Guide to AUC: What to Pack?

An important thing to know about packing for St. Maarten is that things on the island in general are more expensive compared to the State and Provinces (on average about 1.2-1.5x more expensive). But an even more important thing to know about packing for St. Maarten is that you can pretty much find anything you want or need on this island. Therefore, the strategy is to pack just enough so that you don’t overpay for extra luggage worth of things you could have easily bought on the island for cheaper.

Before you pack, make sure to check with your airline to see how much extra luggage costs and what the weight limit is per luggage!! You don’t want to pay $150 for an extra suitcase that you fill with cheap things that take up a lot of space that you could easily buy on the island.

Because you can find most everything you need on the island, the most important things to pack are:

1. Important documents.
2. Things that you feel are priceless or have sentimental value, like a gift your mom gave you.
3. Things that you are particularly picky about, like your clothes.
4. Things that are particularly expensive, like electronics, that are worth more than the costs needed to bring them to the island, and cheaper than buying on the island. (i.e. It’s worthwhile to bring $300 worth of electronics in an extra bag that costs you $150 vs. buying the same things on the island for $400).

Disclaimer: This list is by no means complete or exclusive. It is compiled only through my own experiences here on St. Maarten. I understand that each person may have individual needs. If you have any other suggestions, please add them here to share with everyone!

DOCUMENTS

• Passport — Keep this in a safe place. This will be your pass on and off the island.

• Letter of Acceptance — Since you don’t have a student ID yet, bring your letter of acceptance as proof to show customs at the airport that you are a student. If you have proof that you are a student, you can stand in the “residents” line at the airport and go through customs quickly rather than wait in the long “visitors” line.

• Letter from Chief of Airport Immigration – As an AUC student, you can enter St. Maarten with just a one-way ticket, and the airport should know this. However, just in case they don’t, print out this letter from the Chief of Airport Immigration that shows that you don’t need a return ticket to travel to the island. On the letter, don’t worry that the letter is addressed to Sumita… she is the one that works in the AUC immigration office that handles all the student immigration paperwork.

• Driver’s License — To drive in St. Maarten, you do not need a Dutch or international drivers license. An American or Canadian drivers license will suffice.

ROOM AMENITIES

• Bed Sheet, Blanket, and Pillow – This is something you’ll want the first day on the island. You’ll need an extra-long twin sized bed sheet if you are living in the dorms. The dorm mattress size is 77-78″ X 36-37″, and so any bed sheet around this size (i.e. 80″x39″) should be fine. If you choose to buy bed sheets, blankets, or pillow on the island, you can get them at ACE’s in Cole Bay or Bush Road. But remember, as a general rule, everything here will be more expensive that what you pay in the states.

• Alarm Clock – Bring one that is battery-powered, because power goes out a lot on this island, especially off campus. Your time may fall behind and it’s a hassle to have to readjust the time every time this happens. Also bring one preferably with an obnoxious sound that will for sure wake you up. AUC has a very strict attendance policy and attendance is taken in every class everyday.

• Wireless Router – As of May 2012, wifi is available in the dorms, like pretty much everywhere else on campus, so you won’t have to worry about having a wireless router. If you’re going to live off-campus, there are many internet options. Some companies may offer satellite internet while others may offer WiMax USB sticks that connet you to internet anytime and anywhere. For me, I decided to get CaribServe internet ($60+ a month), and use a wireless router to share the wifi signal with my neighbor, and split the cost with my neighbor so we both only pay $30/month each. I’d contact your landlord for internet options at your apartment to decide whether or not you should bring a wireless router.

• Desk Lamp - They don’t provide desk lamps in the dorms and the rooms can get kinda dark! If you decide to buy one on the island, you can check out the lamp selection at ACE’s or wait for the First Semester Yard Sale to buy one cheap from a fellow student.

• Bring Bookends as well, in case you end up buying books at the First-Semester Yard Sale at the beginning of the semester!

• Swiffler – The floors in most apartments on-campus and off-campus will be tiled, and will be easy to clean with a Swiffler. Again, this is something you don’t have to bring if you are going over your luggage’s weight limit. If you can’t fit one in your luggage, you could always just buy one at Cost-U-Less here on the island.

BATHROOM AMENITIES

• Bathmat - This is just one of those things that are nice and hygienic to have on the first day here on the island before you settle down and go shopping for more supplies. If you decide not to bring one, you could always find bathmats at ACE’s in Cole Bay or Bush Road. I got mine for $10 at Kwik Bargain on Bush Road.

