Most people have certain assumptions or expectations about the college experience. For many it is the first time away from home and family, a step into adulthood. For those furthering their education in a new country, the changes are vastly greater. In addition to being in a new situation calling for more self-sufficiency and autonomy, the international student must learn to cope with a different culture, unfamiliar attitudes and expectations, and possibly a new language. Even variations in food, clothing, and shelter can be intimidating to those already facing a new scholastic system, language barriers, and religious and racial concepts different from those they have always known.

The typical student arrives on campus with a sense of hope and optimism to balance the fear of the unknown. No matter the size of the school or its surrounding community, there will be new people to meet and new activities to experience. Creating one’s place in the new situation can be both rewarding and intimidating. Learning to fit into new circumstances will have both positive aspects to enjoy and pitfalls to avoid.

It can be easy to lose sight of one’s own beliefs and values when first coming into contact with such a variety of new people and new thoughts. Some people will enjoy learning about your background and cultural differences and teach you about theirs. They will treat you with respect and help you find your place among them. Unfortunately, there are others who will see your differences as an invitation to take advantage of you or even as a threat to themselves. This type of person can make it very difficult for you to settle into your new life in a positive way. They might use racial or ethnic slurs, disregard your input in class or a social gathering, or even attempt to lure you into activities that are contrary to your better judgment. Everyone likes to have a good time and fit into a group, but it is necessary to accept responsibility for your own actions and withdraw from a situation or group if you find yourself falling away from your main goal of getting the best education possible.

People are made up of a variety of different feelings, thoughts and actions. Social status or position in a hierarchy does not change that. It is possible to find good friends in unexpected places. Even professors demonstrate these various characteristics. Some may be willing to help you, while others may expect you to help them and do their bidding without question. It is important, particularly in the United States with its emphasis on individuality, that you learn when and how to stand up for yourself as well as the fine art of disagreeing politely. Standing your ground, particularly in matters of your personal values, may be difficult at times but doing so will only make you a stronger and more trustworthy adult.

Develop a Passion

It takes a lot to survive in college. It takes passion, good academic decision-making, and the will to overcome stereotyping. You may have to contend with neglect or officiousness, discrimination, or politics from other students, faculty or staff. The most important thing you can take with you from the following brief yet effective strategies is a sense of control over your destiny.

Having a passion for what you want is critical to success in college. Finding what makes you happy can assist you in both intellectual and personal development. People who engage in careers and studies that allow them to live by their values and integrity seem to be more satisfied in their chosen profession or vocation.

Strategies:

- Examine what makes you happy. On a piece of paper, write down the things, which bring you the most joy and satisfaction.

- Rank order from highest to lowest.

- Identify the key events, ideas or experiences that have brought you success and enjoyment.

- Make an inventory of how these experiences affect your current academic and career choices.

- If these experiences are not consistent with your course of study or career choice, take a moment to re-examine the choices you have made.

- Ask yourself if you are making the best decision for your future.

- Seek advice and make the decisions that will make you most happy.

Don’t wait until you are finished with your qualifying/comprehensive exams to start thinking about a thesis or dissertation topic. Use your graduate courses to pursue a possible topic. Procrastination in selecting a topic can sometimes cause gridlock in your graduate career. Without a topic, you cannot proceed to writing or defending the proposal phase; and more importantly, you cannot begin researching or writing the thesis or dissertation

I have provided 10 tips to help you get moving toward your goal of completing your degree:

1. Don’t Panic — Keep Things in Perspective

Let’s face it, not too many people will read a masters thesis or doctoral dissertation. A thesis or dissertation is not the type of document that piques the general public’s interest mainly because of its academic rigor and writing style. The topic is generally of interest only to the student, experts in the field and the student’s advisor and committee members.

2. Be Organized — Maximize Your Research Efforts

In order to maximize your research efforts, you must be organized and efficient in your search efforts. The more organized you are in the beginning, the more time you will have to write your thesis. Be diligent about keeping track of your files in the early phases of your research to reduce your stress levels later on when your enthusiasm begins to wane. If you have to back track on your research efforts, being organized from the beginning will help make the process less painful.

