Guide for Roommates

Unfortunately or fortunately, being on a student’s budget sometimes mean that you might occupy the position of being a roommate. There are horror stories about roommates, but for most of us and the people that we’ve spoken with, the roommate situation is not as bad as it’s made out to be. Titchie lived with an aunt who was based in New York City, while Tricia stayed with family friend, Lia Uy-Tioco who was looking for a roommate when Tricia arrived. Lia became like an ate to Tricia by showing Tricia the ropes to independent living in New York.

We think that the key to all roommate situations is an interview. This way each one can size the other up and talk about rules before they finally decide to share living accommodations. Prospective roommates should talk about personal schedules, habits, preferences, quirks and even allergies to see if they’ll be able to withstand living in so closely with each other. Below are some questions and issues that prospective roommates should discuss beforehand:

Financial Cost

1. What is the total cost of the apartment?
2. How much is each person’s share?
3. When is the payment expected?
4. What is the payment set-up? Do you pay your roommate or the landlord? (Sometime, the lease is under the name of one renter. Sometimes it could be under the name of all renters.)
5. How should the bills be split up? (Electricity, cable bill, groceries (toilet paper, toothpaste etc.) Students usually spend a lot of time on the internet, so we recommend that you each have your own phone line.

Space

1. Which areas of the apartment belong to which person?

Cleaning

1. 1. How often do you want to clean the apartment?
2. How do you want to split the responsibilities?

Habits/ Schedule

1. What is your weekday schedule like?
2. What time do you usually get up to go to school? (This is really helpful if you are to share a bathroom).
3. How are each of you likely to spend your weekends? (If he or she rises early, plays music on Saturday mornings, situations might become testy and even intolerable).
4. Do you eat out a lot?
5. Do you like to cook?

Guests

1. Is it OK if friends, boyfriends/ girlfriends sleep over? How many nights per week?
2. If friends/family from the Philippines come over, how long can they stay? (Take note that many non-Filipinos will not welcome a visitor staying for more than three days. Tell guests who are visiting from out of town and those who plan to stay on for longer than three days that they might have to find a hotel or some other accommodations,)

Party Situations

1. Do you mind hosting parties in the apartment?
2. How should we divide the work when setting up for the party?
3. Which areas are open to the guests? Which areas are off-limits?

Property

1. Which of the appliances, furniture, clothes, books, CDs can we share?

Wise Words: I had a German roommate for two semesters, a Chinese roommate for one semester, and an American roommate for another semester. My tip: Be open-minded and expect that foreigners have different living habits from you, especially when it comes to cleanliness in the bathroom and kitchen. You just have to live with it, or risk offending them. –Alpi Bacani, Sophia University, Tokyo

Wise Words: Keep your things on your side of the room, wash your own dishes, don't leave spoiled food in the fridge and make sure to pick off your hair clog after you take a shower. Oh, and let your Manila callers know NOT to call in the middle of the night! --Kitty Espiritu, Fashion Institute of Technology, New York

Getting to Know Your Neighborhood

If you’re like us who’ve never lived anywhere else but Manila before going abroad to study, adjusting to your new neighborhood might take a few months. We must confess that even after several years of living in the US, we still find ourselves thinking of home and favorite neighborhood haunts.

You’ve declared your independence (somewhat), so there’s no point thinking of the lovely comfort that familiarity brings. The best way to get used to our new surroundings is to go out there and explore. Walk often, three times a week for half an hour is the doctor’s advice for exercise, and should give ample time to orient yourself in your new neighborhood without the help of a map. Try different routes, check out historical houses and sites which may be within your vicinity, stores, markets, and coffee shops along the way. A street map of your neighborhood from the local news agency would be very helpful. In the UK an A to Z is used even by locals to get around, purchasing one will prove useful.

