It may cost a little upfront to take credit cards, but by offering the option, you may find your students will also be more inclined to purchase back end merchandise from you, (for example: music books, cook books or specialty utensils, language tapes, etc).
Find your nearest student station on the Student Radio Association site.
Join the things that interest you and see what sticks -- you never know, you could meet your best friend in film club or find your passion participating in student government.
Be aware that your students will find your blog and they will read it.
Writing teachers across the land still urge students, "Find your voice"; publishers are notoriously eager to discover any new writer with as engaging and exceptional a voice as, say, Alice Munro or (the wonderfully mongrel, as it happens) Junot Díaz.
While it is great to learn how to do the kick on both sides, I would recommend that you find out your student's dominant side for entry level instruction.
Moving in the nontraditional vein, give gift certificates and gift cards to places found in your student's new town.
As the parent of a private-school student, I found your article very interesting.
After a strong start and the ups and downs that are inevitable during your first few months in the lab, you've found your feet as a Ph.D. student and have gotten your project up to speed.
And then find out where your student can turn in a moment of need.