3. Choose a Subject Area First — Then a Topic

The more information you consume in your broad subject area, the more patterns will emerge. In your coursework readings, you may notice repeated results and conclusions by more than one source, or facts that favor one view more than another. Paying attention to these patterns should help you become more conversant with the relevant literature as well as help you to narrow your focus. Narrowing your topic should be done with help from your advisor and committee members.

4. Consider Expanding a Masters Thesis Into a Dissertation

If you’re working towards a PhD and you wrote a Masters thesis, consider expanding on that topic for your dissertation. You already are familiar with the topic and much of the research is done. This approach can accelerate your progress towards your goal: Completion!

5. Make Sure The Topic Is Interesting

It is imperative that both you and your advisor are interested in your thesis/dissertation topic. Some advisors are reluctant to suggest topics because of the implicit responsibilities associated with guiding a student through the process from start to completion. Your advisor’s enthusiasm for your topic will determine his or her willingness to read, support, fund, and provide timely feedback and direction to your work.

6. Choose a Solvable And Manageable Research Problem

It is important to select a problem that is narrow enough that you can address it or solve it in a reasonable period of time. You should select a topic that can be completed within a two-year time frame.
A longer time frame could allow many unexpected and competing events to occur. If you find yourself spending an exorbitant amount of time pursuing and identifying a research problem, it is possible that the problem is not solvable. With a longer time frame, you also run the risk of someone else identifying and solving the problem before you do. Hence, the concept of “original” contribution to the field is lost and you might have to start over. Moreover, you run the risk of your enthusiasm diminishing.

7. The Research Problem Must Be Worthy Of Your Time

Choosing a topic that is compelling enough to sustain further research is critical. Employers evaluate potential employees based on the student’s ability to not only finish the dissertation but also make future contributions to the field.

8. Make Your Research Topic Original- Has It Been Done Before?

The prerequisite for finding a new research topic is to be informed because most things have been studied before. Staying on top of the current debates in your academic field puts you in a position to identify the gaps in knowledge. After identifying the gaps, all you need to figure out is what kinds of information will fill these gaps.

9. Hone Your Research Skills

One way to evaluate your research skills and make sure they are up to par is to pursue a potential topic in your Research Methods or Statistics courses where you can get immediate feedback from an instructor. You can use these courses to work out potential problems in your methodology or your review of the literature; thus allowing you to work out any kinks earlier in your academic career rather than later.

10. As You Read — Ask the Following Questions.

• What is the Research Question in the Study? • Did the Researcher Focus on the Wrong Group/subjects? • Did the Research Leave Some Group/Something Out? • Is the Methodology Faulty? • Were the Findings Faulty? • Can I Pursue the Author’s Recommendation for Future Research? • What Are the Limitations of the Study?

About the Author: As a single mother, professor Wendy Y. Carter, Ph.D., completed three masters’ degrees and a PhD. Her motto is a Good Thesis/Dissertation is a Done Thesis/Dissertation. She is the creator of a new innovative interactive resource tool on CD—TADA! Thesis and Accomplished. To learn more contact the author at drcarter@tadafinallyfinished.com. Or visit http://www.tadafinallyfinished.com

If you are a university or college student, you probably make a lot of notes when you are attending classes or reading your text books. Then later you review the notes you made when you are preparing for exams.

You may have wondered if there a right way or a wrong way to take notes. Does one method of note-taking work better than another?

There is probably no one way that works best for all people in all situations, since everyone’s brain is so unique.

The main problem with taking notes the traditional way is that this is a very passive process. Simply taking notes does not get the brain very involved in interacting with the information. If you can get your brain to get more actively involved in organizing the new material you will remember it better.

If you are strong in visual learning, you can benefit from making notes that include lots of graphs and drawings, even cartoons! If you are very high in auditory skills and weak in the visual area you will do better by tape-recording all the notes you need to remember.

The following technique for note-taking is particularly effective for people who are highly visual. This method of making notes is sometimes called "mind-mapping" or making a "learning map".

Although it takes some practice to use mind-mapping effectively, most people who use it find they can retain and remember far more information with a lot less work.

The essence of the learning-map (also known as "memory-map", or "mind-map") technique is quite simple. You will need a blank piece of paper, the larger the better. You will need at least one pen, more if you want to use a variety of colors.

You will be trying to fill the entire page with your notes, so it is important to keep the size of your writing quite small. With practice you should be better able to judge what size of writing will work effectively.

