Don´t make the same mistakes

I've wrote the ten top mistakes that i've made as a fresher in Brunel. Don't do the same I did!

1 - Buy a Railcard, not a student Oyster.
If you study in Brunel, live on campus and don´t take public transport every day, what you do need is a Railcard. It gives you 1/3 discount on tube fares and daily cap. Oyster, on the other hand, only gives you discount on weekly and monthly travelcards. I've never need one!

2 - Learn how to use trains and buses.
Underground is amazing, but sometimes using trains is much more effective, not to mention that there are some planned engineering works running on weekends that can leave you without Metropolitan and Picadilly lines sometimes. That´s the hell! Buses, differently, are very nice to go through the city, because it allows you to see where you are goind.

3 - Create opportunities to speak English.
Notice that I´m not telling you to find opportunities. You have to create them. Mainly if you live with many people from your own country around. Do something that they don´t do. Travel by yourself. Go shopping. Join a society. Attend meetup groups. Go couchsurfing. Don´t sit on your kitchen waiting someone to come and speak in English with you.

4 - Walk.
You´ll have a completely different impression of the city when you walk London. The city is not that big as you imagine. The nicest things are between a tube station and an other and you´ll never discover them if you don´t walk. if you really like walking, I recommend you to follow some routes from the website www.walklondon.org.uk They have a lot of marked trails everywhere in the city. I wish I had discovered it earlier!

5 - Find a hobby.
Photography ( <3 ), music, language, sports. After, search a society in Brunel, a course, or a meetup group, and practise it! It´s the easiest way of finding native friends.

6 - Make a list of places you want to visit when you arrive, not when you are going home.
It´s so simple, don´t let for tomorrow. Try to visit this places as soon as you can. Leave the touristic places to when you receive some friend or relatives. enjoy your last days, visiting again the places you liked more, not trying to go to every single place you haven´t time.

7 - Read and summarise academic content throughout the year.
Follow the reading list your lecturers recommend and start to read from the beginning of the term. If you make a good summary, your exam review would be much easier!

8 - Go out every week.
Time runs and you won´t notice. There are a lot to see, London is amazing. It will be difficult to go out on winter, so enjoy the other seasons.

9 - Look up information about a city before booking tickets.
This is absolutely important. NEVER buy a ticket (mainly Ryanair) without check where the airport is, whether it's possible or not to take public transportation to the city centre when you arrive and if the airport is open during the evening if you intend to sleep there. Some airports simple put you out. Also, check the prices in the city (hostels, food) and if it's possible to visit what you want in the period you intend to visit. Some attractions close in some months of the year.

10 - Don´t buy books.
I LOVE books and I usually buy a lot of them, but they will be a headache when you are going back to your country. They are heavy and will take a great space in your luggage. Seriously, don´t do that. If you want to buy some book for studying while you are there, buy an old (and cheap) one. Then, you can donate it after for someone who needs. By the way, I found on Brunel library all books I needed, and if you read throughout the year, you won´t have to compete for them when the exams arrive. If you want to read novel, fiction, or want travel guides, buy a e-reader (Kindle or Kobo). They are light and it's definitely worth the investment.

Good luck!