Women’s Shopping list

This document is originally written by Zahida Sultana for “Prospective

Bangladeshi Students in Canadian Universities” (PBSCU) Group
(https://www.facebook.com/groups/BSAAC/).

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There are many documents in the group about shopping but every documents
seems to be for men, so I just wanted to make a list for women from my point of
view.

1. Clothes/Dresses:

 Jeans: 2/3 pc. Though Jeans are costly ($16-$42) in Canada, after at most 3 or
4 months of coming here you will get summer/winter or spring sale then better
quality can be bought at around ($3-$15) which are more comfortable and
better quality and fashion (Straight-cut, boot-cut etc).

 Kamiz/Sharee/Matching sandal to wear in different Bengali occasions and get

together: You will not get it in Canada if found, it will be costly. So bring some
since all the Bengali occasions are celebrated here.

 T-shirts/long t-shirts: 6/8 pc (Nurjahan Market, opposite of Dhaka college or

Bongo Bazar). In Walmart you can buy these. If you are not comfortable
 wearing these you can bring Fotua, here people wear whatever they like-even
burkha, so be comfortable in your own way.

 Fotua/Punjabi/shirt: As much as you can (from Nurjahan Market, Aarong etc.).

You will not get colorful, nice and cheap fotua here. Mostly these are very useful
in summer.

 Gabardine Pants: 4/5 pc. Its very useful in summer.

 Spring Jacket: 2/3 pc. (the Jacket/ Sweter we wear in winter in Bangladesh.
Must be hooded). Also can be used in fall.

 Heavy Jacket: Bring 1 pc. (You can get it cheap in Polwel supermarket,
Bongobazar. Ask for waterproof -40 degree hooded Jacket: 600-1500 taka). Its
better to buy another from here if needed further ($80-$200) since the quality
is much better.

 Hijab: If you wear Hijab to cover your head or just neck or wear with shirts/
fotua, you can bring these from Bangladesh since it will be cheap, colorful and
nice.

 Sneakers: 1 pair. (you will get good branded sneakers here which is also
breathable. You will be able to buy good branded sneakers and shoes which are
on sale every few months)

 Undergarments: 10 pairs or as your wish. Though the quality of undergarments

here is better but mostly very costly.

 Skirts: 2/3 pc or not. You can wear it in Summer.

 Sandal: 3/4 pair. For summer use and for using in the apt. Fashionable sandals
are costly here.

 Socks: Bring 2/3 pair of long thick woolen socks and 2/3 pair normal. You can
buy a package of 10/12 pair socks from Walmart at cheap rate.
 Towel: Towel are also available and cheap here but you can bring 1. You can
bring 2/3 pc cotton towel from home which you will not find here.

2. Personal accessories:

 Bed sheet: 2/3 pc with pillow cover. Here you will not get colorful printed cheap
cotton bed-sheets. Its better to bring from home.

 Eye-glasse: Bring few pairs of eye glasses and frame with prescription. Its very
costly here.

 Cosmetics: Its better to buy cosmetics including lotion, shampoo etc. You can
bring little amount of those from home for initial use.

 Personal accessories like stationary, brush, comb, safety pin, hair band, Clip,
sewing kit, nail kit, glass, plate, box, Jar, spoon, kitchen utensils etc are very
cheap in Canada. Do not put too much things in the bag. Be careful about the
baggage allowances. In Canada, these are available in Dollarama
(www.dollarama.com) and Walmart (www.walmart.ca) with cheap prices. So,
its your choice. My suggestion, try to enjoy the journey and make the load as
light as possible.

But the following things are necessary (for initial use):

 Purse: 2 It should have space for several credit/debit cards.

 Brush & toothpaste: 1 set

 Soap: 1

 Big/small scissors:2

 Safety pin bunch: 1

 Mini-sewing kit with some buttons: 1

 Bedsheets: 2 thick + 1 thin

 Pillow: 1 or none (Its better not to bring pillow since it will take a lot of space.

 Comb: 3

 Nail cutter: 1

 Key Chains: 2-3

 Alarm Clock: 1

Generally, you can bring two checked baggage, one carry-on baggage and a
backpack.

What kind of stuffs that you can put in them are listed in your Flight booking
website.

The following articles, which may be carried free in addition to the free baggage
allowance (subject to security regulations):

1. An overcoat wrap or blanket

2. An umbrella or walking stick

3. A lady's handbag, lady's pocketbook or lady's purse

4. A reasonable amount of reading matter for the flight

5. A small camera and/or a pair of binoculars

3. Utensils:

Since most people don't get time to cook daily, food is generally prepared for 4/5
days and preserved in the freezer; so you do not need many utensils too. Its better
to buy these from here as per your need and try to bring those which are not easily
found here.