As you listen to the lecturer, or read the article you are studying, decide what you think the central theme is. For example, you might be listening to a lecture where you decide the central theme seems to be, "Conditions in Europe on the eve of World War 2".

Or you might be listening to a talk that has a central theme of "Strategies that plants use to survive winter".

Once you have decided what the central theme is, jot down the words in the center of the page, and draw a circle around the main theme. Don’t try to write down a sentence or a paragraph, just get down enough of the key words that will bring the ideas back into you mind.

Keep listening or reading, watching for the first main sub-theme.

When you come across the first major sub-theme, pick a spot on the page to jot down a few key words that sum up the sub-theme. Draw a circle around the sub-theme words, and then join your sub-theme circle to the main theme circle with a line.

Each time you come across a new major sub-theme, write down a few key words to summarize the new idea, and draw a circle around those words. Then draw a line to join the sub-theme circle to the main idea circle in the center of the page. Eventually you will have a circle in the center with several spokes radiating from it.

The lines or spokes don’t have to be straight, and they can be of any length required. The "circles" don’t have to be circles; they can be squares, triangles, or oval squiggles if you prefer. You can use different colors to help you organize the ideas better.

As the speaker or writer continues to present his ideas, you will find that some of the ideas being presented are additional supporting details that clarify or illustrate one of the sub-themes you have already identified. In this case you will write these "sub-sub-themes" down using just a few words, enclose them in a circle or squiggle, and link them to their sub-theme with a line.

Eventually your sub-theme circles may have many spokes radiating from them as the author or lecturer continues to present his ideas. At a glance you will be able to take in the dominant themes of the talk and the underlying organizational structure of the ideas.

If you happen to have any ideas of your own while you are reading or listening to the lecture, jot them down as well. This shows you have your brain actively interacting with the material.

When you make a mind map or a learning map of all your notes, you create a very visual document that differs a lot from traditional methods of making notes for class.

People who learn very well visually will particularly benefit from the way that learning maps clearly show the relationships between main themes, sub-themes and supporting facts and ideas.

Try this method and see if this is the note-taking technique that works best for you!

This article was written by learning expert Royane Real. If you want to learn more ways to improve your learning, get her new short report "Your Quick Guide to Improving Your Learning Ability" at http://www.royanereal.com

I’ve worked in college admissions for a number of years and understand the politics of admission to college.

Each year thousands of eager and ambitious college students send out their applications to colleges and universities across America.

Unfortunately, many students will never be admitted to their college of choice because of poor decision-making, lack of knowledge, lack of awareness and lack of resources.

Most families’ waste time and effort during the college search process. Spend hundreds and even thousands of dollars on testing, study guides, books and other useless resource.

How are students truly admitted to college?

1. By location 2. By gender 3. By high school status 4. By athletics 5. By special talents and gifts 6. By leadership 7. Overcoming adversity 8. Arranging meetings with an admissions representation 9. Grades, course work and test scores. 10. The ability to write a good essay and the personal interview.

However, these are all common. What is uncommon is the hidden admissions process.

These true keys to successful admission are:

1. Securing a recommendation letter from a respected-member of the community (city council member, mayor, governor, business executive and other well-informed people.

2. Volunteer work: Habit for Humanity; home building projects, community service or even starting your own project).

3. Attending “fee” trainings: seminars and workshops held at the YMCA/YWCA, local community colleges and universities or community agencies.

4. Unique characteristics: language training; the ability to play an instrument or other performing arts (special talents).

5. Choosing the right major: find something that very little people are doing and add is as your initial choice of major. You can change it later!

6. The diversity factor: look for fields where men, minorities and women are underrepresented. Secure and internship in this area and make sure you get a letter of recommendation.

1892

The U.S. Supreme Court: the highest court in the land. Their job: to decide the constitutionality of cases. But is that what they are really doing? Can we trust that their decisions are just? Two important cases in history can help answer this question. A 1896 U.S. Supreme Court case, Plessy v. Ferguson, made facilities and schools separate based on race. In another case in 1954, Brown v. Board of Education, the court reversed its decision and said that separate was not equal. These two cases teach two lessons about the U.S. Supreme Court. Plessy shows that our justice system has failed at times to establish justice. Brown shows that even though the Court rules justly, justice isn’t guaranteed.

