I’m happy to announce that I will be participating in my universiy’s foreign exchange program next fall…I’m sure you’re all thrilled . Anyhow, I am having a difficult time deciding where to go. As of now, in descending order, I’m leaning toward Australia, Spain, or England. I should note that I’ve taken enough spanish in my life to give the impression that I’m fluent, but in reality, I’m not . I’ll be studying Philosophy while overseas (my Communication degree will have been completed), so I’m rather concerned about studying Philosophy in a foreign language. Regardless, I began this thread to ask for any advice or input you gentlemen (and gentlewomen, Trix ) might have for me regarding the decision. Have any of you participated in such a program? If so, how was your experience?
And please, be honest (if you were mugged twice a day and constantly beaten up, please tell me ).
This made me laugh! Do other people attribute the word ‘chutzpah’ to americans? It is originally a Yiddish word which means insolence or audacity, but it seems to have crept into every day usage along with ‘klutz’ and ‘kitsch’.
First things first, that translation engine is impressive. That website is now under my favorites.
Metavoid wrote:
I think I have a better chance of dying in a car crash . But dutifully noted.
I have absolutely no idea. My orientation is this Tuesday, so I’ll find out which schools are available then I suppose. The one thing that worries me about England, is that it may seem too American (if you know what I mean). I know Australia suffers from the same generalization, however I’ve heard it’s more laid back there, a quality I find attractive at the moment. I hate to make generalizations about places I have never been, and I already know I’m apt to pissing off all the Brits by equating their country to America. I don’t know, I just don’t want to fly to the other side of the world and find out I haven’t gone anywhere. Are there any spots in England you would recommend?
What’s even funnier, is I had no idea what he was talking about! I was about to run that word through the universal translator when I realized, “there’s probably not an English to English selection!” Thanks for saving me a trip to dictionary.com Ben.
Yeah, most people do. I did think that it was a Yiddish word but wasn’t sure.
The South of England is nice, but expensive. London is good, but some parts are really tacky. Stay away from the North, in particular Manchester and Liverpool. Does it mean UK or England (sorry if that seems like a sily question)?
Don’t be so harsh on the North. Manchester is a good uni, I considered applying to it, so is Leeds.
Matthew if you do decide to go to England try and get in a Universitas 21 uni, it’s a kind of unofficial premier league of UK unis. There’s some good ones in Scotland, but don’t even consider Wales.
Where do you guys attend? My brother studied in England for a year…and I can’t remember the name of the school at the moment (something with an “R” I believe). He had a great time and loved not only the UK, but taking the train to several other countries during the breaks.
The trash talk on the various parts of the UK/England is pretty funny. I guess it’s similar to the Orange County/Riverside county rivalry in California (not that you can even call it a rivalry, Orange County like totally kicks the 909’s ass ).
I’m too young/not precocious to attend university. I do, however attend a large grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland, which I really loathe. I would recommend against it. Anyway, is Californa worth a visit?
I went to Nottingham University which is a beautiful uni and has a very high academic standard, though I’ve seen the darker side of it having been a Hall president, but I’m sure all universities in England are going through the horrible rationalistion process that Notts is at the moment.
With unis here I think you get out what you put in, if you’re lazy like me you can find it a bit vacuous, you have to make the effort of going to actively seek out the lecturers and engage them as the lectures and even the seminars are fairly no brainers unless you are lucky with who you get in a seminar group.
I dissed Wales as I don’t really know of any good Unis in Wales and it’s not exactly in the best state at the moment, it’s where the North used to be about 20 years ago, trying to shake off its industrial shackles. Some Nothern cities are actually great, I went to Leeds a couple of times as my Sister studied English there and thought it was fantastic (she loved the uni). I liked Manchester Uni when I went to see it, though I get the impression you have to be a bit street wise, though it’s the same with every uni, the student accomodation tends to be near or in rougher areas because that’s where the cheap accomodation is.
If you do decide to look into the UK and you get a choice of unis best thing to do is check out their departmental website and see what rating for teaching they got, anything less than 4/5 is pretty worthless if you’ve got any academic talent. Virtually all ex-polytechnics are crap, I have no idea why they allowed them to call themselves unis, Nottingham Trent was the highest or second highest ex-poly in the league tables and I think it still only came 40th or something like that.
As for Australia, I know about 3 people who’ve gone travelling over there and they all absolutely loved it, but that’s obviously different to studying there. Spain, the Basque thing is serious we hear about it over here (though I doubt Americans do if what I’ve been told about the World news reporting is true). Then again it’s not that long since England was suffering the same kind of terrorism and as you say it’s very few people who get hurt, though they’ve developed a worrying new tactic of attacking holiday makers. And if you think about it, if you’re not fluent yet, you will be when you finish!
The biggest bonus about England is that there’s bugger all poisonous things unlike Australia, we’ve only got the adder and I’ve never seen one .
well, right now wouldnt be a good time to visit… and for you hunters out there, please keep in mind that it isnt intelligent to light a flare in a forest during the autumn season…
other than that, i think its great. beautiful beaches, and dont forget the women/men whatever your fancy.
being from britain, i have to say i like it very much there also. well except for the gloomy weather.
Minus being on fire, yes, I would absolutely recommend coming to California. Some advice though, you may want to wait until you’re 21, otherwise there won’t be much to do at night. In San Diego, I would recommend Pacific Beach for the nightlife, and the beaches of La Jolla for the day. Farther north, Laguna Beach is pretty renowned for being a tourist’s favorite. It has some great beaches and a decent nightlife. Same goes for Newport Beach and Huntington. L.A actually has some good spots too, the sunset strip can be fun, and I really like Hermosa beach. When my brother got back from England, he remarked how he forgot how beautiful most of the women are here. Something to think about…
Matt wrote-
This has been my experience with college to a “T”. San Diego State is a renowned party school, so you get some of the mindlessness that comes along with such a reputation (which is nice sometimes ). But I have had some great professors, especially in Philosophy. I haven’t been very impressed with the Communication department, and it’s supposed to be rated in the top 20 of the nation.
I guess what you hear about American news is right, I’ve never heard any mention of “the Basque thing”. If it’s that serious, I’m not so sure it’s a good idea to go there. I’d rather be alive than fluent in Spanish, and besides, I’ve always got that universal translator.
This was funny, but unfortunatley it allowed Ben to say…
So I’m holding you partly responsible for getting Ben banned, since the word of HVD ("that’s it. BANNED) is like the word of God, which is like the word of JJJ.
. Anyhow, I am having a difficult time deciding where to go. As of now, in descending order, I’m leaning toward Australia, Spain, or England. I should note that I’ve taken enough spanish in my life to give the impression that I’m fluent, but in reality, I’m not . I’ll be studying Philosophy while overseas (my Communication degree will have been completed), so I’m rather concerned about studying Philosophy in a foreign language. Regardless, I began this thread to ask for any advice or input you gentlemen (and gentlewomen, Trix 
) might have for me regarding the decision. Have any of you participated in such a program? If so, how was your experience?
).
. But dutifully noted.
I was about to run that word through the universal translator when I realized, “there’s probably not an English to English selection!” Thanks for saving me a trip to 
). But I have had some great professors, especially in Philosophy. I haven’t been very impressed with the Communication department, and it’s supposed to be rated in the top 20 of the nation.