1 . Do you feel nervous and stressed about living in the dormitory （宿舍）? Sharing a room with strangers may be challenging at the beginning, but it will turn out to be a precious experience in your life. Here are some tips on how to become best friends with your dormmates.

Agree on Some Basic Rules

    1     . Make a list of the things that are/aren't allowed to both of you and stick to it.

Decide on the studying time, cleaning and visiting hours. Not only will it make your routine easier, but it can also help to avoid misunderstanding and quarrels.

Discuss the problems at once

You will escape many fights if you start talking about the problem once you feel it's necessary. When you accumulate the little things, they grow bigger and you may say some unpleasant things you don't really mean. Your dormmates simply cannot know or notice some things.    2    .

Respect Your Dormmates and Their Stuff

Using without asking is the cause of most conflicts and misunderstandings between dormmates.     3    . If you think that wearing their cosmetics is okay, they may think in an absolutely different way. Always ask for permission when you want to borrow, use or take any item.

Get to Know Each Other Better

You won't become best friends at once, but you can do a lot in order to develop a good relationship from the very start.     4    . Everybody loves to be asked questions about their personality. Getting to know each other will make your living together less stressful and you may have pretty much in common!

    5    

Your dormmates may be from other countries with different traditions, religion and views. Be careful with the stereotypes （刻板印象） and prejudgment, your ideas about the subject may be skindeep and incorrect. Most probably your overseas dormmates will need some help during the period of adaptation to the new surrounding and lifestyle. Sharing a room with an international student is a unique chance to learn another culture and language. Don't miss it!