• Shower Curtain + Rings – The showers in the dorms do not come with shower curtains or rings, so you’ll need to get a set somewhere. These cost me about $15 at Kwik Bargain in Philipsburg. As of Spring 2010, Note Services on campus also sells shower curtains (+ rings) for $8, but I’d bring your own just in case they run out, and it’s something you’d want the first day anyway (unless you don’t plan on showering).

• Haircutting Kit – There is a hair cutting place at the basement of the Wyndham Sapphire Hotel, 5 minutes walking away from campus. There is also one in Porto Cupecoy, about 15 minutes walking from campus. Some students also go to Ginger Hair Salon in Maho, about 30 minutes walk away for a $25 haircut.  There are also some spouses that may give haircuts. But if you know how to cut your own hair or befriend someone who does, then you can save hundreds of dollars a year. I’ve given haircuts to two of my friends here as well as my own. They have since bought their own kits and saved themselves lots of money and time.

KITCHEN AMENITIES

• If you are planning to live off campus, some places off campus provide silverwear, pots, pans, plates and cups. Check with the management office to see. If you live on campus, they don’t provide all that for you.

• I understand that kitchen ware would take up a lot of room in your luggage and they’re fragile, so I didn’t bother bringing any. But don’t worry. You can buy them at ACE’s , Kwik Bargain, or Cost-U-Less once you get to the island, but as I said before, things here are a little pricier than in the states, even for these discount stores, unless you’re from New York or the Bay Area . A cheaper alternative would be to buy them at the Fifth Semester Yard Sale they have on campus the beginning of every semester. Fifth semester students are always looking to getting rid of their stuff before they leave the island and by buying their stuff, you’ll actually be helping them. People also post up classified ads on value MD as well as post fliers for kitchen amenities around campus.

• If you are living with a roommate, contact him or her before you come to see if there’s anything you can share.

CLOTHES

• For everyday wear, bring clothes as if you’ll be dressing for summer all year round, because you will. Also don’t forget to bring swim wear, sandals, and beach towels.

• Bring gym shorts if you plan on working out or do some jogging.

• Bring a few scrubs to wear for anatomy lab. If you don’t have a scrub, you can buy one at Note Services on Campus for $25 when you arrive. PLEASE DON’T bring a lab coat. You’ll be required to buy one with the AUC logo either from the school’s online bookstore or at Note Services on campus. I recommend buying one on campus because that way you can try it out before you buy it so you’ll be sure it fits you.

• Although it will be hot outside for the most part, bring something warm just in case, because lecture halls can get cold sometimes. They also sell sweaters and hoodies at Note Services, if you like some AUC memorabilia.

• Dress Clothes – You’ll need one for the white coat ceremony the first week of school. For girls, a nice dress will do. For guys, you’ll definitely need a shirt, tie and dress pants. You won’t need a jacket for the white coat ceremony as an inductee, but you may want to have one handy on the island just in case you choose to participate in more formal events in the future. Throughout the year there are many formal events, like Phi Chi Induction Ceremony, Fifth Semester Party, and Wine-and-Cheese.

SCHOOL SUPPLIES

• There is no bookstore on campus! The only store we have on campus is a school supplies store called “Note Services.” If there is a textbook you absolutely want, buy it before you come! I don’t recommend buying the books from the school’s online bookstore as it is very expensive, nor do I recommend buying all the books in the list the school sent you, since you won’t need most of them. The only book I would suggest buying before coming is Netter’s Atlas of Human Anatomy, which you will use the whole time. I suggest buying Netter’s before you come rather than buying it from an upper semester student once you arrive because there probably won’t be enough to pass around. I got mine brand-new off of ebay for $30, and I’ve used it to the max.. it’s pretty beat up now. For all the other books, you can buy from an upper semester once you get to campus. The students hold a First Semester Yard Sale at the beginning of every semester and there are always a lot of books left unsold. But as I said before, there’s no need to buy all the books, as most will probably collect dust. The two other books I’d recommend besides Netters is BRS Anatomy and First Aid. Click here for my take on textbooks.

• Personally, I only bought Netters, and I got the rest as e-books from online sources as well as from other people in class. Don’t bother buying VH Dissector or Virtual Microscope! They have them on all the 33 or so computers in the Dry Lab, and you’ll have plenty of opportunities to use it, both during and after class. I’ve never even heard of people mentioning virtual microscope let alone using it!

