Arriving to a new city, sometimes we dont know what to do, so I would suggest first things to do:
1. Take a rest. A long journey from your home country might make u exhausted
2. Settle ur self in ur new room. Clean the room, set the things u bring in the right place, learn how to use things in the house (bell, lamp, heater, stove, microwave –those are easy things but u’d better to know it than u break it ;))
3. Go to your administration officer. In Sefotechnut program in KaHo, you should meet Hilde. She’s the one who helps you about your administration and registering stuffs like residence permit. She will explain all the thing you have to do to get the residence permit. Just in case, bring ur passport, rent agreement, letter of aceptance. She will give u letter to apply for residence permit, assurance card, student card, letter to open a bank account, and MAP!!
4. Open a bank account. Bring the letter Hilde gave, your passport, and your rent contract.
5. Go around ur place. Find shops to buy daily needs, laundryshop, food.
6. Go to centrum. You will find a nice place to shop, walk, sit, chit-chat, eat, etc
7. Buy a 10-trips de Lijn card in the news stand. It’s 8euro for 10 trips. if u buy ticket on the bus or tram, it will cost u 1.8 euro/trip
8. If u like travelling, it’s better to buy Go pass (if u’re under 26 years old) in the train station. 50 euro for 10 trips. U can take train to anywhere in Belgium for only 5euro/trip. But dont forget to write down ur destination in the ticket before u go, otherwise u will get fine around 20euro. But if u go on the weekend, always check the weekend ticket price. Sometimes it’s cheaper than using Go Pass.
9. SIM card for ur mobile. Using ur country’s provider in Europe is not a good idea.. it will make u broke soon 😀 To have a local call, it’s better to use local provider. Usually Hilde give a package for new student consist of a lot of things u need including SIM card. But I am not sure for this year. But dont hesitate to compare with other provider 😉 To call to ur home country, it’s better to use internet like skype, YM, MSN, voip, webcalldirect, etc.
10. Get use to the culture but dont loose your identity. Mingle with local people, travel, gathering with your national student association (if it exists).
Good luck and have a wonderful stay in Europe!!