Hi, I'm Cindy peace, this wife, you guessed it, and I am a practical one in our family. So in these next few lectures, we're going to be talking about some practical things you need to do. If you are a practical kind of a person, you may be already thinking of some of these things. If you're not the practical kind of person, maybe these are some good reminders for you. As I talk, I want you to be thinking, what are some action steps that you need to take in order to be ready for departure day. So if you have a piece of paper or notebook, write down things you want to do.

And if you want to even put a due date, give yourself a due date, when you want to have that done by. So today, we're going to look at what you need to do to book your flights. And maybe you've already booked up so let's think about that. First. If you've already booked you still want to be sure did you get a seat assignment? If not log back in and do that.

Do you want a special meal? If you want a special meal, you have to do that three days before you fly. Did you sign up for a frequent flyer program? If you haven't, it's a great idea to do so you'll be really happy once you get to the point that you've earned a reward flight. There's just a few situations where you may need a transit visa. The best way to find out is to check with your airline.

Most likely you don't but just check. Next, what about your luggage allowance? Do you know how many bags you're allowed and how many kilos normally you're allowed 23 kilos which is 50 pounds and remember once you get to the US, nobody will be talking about 23 kilos everybody will be talking in pounds. So if you have two bags, 50 pounds each you You'll be able to take quite a bit of things with you. And on international flights that is pretty standard. There's also a weight limit for your carry on luggage.

Find out what is that? Once you know your weight limit, you'll want to start thinking about what pieces of luggage you're going to take with you. Do you want your luggage? Are you happy with a duffel bag? That depends a bit on who you are and how you like to travel. One thing about traveling to the US is you'll be greeted by TSA, actually not you your luggage your luggage will go through a security screening by the Transportation Security Administration.

And TSA does random checks on luggage where they open but luggage in order for them to open it. They will break the lock if it is locked. So you have to think ahead. Do you want to lock it and risk having your lock broken Do you want To leave it unlocked, and just trust your luck that everything will arrive. Or do you want to buy a special TSA lock for your piece of luggage, you can buy them in most airports. And those pieces of lock have a master key that the TSA employees have, and so they can open your suitcase without breaking the lock.

Personally, I often travel with my luggage unlocked, and I haven't had a problem. It is a personal decision. If you haven't booked your ticket. Now let's talk about choosing your flight. Obviously, price becomes the top consideration. But besides price, there's a few other things you want to look at.

What is the luggage allowance? If one airline is giving you more luggage than the other? That may be a big bonus. Is there any fee for changing the date? Are you booking early enough that you think you might need to change your date? Check in Do that.

What is the layover time, if you can get a flight that's direct or with only one or two stops, that's much better than having a flight with three stops. those extra stops really make you more tired at the end of the journey. So those are all things to consider when you're looking. When I look for my flights, I usually look first on a travel site. There's several good ones. And then once I've done that and seen a few airlines that are coming up with cheaper prices than the other ones, I often go to those airline websites themselves.

And every now and then I get a cheaper price by booking directly on the airline website. As an international student, you are allowed to enter the country 30 days before the beginning of your semester. Try to go at least three days before the beginning of your semester. That'll depend on if you're using University has a special orientation program or if you have somebody that you want to visit before you go directly to your university. But giving yourself at least three days, at least gives you a little bit of time to get over jetlag, and look around campus. See what it looks like.

Find your way from building to building, go out for walks, find a place, find the bookstore, find some places for shopping, and feel a little bit settled in before classes start. A few of you might be going to visit somebody in a different city before you make that final travel to your university is so you'll need to book travel from that city to the university town. And when you're doing that, you'll need to consider your luggage because probably you got all the way from India to your first town on international flight which gives you a bigger luggage allowance now on Your domestic flight you'll have a reduced luggage allowance. So be careful about that as well. I wish you a good flight