kabelo

We did long-distance before, I studied at the East Coast and she was in Hong Kong. It was just for one year, so it was bearable. Now I'm moving back to America and she moves to Continental Europe. We planned that in a year or two, she gets a job in the States, but that's easier said than done if you're not American. Bottom line is, long-distance can be manageable if you have a clear perspective, but this uncertainty sucks. Oh well, there's still the option to get married...

To-Do List: - Find an apartment - Find the airline with the biggest luggage allowance - Find a good bank where I can open an account - Find the best-value cell phone carrier - Find a decent road bike on craigslist - Find funds to buy an iMac for the office

I can warmly recommend the backpacks by Herschel (http://www.herschelsupply.com). They are well-crafted, functional, and fashionable. I got mine at Urban Outfitters, but you can order online, too.

Oops, I actually meant ESTA. Acronym-confusion

highest distinction

love potion

Thanks a lot for all your help. To clarify: Yes, a return flight UK-NYC-Rio seems to be cheaper than booking one-way UK-NYC-Rio and one-way Rio-NYC. Weird enough, costs of air travel hardly ever reflect the distance traveled. Random17, thanks for pointing out that I'll have to immigrate anyway. I wasn't aware of that. So I clearly would be able to enter the US, the question is just whether not completing my trip would cause any problems in the long run. I'll need to find out, asking the US embassy is probably best. More generally, I'm wondering how non-citizens do stopovers at US airports? Do they need to register with SEVIS (i.e., properly immigrate, including passport stamp), or is there a special exemption for transit passengers? In the former case, I guess my plan should work. In the latter, probably not, as it would require explaining my situation to the immigration officer -- not exactly a desirable situation If you have more ideas, please share them. I'll post an update when I know more. PS: Andean Pat, I haven't been to Brazil before. But I'm excited to go!

sister act

I will start my PhD in America in August, probably on a J-1 visa. My sister currently lives in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and I want to visit her, so we had the following idea: I book a flight from my European starting point to Rio, via New York. Those flights are only slightly more expensive than going directly to New York. When checking in for my return flight from Rio, I ask them to not check my luggage through, but rather put New York as final destination. I know people who have done this before, so technically it's possible. I would then get out in New York, and immigrate to America on my visa. My main concern is whether immigration authorities track and match flight records, and whether they care where I'm coming from. While I will be on a visa and thus permitted to enter the country, the records would show me flying back to my home country in Europe. I don't want to get any trouble with those officers when trying to immigrate at the New York airport. Another concern is whether airport staff in Rio would let me check my luggage to New York, rather than the European final destination. Again, I know people who have done just that, but that was within the EU. What do you think? Do you know people who have done something similar? What's your advice?

evil twin

permanent collection

soccer mom

Precise description of how I made my decision. Thumbs up for mixing logic and gut

Hi all, going to Yale for my PhD in the fall. I'm currently thinking about accommodation -- I want to live off-campus in a shared house with other students and/or professionals (no grad dorm). I'm overseas but do know New Haven fairly well, so that's good. Any good ideas where to look for postings, besides craigslist and padmapper? Ideally, I would like to "join" a house, rather than starting a new one with other incoming students.

life sentence

I got interview invites from the first programs in January, and acceptances between late February and mid-March.

lucky charm

writing term papers. duh!

Yes, inquire about your status by sending a polite email to the department. This always worked well for me.

death wish

Moving to New Haven in the fall, but don't want to live in a grad dorm. Any ideas where to look for off-campus rooms and/or roommates, besides the obvious places (Craig's list etc.)?

accidental defenestration

loose stool (ugh!)

Tomato salad

Beer garden