Switcheroo
I'm back in my dorm for the beginning of the Spring semester. The transition feels so weird. I was at home(which is 40 min away from school) for a month and working at a job that I've been working at since I was 19. I've made friends with the manager, and she pretty much lets me come back and work during all the school breaks. She's really nice.
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Really, Gordon Brown is on most people's hate list right now. The thing is, I don't think the change in immigration policy is going to make any difference to the real problems, it's just punishing people like yourself.
Really makes me sick when I think of all the illegal immigrants and people who come in just because they know they're going to get an easy ride, when there are people who truly want to be in this country and make a living here.
As for the debt thing, I think it's inevitable. Studying anywhere overseas is expensive, especially at post-grad level. Even for me, going to study in Scotland in a couple of years is going to cost a lot of money, and I already owe a lot. But I think of it as building a future for myself, a future that I want.
Please, please don't give up on your dreams ♥ but yeah, at least come to visit first, because you might hate it here, after all ;)
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I know debt is unavoidable; I can accept that I may have to borrow a lot of money. My real concern is that I won't be able to borrow anymore after I get my BA. There are talks in the US about restricting who they give loans to because of the credit crunch. Even so, I still wouldn't ever completely give up. I know I could save enough money at least for a visit :)
May I ask what it is about Scotland that is drawing you in?
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I agree that it's unlikely you'll be able to get a normal loan from a bank to fund things, because I'm in the same position. But in the UK, a few banks offer specialist loans for post-grad students which pay 80% of the course fees and have deferred repayments at fixed interest rates.
I don't know the ins and outs of how they work and my family really doesn't believe that they exist, lol, but I've read about them in several places. Was just wondering if there might be something similar in the US?
But everything is really crazy right now with the credit crunch. I guess we're picking a bad time for stuff like this, lol.
About Scotland...it's everything about it. The Highlands are incredibly beautiful, unlike anything you'd see in England. They also have a strong sense of culture, most likely because it was suppressed by the English in the past.
I feel like England is devoid of culture, after we spent centuries oppressing that of other countries. Our local folk dances are dying out because nobody is interested, yet you can go in any pub in Scotland and find people doing Scottish ceilidh dancing.
I'm sick of hearing English people bitching about how we have a Scottish prime-minister, and I'm sick of people telling me not to move to Scotland because 'the Scots hate the English'. No, they hate the racism and arrogance of certain English people, and I completely agree with them. It makes me ashamed to be English, and if there was ever another Anglo-Scottish war, I know whose side I would be on ;)
...so, after that essay, LOL...that's why. I hope I haven't put you off England ;)
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About the loan thing, it's possible that similar loans exist over here in the US. I've only looked at getting loans from the federal government. The federal government would give me loan w/o interest and deferred payment, but only up to a certain amount. The loans I could get from the government would probably only cover my tuition fees. And I have to think about living expenses since I could only work up to 20 hours over there on a student visa and I'm sure I'll need additional help for housing and food. I could try researching it a bit more to see if there are any other loans similar to what you were talking about. But like you, I could always take a break before I officially go and save some money. I still have some time.
It's sad that no one is interested in the English folk dances anymore. I often wondered how "English" the English were or if they were really more like Americans than I thought. But somehow I find it hard to believe that culture could be completely erased. Maybe I'm wrong, I dunno.
You're definitely a lot more Pro-Scot than most of the people I've met from England :) This may be a dumb question, but is it because you're from the North? I've met people from over there who've said that Northerners and Southerners don't really like each other. At least some don't. I never really understood the reasoning behind it, but it is because Northern English people are more sympathetic towards the Scottish?
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The North-South divide definitely exists in England. I don't think it's that we in the North are Scotland sympathisers. I'm not sure what it is, to be honest.
I think in most countries in the past, the further you were from the concentration of wealth and power (i.e. London, for us), the more likely you are to disagree with the monarchy/government/etc. Maybe America is only different because it's divided into states which have their own authority?
English culture these days has been reduced to drinking and football (soccer). It's true that drinking is a historic pastime in England, but not the kind of constant binge-drinking we see these days, I'm sure.
And to me, soccer isn't culture. Most of the world is into it. It's not uniquely English. That's why I prefer sports such as hockey and American football. At least they're distinctive (and more interesting, anyway...).
A lot of people here are Americanised, and I think our society in general is going that way in the way we do things. But I definitely think that the stereotypical British attitude exists - the reservedness, formality, etc. - and perhaps it sets us apart from Americans.
But that's just judging from my very limited experiences in America :) And also, I'm quite stereotypically 'British' in terms of my personality, so maybe I'm biased.
Living expenses really are the stumbling block, I agree. I know that I will have to get a job to support myself, and I'll also be relying on my family a lot. Honestly, I doubt I'll be able to do it without their financial support.
Right now I get loans and grants from the government which just about allow me to live on my own, paying rent and bills. But for everything else (even food, etc.), I have to earn it. I won't be getting those loans and grants when I go to Scotland, and it's still a worry how I'm going to live. I think I'll just end up living in hostels for a while, to be honest.
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