms May be
  inconvenient, especially the cooking smell.

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Housing Permanent

• How to find one of these rooms?
• Visit the rental website of the university
• http//www.tc.umn.edu/facss/offcampus/living.
  htm
• Search in Google, call or visit the website of
  big apartment buildings, and inspect the floor
  plans (???????)
• Walk/bike around the area of interest look for
  for rent Signs
• How to find a roommate
• I prefer to live with Chinese students/scholars
• http//www.facssumn.com/forum/default.asp?C1
  
• I prefer to live with any UMN students
• https//rentals.tc.umn.edu/

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Housing Furniture

• Where to find?
• New IKEA, Target, Walmart
• Used
• University reuse center
• SOME GOOD PLACES(COM)
• Furniture at HCC

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Transportation

• Bicycles very useful to get around campus and
  nearby (buy used ones from Tom Lindstrom
  linds017_at_umn.edu )
• University Connector and Circulator FREE!
  Schedules http//www1.umn.edu/pts/shuttle.htm

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Transportation Bus

• MetroTransit buses
• http//www.metrotransit.org/
• use the online trip planner to plan my trip.
• Bus route maps and schedules are available
  online
• http//www.metrotransit.org/serviceInfo/findRoutes
  .asp
• or you can get it at Coffman, St. Paul Student
  Center
• Bikes can be put on the rack in front of some
  buses.
• UMN student can buy a U-pass for a low price (97
  for a semester, start buying in Sept.)
• http//www.buspass.umn.edu

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Transportation Bus

• Most useful routes for UMN students
• 2 Marcy Holmes ? Dinkytown ?Stadium Village
  ?East Bank ?West Bank ?United Noodles (Oriental
  Shop) ?Light Trail to the airport
• 3 Shanghai Market ? St. Anthony/St. Paul
  campus ?Larpenter/Lauderdale ?Como ?Dinkytown
  ?East Bank ?West Bank ? Light Trail to the
  airport ? Downtown Minneapolis

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Transportation Bus

• Most useful routes for UMN students
• 4 Dinkytown ?Marcy Holmes ?Downtown
  Minneapolis
• 6 Dinkytown ?Marcy Holmes ?Downtown
  Minneapolis
• 16/50 Midway shopping center (Cub, Walmart,
  Rainbow, Super Target) ?Stadium Village ?East
  Bank ?West Bank ? Light Trail to the airport ?
  Downtown Minneapolis

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Money Management

• Bank
• Checking account
• Saving account
• Check and check card
• TCF Bank, US Bank, Wells Fargo
• Cash not too much, but with coins conveniently

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Communications

• Phone Service
• Cell phones sprint, T-mobile, ATT, Verizon.
  (family plans are cheaper and popular now, try
  out the signal for a week at your working and
  living areas)
• long distance in the United States Charged
  the same as within Twin Cities
• Call China phone cards(Dana sky, Loudclear etc)
  bought in Shanghai Market etc and internet. Or
  you can buy a considerably more expensive card in
  convenient stores, but either way is much
  cheaper than calling directly by the phone.
  
• Skype

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Communications

• ?????
• ????????????????LoudClear????????
• ?????30??
• Instruction
• Call 612-392-9961, or 612-256-9909
• Follow the voice instructions
• Input the PIN number on the piece of paper we
  give you
• Sial the number in China you want to
  reach01186??????(eg. 011862188888888?????)"

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Communications

• Wireless networks
• Everywhere on campus, university X.500 account
  and password needed.
• McDonalds, Starbucks, Burger king
• P2P download is not allowed on campus network
  (BT, emule, thunder)

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Communications

• Order and set up your own internet service
• Comcast [phone]
• Usually around 120 a month (Digital Cable
  High Speed internet), call to make sure.
• 60 for basic cable high speed internet.
  
• With a deal, usually half the price for 6
  month.
• http//www.comcastoffers.com
• Some of the apartment buildings provide internet
  and cable as part of their service package. HIGH
  THROUGHPUT DOWNLOADING IS USUALLY NOT ALLOWED IN
  THIS CASE.

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Life Food

• Chinese
• Stadium Village VillageWok, Kow Loon restaurant,
  Hong Kong Noodles Restaurant
• Dinkytown Shuang Cheng Restaurant, China
  express, Pagoda
• On campus Panda Express (Coffman)
• Occidental fast food
• Stadium Village Pizza Hut,Arby's, Burgerking
• Dinkytown McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Subway
• On compus Coffman, SPSC,.

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Life Shopping

• Food
• Rainbow, Cub
• Shanghai Market, United Noodles, Shanghai
  Wholesale
• Without a car, You can take 16 to midway
  rainbow, cub, walmart, 3 to Shanghai Market, or
  2 to United Noodles
• Others
• Walmart, OfficeMax, Super Target, Dollar Tree
• By internet (eBay, Craigslist)

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Life Facilities on compus

• Libraries
• East Asian Library ( Some very good Chinese
  books)
• More info http//www.lib.umn.edu/
• Coffman Memorial Union
• A place to relax and find activities to attend,
  more info http//www.coffman.umn.edu/about/explor
  e/
• Recreation center
• St. Paul Student Center
• A place similar to Coffman Memorial Union but in
  St. Pual, more info http//www.spsc.umn.edu/about
  /explore/
• St. Paul Gymnasium
• ISSS (assist the international students and
  scholars)
• http//www.isss.umn.edu/

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Life English Study

• Ways to improve your English especially your
  spoken English
• Minnesota International Center
• (MIC) University Language Center
• Find a language partner via TandemPlus
• ISF conventional English
• English Class at HCC

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Identities Paperworks

• Passport, I-94, I-20 kept in secured place.
• In case of loss
• passport, I-94 contact China Consulate at
  Chicago for replacement
• www.chinaconsulatechicago.org
• I-20 ISSS

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Identities Drivers License

• What if I dont want to carry my passport around
  as my ID
• Get a drivers permit!
• You can get it 3 weeks after you pass the
  knowledge test derived from the drivers manual
• http//www.dps.state.mn.us/dvs/DLTraining/DLManual
  /DLManual.htm
• You pay 20 for the test only after you failed
  twice.
• Test location Minnesota DVS
• Also, you could look at http//minneapolis.about.c
  om/od/travelweather/a/newlicense.htm
• for more details.

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Identities ID Card

• State Identification Card
• You can apply for a Minnesota identification
  card at an office that accepts drivers license
  applications. You must present at least one
  primary and one secondary identity document

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Identities SSN

• Social Security Number (SSN)
• Why is it useful personal credit is recorded
  under this number.
• Credit Card/ Phone service
• Whos eligible whoever holds a job in the US.
  RA, TA, cafeteria etc.
• how to get one start a job first, then
• F1 http//www.isss.umn.edu/fstudent/fsocial.html
• J1 http//www.isss.umn.edu/J/JSocial.html
• BE AWARE DONT LET ANYONE KNOW YOUR SSN,
  ESPECIALLY ONLINE EXCEPT FOR THE FOLLOWING
  CIRCUMSTANCES
• dealing with official paperworks tax returns
  etc.
• start a credit card account/phone account

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• Thank you for your attention and we will
  answer questions during the next session!!