These things will increase weight, so you should not take too many things. These
are available in Dollarama (www.dollarama.com) and Walmart
(www.walmart.ca) with cheap prices: 9-15 piece cookware set ($20-$150 in
Walmart).

Many say that Pressure cooker is costly in Canada, so we can bring it from home.
However, for me I have never used it here. I think its not necessary.

You can bring

1. Small Kadai for frying

2. One peeler
3. One rolling Pin/ Belan (to make rotis)

THIS LIST MAY VERY FOR PERSON TO PERSON. HOWEVER, MAKE YOUR
OWN LIST ACCORDING TO YOUR NEED

4. Food Items:

All foods items are available in Canada. However, you can bring a packet or two of
Chanachur, Fried Dal, Fried Peas etc. Besides these:

1. Pickle: You can bring home made different types of pickles which you
will miss the most as time passes.
2. Spices, Tealeaves, Masalas, Haldi, Dhania, red chilly, Garam masala,
Dhania, Instant masalas, etc. (Bring these in your checked baggage.
 You can bring 500 gm of every type of Masala you eat, it will save you
initially from some hassle).
3. Different dals in small quantity for initial use.
4. Elaichi, clove, cinnamon.

5. Stationary list: (Available at Dollarama at cheap prices but you

should bring a calculator since its costly here)

One each for initial use

1) Scribbling/normal writing Pad

2) Pencils, Erasers, Sharpener

3) Blade

4) Stapler, Stapler pins

5) Pens, Correction pen

6) Glue stick

7) Pencil bag

8) Ruler - 12"

9) Stick on pad

10) Cello tape

11) Needle, Thread

12) Safety pins

13) Calculator
6. Electronics:

 Laptop (If you have one then bring it otherwise its better to buy from here)
 Pen drive with huge storage capacity (Its costly here)
 External Hard disk (You can bring it if you want)

7. Gifts for Professors and seniors:

In my opinion, you should not give gifts to your professors until you finished your
study and become an ex-student, they are not used to take gifts from student and
can feel awkward.

Things to be kept in hand baggage: (by Abdullah Al Maruf Bhai)

 Some medicines

 one set of full clothing in case your main luggage gets lost

 Original important documents (Offer letter, visa, tickets etc.)

 Enough money (little cash, traveler's checks, check the amount of money that a
student can bring legally) (from banks) We prefer at least 3000$ for one person.

 Address book/phone book

 Copies of your photos (passport size)

 Enlisted steps to be followed in case of emergency (accident, theft, etc.)

 Medical history files

Things to be kept in person:

 Wallet

 Shorter extract of contact addresses - especially of people coming to pick you

up

 Receipt got along with traveler's checks - in case you lose the TC's

 Handbag to carry in flight stuffs and passport with you (buy a good quality,
spacious one 'cause you might have to use it for carrying clothes to the laundry
later)

Money to be taken with you:

Since you have already paid your first term tuition fee and accommodation fee, you
can carry 200 pounds cash and approximately 500 pounds as Traveler's Cheque.

Documentation:

You need to keep some documents to show at the port of entry:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/study/study-arriving.asp
Medicines list:

The student must carry several medicines for common ailments recommended by
a medical practitioner. Prescription drugs are costly in Canada. Put them in the
checked baggage and take only few in the hand-bag. Make sure you get a
prescription from a physician that you need all those medicine in case you are
asked by air-line officers.

1. All necessary medicines that you must need for your acute/chronic diseases e.g.
Asthma, Diabetes etc.

2. Paracetamol and/or Caffeine, Diclofenac, Naproxen, Ketorolac

3. Non-sedative ones e.g. fexofenadine, desloratadine etc.

4. Ore-saline/Esomeprazole/Ranitidine/Metronidazole

5. Anti-emetics: Domperidone/olanzapine

6. Diazepeam/Clonazepam

7. Nubacrin ointment (Neomycin sulphate+bacitracin)

8. Pevisone (Econizole)

9. Savlon cream

10. Some bandages

You will find several documents in the group’s file section about what documents
to take with you while traveling and to leave at home for further use.
*** In Canada you will get everything on sale every few months including dresses,
shoes, utensils, cosmetics, electronics etc. Big sales are mostly in three times a year
at December, February-March, July-August. Besides these in Walmart, Superstore
and all shopping malls, you will get everything in sale turn by turn always. You can
buy good products then at a cheaper price.

Happy Traveling.