What to do after arrival

Li Yucui explains，“For foreign students, the first step upon arrival at your study desttnatton is to visit the Foreign Affairs O ce（Akademisches Auslandsamt）of your university.The staff there will be able to provide you with all the informatton you need at the beginning, to show you the way to your student dormitory（if you have applied for and got a room in advance）or to recommend an affordable accommodatton where you can spend the ffrst nights.If the Foreign Affairs O ce is closed when you arrive, the Student Services Organization（Studentenwerk）may initially also be able to help you.In case you cannot ffnd anybody and have no place to stay, the cheapest optton is to go to a youth hostel ffrst（only 10-15 Euros per night）.”

Then you will have to complete a number of important bureaucrattc formalittes.

If you do not already have a room in a student dormitory, you should ask the Student Services Organization if there are still any rooms available. Dormitories are by far the cheapest form of accommodation for students in Germany（about 250 Euros per month）and rent otherwise tends to be very expensive（a German typically ends up paying half of his wages towards rent）.Unfortunately, dormitory is often very limited, but new foreign students are usually given top priority.Most rooms are single rooms with a little bathroom and there are only very few double rooms or shared bathrooms.Most dormitories are located somewhere in the city outside the main university campus and, in contrast to China, male and female students usually live next door to each other in the same dormitory.The second cheapest form of accommodation in Germany is flat sharing in so-called‘WG'（Wohngemeinschaft）.This is very popular among students and also a good way to get to meet people.Offers of rooms available in WGs can regularly be found in local newspapers or on nottce-boards at universittes.As living expenses in Germany are very high, the important aspect in any case is to maintain fixed costs（e.g.rent）as low as possible.

When you have a permanent address, you must register it at the Resident Registration Bureau（Einwohnermeldeamt）. Anyone who plans to stay in Germany for more than three months has to register their permanent address within one week.In order to register, you will need a copy of the rental agreement or other documented proof of where you are living.

The next step for foreign students is the Foreigner's Registration Office（Ausländeramt），where you have to go immediately affer registratton of your address in order to apply for a residence permit.Residence permits for students are valid for one year and have to be renewed for each following year.

Before enrollment at university you need to obtain health insurance（Krankenversicherung）. German law states that all students who want to study at a state-recognized higher educatton instttutton are obliged to have health insurance（statutory health insurance）.Fortunately, there is a special Student Health Insurance Scheme which is comparatively cheap（50 Euros per month）.Regardless of which doctor or hospital you choose, your health insurance will cover all costs of treatment（you only sometimes have to pay a small consultatton fee when visittng a doctor）.

Now you can officially register（Immatrikulation）as a new student in your degree program at your university's main administrative building. Upon enrolment, you have to pay a registration fee of approximately 100 Euros which is mainly a contributton to the Student Services Organizatton and the Student Union.It also entitles you to a number of benefits such as free public transport and various student reducttons.Unfortunately, at most of all German universittes you now also have to pay the new tuitton fee of around 500 Euros per semester.

“Besides a minimum of 250 Euros for rent and 50 Euros for health insurance, you have to add at least 200 Euros for food，50 Euros for books and study materials and probably 100 Euros for all other necessary expenses to your average cost of living, i. e.for every month you should calculate with a minimum of 650 Euros.This is already a very ttght and modest budget and you will likely need more money, especially if you want to go out to restaurants and bars or if you plan to go traveling，”said Li Yucui.

“Can overseas student work in Germany?”asks Wang Chenxin.

“Yes, they can. But they must do it according to the regulattons，”says Li Yucui.

“What are they?”asks Wang Chenxin.

Two thirds of all students in Germany have to work part-time in order to make ends meet. Students are actually very much sought-after employees because employers are usually not required to pay social insurance contributions for them and because average student wages（around 10 Euros per hour）are much lower than those of regular employees.This also makes it quite easy for most students to find work.Typical student jobs are waiter or waitress, bartender, shop assistant, porter, tutor, baby-sitter or driver（e.g.even former German Minister of Foreign Affairs Joschka Fischer 1“once used to be a student taxi driver）”.

Chinese students should know that they are only allowed to take on a limited amount of paid employment of either 90 days of full-time work per year or alternatively of 180 days of part-time work（up to four hours per day）. If you want to work longer, you need a work permit, which is very difficult to obtain and rarely granted to foreign students.Violations of this law may lead to serious trouble with the Foreigner's Registratton O ce and should thus be avoided.

If you can come to study in Germany successfully, you should follow all regulations and laws in Germany as honestly and accurately as possible. You should never try to influence people with authority by using special connecttons, giff giving or bribery.These acts are considered highly criminal and are very likely to cause aperson to lose his visa and be expelled from Germany or even get him into prison，says Li Yucui.

Cultural Case 2

Li Hong and Franz Fishche were good friends and Li Hong was in Germany for a year. Once Li Hong told Franz that he missed the alcoholic drink of his hometown very much.Franz promised to search and buy for him.It was ten p.m.whenFranz knocked at the door.Li Hong opened it and saw Franz there with a bottle of alcoholic drink of his hometown.Li Hong was moved very much.He asked himself why Franz was so good to him?

Explanation of Cultural Case 2

It is a German custom. Whenever a German promises to do something, he will try in every way to make it.