When Lia moved back to the Philippines, Tricia moved to Prospect Heights in Brooklyn. This meant adjusting to a new neighborhood, yet again. Together with a friend she walked around taking different routes. On one of these occasions, they happened upon a place called Tom’s Restaurant. When they walked in, they entered a diner which looked like it had the décor, chairs and tables from the 30s. It was like walking into a time capsule For Tricia and her friend Tony (now her husband), Tom’s Restaurant also served the best fruit-filled pancakes topped with creamy strawberry butter ever! Not only was the restaurant a wonderfully interesting find, the food too was excellent.

So for experiences like these, walking around is tip no. 1. But then, don’t go around thinking your pleasurable little walks are meant to spot remarkable places to write home about, you’re also on your walk to take note of the location of the following key agencies which is pretty much necessary for your day to day survival:

1. Supermarket
2. Bank
3. Library
4. Nearest bus train stop, shuttle stop, subway station
5. Post Office
6. Oriental supermarket
7. Drug store
8. Dry cleaners
9. Gas station (if you have a car)
10. Park

Wise Words: You’ve never walked in Manila as much as you’ll have to when you’re in London! Of course you could also get yourself a bike.—Yeyey Cruz, Royal
College of Art, London

We also advise that you do the same in school. There are always interesting things advertised on the bulletin boards and most of the time they’re free: student plays, concerts, film showings, art exhibits, poetry readings, even public lectures by some of your favorite writers. Only by walking around and being nosy can you what’s going on and then decide if you want to take be part of it. Get a map of the campus and check out the following offices:

1. Office for International Students
2. Your department office
3. Library
4. Cafeteria
5. Infirmary/ health center
6. Chapel
7. Student center
8. Computer center
9. Registrar
10. Bookstore
11. School Theatre
12. Art Gallery
13. Arboretum/ Nature Center

Another thing you ought to get intimate with is the public transportation system in your new city. If you find yourself in a deafeningly silent neighborhood, an exciting life of bar hopping, independent movies, soccer games, and contemporary exhibitions might just be a subway ride away. The secret to taking the Subway (NY) / Metro (Paris, Milan, Madrid)/ Tube (London) / S-Bahn (Germany) / MRT (Manila) / JR (Tokyo) is to figure out the final destination of the train before you hop on it. It’s quite frustrating finding yourself taking the wrong train. Or, you can turn it into a blessing in disguise and check out the area you’re in before you transfer to the correct train. But be warned, there are some bad areas and you may not be aware of it when you do decide to become adventurous at your wrong stop. Just make sure you bring your map with you when you get off, and follow your gut feel if you think the neighborhood you find yourself in isn’t safe.

Wise Words: The tube in London stops between 12 and 1 in the morning. If you plan on staying out late, plan ahead. If you want to take a cab, take a black cab they are well-trained. Be wary of the mini-cab drivers. –Mike Wilson, Royal College of Art, London

The bus, actually is a wonderful exploration vehicle because you can see more of the city without exerting as much effort as walking. You can look out the window, see if you like the surroundings and then hop off. Our alma mater, NYU, has a free bus service. If you find yourself in New York visiting you can’t miss it, they’re deep purple buses that look like street cars. The NYU buses take NYU students from the university to different university dorms around New York City. We’ve both taken advantage of this shuttle service to get a ride to the nearest dorm, to get to our individual apartments, and explore that dorm’s nearby shops and restaurants while we’re there. Find out if your university offers a similar service.Most big cities have very reliable public transportation services, but if you find yourself living in a city where cars seem to be the primary mode of transportation, places where despite having walked for more than half an hour and all you’ve seen are urban housing, you might want to look up the yellow pages or do a search on the internet for the location of the key services mentioned above. You might also decide to make contact with your neighbors with small talk while in the elevator or the parking lot and casually ask where they go for dry cleaning, the location of the nearest post office, even the nearest supermarket. The sooner you know your neighborhood and where the key agencies are located, the sooner you’ll feel at home.

Wise Words: The best thing about my new home, the new environment. No pollution and no TRAFFIC! –Annaly O Elegado, University of Queensland, Queensland