Living in the USA

The USA’s currency is the Dollar ($). One Dollar is divided into one hundred cents (¢). The following notes and coins are in use:

Bills

• $1, $5, $10, $20, $50, $100

US banknotes have recently been re-designed. There are now two types of bills from $2 to $100, but both types may still be used.

Coins

• Penny = 1¢ = $0.01
• Nickel = 5¢ = $0.05
• Dime = 10¢ = $0.10
• Quarter = 25¢ = $0.25
• Half-dollar/50-cent = 50¢ = $0.50

Euros cannot be used in the USA. You can exchange money or travelers’ checks at Sawgrass Mills Shopping Mall, Ft. Lauderdale International Airport, or 17th Street Causeway. Banks will not exchange currency if you do not have a bank account with them. You will need your passport to change cash.

International credit cards such as Visa and Mastercard are accepted at most shops and businesses, as well as LAL Fort Lauderdale. The card may be refused if you have not signed the back of the card or if the card is not in your name.
You may be able to get money from ATMs (cash machines), but remember you will be charged for this service.

Banks in Fort Lauderdale are usually open 09.00-16.00 Monday to Friday.

Currently (January 2010) the cost of an international stamp is $0.98 for postcards or letters up to 1oz (28g) and for the US is $0.44.  You can check current USmail prices here . Stamps and postcards may be purchased at Reception. Letters and postcards can be mailed by putting them in any blue USPS mail box.

The nearest post office to LAL Fort Lauderdale is in the CPU Pompano Gift Shop, 72 E McNab Road, Pompano Beach. This is open Mon-Fri 08.30-17.30 and Sat 09.30-13.00.

Do not use your host family’s telephone without permission. You must pay for calls with a prepaid calling card. Local calls are free. Please check with your host for details.

You can pay cash for calls from public telephones, but this will usually be very expensive. If you want to call home, buy a telephone calling card from a gas station, convenience store or supermarket.

Calls are often cheaper after 21.00 or before 06.00 and on weekends. Calls to numbers starting 1800- are free; numbers starting 19- are very expensive.

US telephone numbers are typically 10 digits long and consist of a 3-digit area code, and a 7-digit number. When dialing a number outside the local area code (954), you must first dial a 1.

To place an international call, dial: 011 + country code + city code + number.

The sounds you hear when you dial may be different from those you hear at home:

• This is the tone which means the number is ringing
• This tone means the number is busy (engaged)
  

Most host homes allow LAL students use of their internet. Free wireless internet access is available at LAL Fort Lauderdale, many cafes, pubs, and bars. Do not log onto strangers’ networks without permission. It is illegal.

“Manners make the world go round”, and certainly help you to get along in Fort Lauderdale. Say ‘please’ if you want something and ‘thank you’ when you get it. If you want to interrupt someone, or walk past people, say ‘Excuse me!’.

If you bump into someone, you must say ‘Sorry!’, or this may be interpreted as an attack.

• Smoking is banned in many public places in the USA, and you must obey all ‘No Smoking’ signs. In particular, you cannot smoke in shops, pubs, clubs, bars or restaurants, nor on railway stations, on trains or buses or in taxis, except in designated smoking areas.
• You must be over 18 to buy tobacco.
• You must be over 21 to buy alcohol.
• If you are 23 or younger, it is illegal to have sex with anyone under the age of 16; If you are 24 or older, it is illegal to have sex with anyone under the age of 18.
• The use, possession, purchase or sale of cannabis (marijuana) or any other controlled drug is illegal.

The USA does not usually use metric measurements. You are likely to see the following US units:

• 1 mile (m) = 1760 yards ≈ 1.6km
• 1 yard (yd) = 3 feet ≈ 91cm
• 1 foot (ft or ´) = 12 inches ≈ 30cm
• 1 inch (in or ˝) ≈ 2.5cm
• 1 quart = 2 pints ≈ 946ml
• 1 US pint (pt) = 2 cups ≈ 473ml
• 1 cup (cp) ≈ 237ml
• 1 pound (lb) = 16 ounces ≈ 454g
• 1 ounce (oz) ≈ 28g

Tap water is safe to drink. Fluoride is added to the water supply.

The USA’s supply is 110V, 60Hz (cycles) AC. This is different from most other countries, so check that your appliances will work on this supply before plugging them in!

You are likely to need an adapter for US sockets, which have two or three flat pins. You can buy adaptors from stores such as Radio Shack, Bed, Bath & Beyond, and Best Buy. These stores are only one bus ride from school.