The IAESTE Trainee Guide to Siegen

Transcription

1 The IAESTE Trainee Guide to Siegen Last time changed on June 8, 2009

2 1 Introduction The IAESTE Trainee Guide to Siegen Dear IAESTE-Trainee, Congratulations, you have been accepted for an internship in Siegen, Germany. After the tough way to get through all these O- and N5- forms we would like to welcome you to the local student committee of IAESTE at the University of Siegen We are students and postgraduates from various departments of our university, doing the IAESTE work voluntarily and have much fun with that. Some of us have already had an internship with IAESTE, some not and some have it this summer. We are highly encouraged to make your stay as comfortable and as much enjoyable as possible. The reception crew is already planning a summer programme and you are invited to participate. This internship should bring you beside job experience an insight view into Germany s society (or at least a part of it). We know that most people who got an internship somewhere in a foreign country, rush into the next library or bookstore to get some books about Germany. Well, that s actually a good idea. But you will live and work in Siegen for a certain time, so you should have some more information than just for travelling. Therefore we set up this trainee-guide. Almost everyone has some prejudices against Germany, but Germans do not drink that much beer and do not eat only Weißwuerste mit Sauerkraut. To give you some real (we hope they are real) impressions about our region and to give you important information about travelling, currency etc., we made this sites for you. Please read them carefully, because there are some important points especially about money, your home and what to bring. Your IAESTE Local Commitee Siegen

3 Contents 1 Introduction 2 2 About Siegen Region How to get to Siegen by train from Frankfurt Airport Traveling inside Siegen Money Salary Shopping Various Informations Habitation Electricity International Student Identity Card Important telephone numbers Weather/Clothing Bicycles Please don t forget: Insurance How to contact us

4 2 About Siegen 2.1 Region Siegen is situated in the very south of the South Westphalian part of the North Rhine- Westphalia-Hesse-Rhineland-Palatinate three-state area. The city of Siegen lies in a branched basin of the upper Sieg. From this basin, side valleys branch off in many directions. The heights of the surrounding mountains, wherever they are not actually settled, are covered in coppice. To the north lies the Sauerland, to the northwest the Rothaargebirge and to the southwest the Westerwald. The closest cities with airports are Cologne (Köln) and Frankfurt. You can find informations about the history of Siegen at: How to get to Siegen by train from Frankfurt Airport Frankfurt airport has two railway stations: Fernbahnhof (Long Distance) and Regionalbahnhof (Regional) Unfortunately, neither of them offers a direct rail link to Siegen, so you have to first get to Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof. Regionalbahnhof I suggest you use the Regionalbahnhof, as it is right underneath the airport, and after your baggage claim and customs check, just ask the customs guy to direct you to the Regionalbahnhof (or just follow the signs, and keep going down). On your way you will see a few automatic vending machines, with lots of buttons and a little screen. This is where you buy the first ticket, to Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof (Tief). If you are confused by the language, just ask someone around you to help. It is really easy though. Just select the number of the railway station from the list. (Number of Frankfurt Hbf ), then chose 1 way journey for 1 person. Then just feed the note/coins. Take your ticket and get onto the train. I suggest you use the S9 (Towards Hanau)(Platform Regio 1), and get off at the third stop (Frankfurt Hbf-Tief ). The S9 runs almost every hour at 17 minutes past the hour.. so you can get on at 14:17, 15:17, 17:17... at the same platform.

5 Once you reach frankfurt Hbf (tief) (make sure you get off at Frankfurt Hbf (tief) only, it takes about 11 minutes!), keep climbing stairs until you reach ground level. This is the main train station. Here you need to find the train to Siegen. Depending on what time you reach, you will get different trains. Please note that there are no trains to Siegen at night: Schedule Workday Saturday Sunday Earliest Train 5:22 5:22 7:22 Last Train 21:22 21:22 21:22 In any case, you will need to buy a ticket. So find another one of the vends (these are modern ones with a big touchscreen, and you can use English!!!), touch the british flag and go through the process of selecting your train (or your own countries, if its there!). Make sure that its a direct train (no changes in between). Remember you may need to use a credit card in the vend at frankfurt. If you do not have a credit card, walk across to the Reise Zentrum, and buy tickets from a counter for cash. (This may cost a little more, but it is a lot easier. Just ask for a direct link to Siegen, and its their headache). In any case, the entire journey to Siegen should cost less than 25 euros. Even though my directions are a bit verbose, its not really that difficult getting around. Most people can speak english. Just ask for help if you are confused. Written by Vivek Kapoor (former apprentice) Useful vocabulary for taking the train Bahnhof Datum Zeit Ab An Dauer Umst. Erwachsener Klasse railway station date Time departure time arrival time to last, to take (time), duration how many times to change the train adult class 2.3 Traveling inside Siegen You can get the bus schedule for traveling inside Siegen the following URLs: 5