• USB drive – As I said before, there always files going around among the class, whether they are ebooks, Acland’s anatomy videos, instructional materials, practice questions, or student-created study resources. You’ll definitely be using it a lot. If you don’t have one, you can get one at Note Services on Campus with AUC’s logo on it for $15, but it’s only 2GB.

• Clip Board – They are required for anatomy lab practical exams and you can buy them for $1 at Walmart back at home. If you forget to bring one, they also sell them at Note Services on campus for $10.

• Pencils, Pens, Paper, Highlighters, Notebooks, Folder… whatever you usually use to study. One thing I find useful are dry erase markers, as all of the study rooms in the ICM wing and the fifth floor of the dorms have dry erase boards you can use when studying with friends or alone. Also bring some #2 pencils just in case you need to take a scantron test. Although AUC has largely adopted computer-based testing for block exams, there still may be small quizzes that you may be taking with scantron.

• Dissection Kits – If you have one, great! Bring one over, or you can buy a complete set on campus at Note Services for $30 or so. If you choose not to buy one, that’s OK as well, because there will be more than enough going around each lab group. For our table, we had 10 people and 10 sets, but there’s only 6-7 people scheduled to go to lab each day and among those at most only 4 ppl dissect at any given time. 10 dissection kits but only 4 used at a time? I’d say don’t worry about buying a dissection kit, there’s plenty amongst us to share! I do suggest bringing gloves though, since they are very expensive if you buy them on campus. A box of 50 pairs cost me $10! And of course, if you have sensitive hands and need special gloves, I’d get that from home as well.

OTHERS

• Bring an unlocked Cell Phone. All cell phones you buy in the States are locked by the phone company selling them to you, to prevent you from switching loyalty to another company. But if you’ve been a loyal customer for a long time, you can call your phone company and tell them you’ll be traveling abroad and that you’d like to unlock your phone to use another SIM card. They’ll ask you for some info about your specific phone and give you a code to punch into your phone to unlock it. Then once you arrive on the island, you can buy a Chippie SIM card from the Business Fair at the beginning of the school year and start chatting away! There are also phone plans you can subscribe to, and you can talk to the UTS/Chippie or TelCell representatives about this when they are here during the Business Fair.

• If you are taking any dietary supplements, like calcium, vitamins, or protein shakes, bring them! You can find them in several stores around the island but they are a lot more expensive than in the states or Canada. Otherwise, on the island, the closest health supplement stores to campus are Fountain of Health in Simpson Bay and Nature’s Discount in Simpson Bay.

• Contact Lens Solution – if you wear contacts, bring enough contact lens solution to last you! I bought one on the island at Maho Pharmacy and it cost me $11 for a 120mL bottle (travel-pack size)!! I’ve also found Bausch and Lomb Sensitive Eyes Saline Solution (12 oz) at Gourmet Marche for $5.34, but it is more for storage and rinsing rather than disinfecting.

• Umbrella - We may not have a cold season here, but we do have a rainy season. It rains a little bit everyday sporadically and unpredictably during the winter months.

• Toilet Paper — You may want to bring a roll just for your first day on the island just in case you don’t have the chance to go shopping. Otherwise, just use the school’s bathrooms.

• Bring a box of small, random items that you may or may not use. This is what I brought: matches, staples, sewing kit, Badge holders (to wear your ID on during anatomy lab), batteries, post-it notes, candles, tape, rubber bands, envelopes, swimming goggles, glue, ear plugs…

• Decorations - If you are living in the dorms, the walls are painfully bear! Bring something you like from home that will make the environment more familiar to you. Also bring a picture of a loved one. You’ll be thousands of miles away from home in a foreign country, and you’ll need one.

• Don’t Forget to Bring a Camera! St. Maarten’s a beautiful place and you’ll be taking lots of pictures with all the new friends you’ll make here.

Again, this list is by no means exhaustive and is merely based on my own experiences and opinions. Remember, if there’s anything you can’t pack, chances are you’ll still be able to find it and buy it on the island! You can pretty much find anything here (but with a cost of course). If you are planning to ship your car to the island from the states, remember you can also stuff your car full of everything you want to bring down. If there is anything you’d like to suggest, please add it here! Have fun packing and see you on the island!