6 (Each schedule denotes a different bus line). 6

7 3 Money 3.1 Salary As an IAESTE trainee you get a salary that is usually high enough that you can cover your costs of living in Siegen, pay your rent and take part in our events. Some trainees are paid by the DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst German exchange organization). These will get their money directly from the IAESTE local committee. For all the trainees who get their money from their employers we have an offer: Your employer can pay the money to our account and we give all the money to you then. The big advantage is that you do not have to open an account here which is often difficult for foreigners. The treasurers of the local committee pay the money on the first tuesday every month during the IAESTE meetings. Usually, we arrange the accomodation for you and pay the rent in advance. Therefore you have to pay the rent to us. The treasurers deduct this amount from your salary. You will have to wait up to one month before you get your first salary. Therefore, you should take enough money with you in order to pay for your first necessities and the deposit (50 ) for your room. How much money you want to take with you on top of that is up to you. At present, the following notes and coins are circulating in Germany: notes: 500 (only a few of us have seen one), 200, 100, 50, 20, 10, 5 coins: 2, 1, 0,50 (50 cents), 0.20, 0.10, 0.05, 0.02, 0.01 Banks are opened from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. from Monday to Friday. Sometimes the opening hours differ slightly from bank to bank. You can use credit cards, EC-card and traveller cheques to get money. In many stores you can also buy with these cards but it is always easier to pay cash. 3.2 Shopping In Germany shops are normally opened from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and on Saturday only until 6:00 p.m. On Sundays shops are closed. In contrast to supermarkets and department stores, smaller shops usually are closed from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. You may find that shopping in Germany can be quite expensive, so we want to give you a rough idea what some things for daily use cost in Siegen (also to give you a clue about how much money to bring for the first weeks): object quantity price(app.) bread 500g 2,50 milk 1 litre 0,55

8 object quantity price(app.) toast 500g 0,40 butter 250g 0,90 apples 1 kg 2,00 noodles 500g 0,70 tomatoes 250 g 0,99 rice 1 kg 0,90 bananas 1 kg 1,65 flour 1 kg 0,40 coffee 500 g 4,00 potatoes 2,5 kg 2,00 cheese 400g 1,99 pork 1 kg 7,00 mineral water 1 litre 0,25 chicken 1 kg 7,00 juice 1 litre 0,80 pizza(frozen) 1,50 beer 0,5 litre 0,75 corn flakes 500g 2,00 coke 1 litre 0,70 cigarettes 19 in a pack 4,00-5,00 wine 0,75 litre > 2,00 soap 0,50 eggs 10 1,00 toothpaste 1,30 shampoo 1,00 deodorant 1,50 bus ticket (inside Siegen, one month) 56,00 Please note that the prices are only a rough estimate and are subject to change. 8

9 4 Various Informations 4.1 Habitation Most IAESTE trainees stay in a flat in a student s dormitory. Please note that it is not possible to move in or move out at weekend. A kitchen with microwave and oven is standard. Please do not forget the following items for your stay: Pillow, sheet and bedcover (duvet covers, pillowcases, bed linen) A sleeping bag if you prefer to travel aroung in Germany Blankets and cooking pots can be borrowed from the local IAESTE commitee upon request. If your flat is in the student s dormitory, you can have internet in your if you bring your own PC/Laptop and TP/RJ45 cable. 4.2 Electricity Figure 1: Typical wall socket Just in case you want to take electrical equipment with you, you should consider that it must be suitable for 230 V and 50 Hz. You should also get an adapter if it is not suitable for 2 pins. You can find a picture of a typical socket in Figure International Student Identity Card We recommend getting an ISIC so that you can get reduction on entrance fees (e.g.: cinemas, museums).

10 4.4 Important telephone numbers Police 110 Emergency 112 Fire department 112 The telephone area code of Siegen is Weather/Clothing The summers are normally (well, occasionally) pleasant and dry in Germany, but sometimes it rains an awful lot as well. The temperature varies between 20 and 25 degrees Celsius, but sometimes even between 5 and 30 degrees Celsius. With regard to clothing you should be prepared for changing weather conditions. It would be wise to take a raincoat and warm jumpers with you as well as T-shirts and shorts. Apart from clothes for leisure and sports (bathing costume for example) you should not forget about smart clothes for your job (maybe ask your employer for some advice what to wear at work. Normally suits are not necessary). 4.6 Bicycles You have the chance to rent a push-bike suitable for the low mountain range existing in this region. 4.7 Please don t forget: Please try to get the following things done as soon as possible. Please check immediately the validity of your passport and make sure to get a visa if necessary. Check the necessary documents for your journey in time (plane- or train ticket etc.). You should try to make sure that you arrive in Siegen (if you travel by train or bus) or in Frankfurt (if you travel by plane) when you plan your route. If you arrive at Frankfurt airport, please use the train to Siegen. Please fill in the enclosed arrival-note and send it back to us as soon as you know exactly, how, when and where you will arrive so that we can meet you. Please let us know if you have more questions. We will certainly do our best to help you. You can find our address above. We would kindly ask you to send us a photo of you before your arrival to be able to recognize you, i.e. at the train station. 10

11 Please send us an as soon as possible so that we can arrange your appartment and pick you up at the train. We will give you the telephone number of the IAESTE member who will wait for you at the train station and guide you through your first days then. 4.8 Insurance In order to live and work in Germany, you must have a complete insurance coverage according to IAESTE conditions. It has to include the following features: healthcare insurance medical insurance accident insurance personal liability insurance We will arrange an insurance for you- you just have to sign the documents when you arrive. Due to some problems and difficulties with doctor s bills during the last years, the insurance now is mandatory. We do not make any profit about it. The policy is a special IAESTE-DAAD insurance that provides the best service to affordable costs. For further information take a look at: How to contact us Mail-adress: Website: Universität Siegen IAESTE Hölderlinstraße 3 D Siegen Germany iaeste@uni-siegen.de 11