Many events led up to Plessy v. Ferguson. For example: after the Congress withdrew federal troops from the South in 1877, conditions for blacks deteriorated. The government pushed blacks into an inferior position. The government took action to prevent blacks from voting immediately.

They embarked poll taxes, "grandfather clauses". They also segregated on trains, in parks, schools, restaurants, theaters, swimming pools, and even cemeteries. If blacks broke these segregation laws, they were likely to end up either in prison or dead!

The case of Plessy v. Ferguson was a very important case in American History because it enforced segregation even making it legal, and made segregation a concrete reality for the people of the United States. It began with a man called Homer Plessy. Plessy was 7/8 white and only had 1/8 drop of black blood in him, but under Louisiana law, was considered black. In 1890, Louisiana passed a law providing that "all railway companies carrying passengers in their coaches in this state shall provide equal but separate accommodations for the white and colored races, by providing two or more passenger coaches for each passenger train, or by dividing the passenger coaches by a partition so as to secure separate accommodations." Plessy believed that the law was unjust and so he challenged the law by refusing to leave the white railroad car. He was arrested and taken to trial. At this trial he argued that the Separate Car Act violated the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution. But he was found guilty. Plessy then appealed the decision to the Supreme Court of Louisiana. Again his case was upheld. Plessy appealed again in 1896 to the Supreme Court of the United States. Homer Plessy was found guilty once again. The impact of the court’s decision was a harsh one. It created a reality that was a nightmare to many. Their lives would be changed dramatically. They would officially be separated and considered low down in society.

Plessy v. Ferguson was the law of the land until 1954, when it was finally, successfully overturned by Brown v. Board of Education. In 1954, a little girl named Linda Brown in Topeka, Kansas had to walk 5 miles to school. She didn’t get recess and could not play with any of the other children who were all white. Her parents filed a case to the U.S. Supreme Court saying that there is no way blacks and whites could get equal education if they were separated. The court ruled that separate is not equal.

The amount of time between Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education shows just how long it took to get justice for blacks from the Supreme Court. It amazes me that our government could even question if blacks have the right to justice. It should be basic knowledge for us to know that it is wrong to treat any people so unjustly. Just to prove my point here are some questions you can ask yourself: are blacks human beings just like whites? Do blacks and whites both have feelings and needs? And finally, is the only difference between blacks and whites is that they have a different complexion? I am confused as to why so many people, including Justices on our Supreme Court would not answer yes to all these questions. How could anyone who had any intelligence think it was acceptable to treat blacks differently?

Fortunately the Court did come to its senses in Brown v. Board of Education. Yet just because The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that separate is not equal it did not mean that blacks were automatically treated equally. After Brown v. Board of Education happened, there needed to be the Civil Rights Movement, in which many people were involved to push society to change. Two people who led the Civil Rights Movement were Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks. We must acknowledge that it wasn’t only those people, there were others working and helping the same cause. There were many ways that they impacted The Civil Rights Movement. They gave speeches, wrote letters, led marches, held meetings and many other strategies. They also endured mental and physical hardships. Only through the Civil Rights Movement did the promise of Brown actually get achieved. These people were poor, wealthy, high class, low class, black, some white, short and tall. Basically, there was a wide range of different kinds of people. Not everyone automatically changed their frame of mind when The U.S. Supreme Court ruled separate is not equal. There were still many people out there who were racist and wanted to keep blacks in an inferior position.

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There are few people on earth today who have not heard something about Islam. Islam is one of the most prominent religions in the world today with at least 750 million people practicing. Islam is a voluntary relationship between an individual and his creator. Islam emerged in Arabia during the early 7th century. Islam means “submission” in Arabic, which is the basis for the religion—submitting to the Will of God. Islamic religion is formed on the foundations of Islamic life, variety and unity is Islam, and Islam and its nonbelievers. The Islamic people had a new faith in their religion and kept their hopes high to conquer and spread the religion. They changed the society that was used across the lands and brought a new religion that would keep the people high in assurance that they’ll always have a good spirit.

The foundations of Islamic life are based on a sacred text called the Qu’ran. The Qu’ran is a record of the exact words revealed by God through the Angel Gabriel to the Prophet Muhammad. The Qu’ran is the prime source of every Muslims’ faith and practice. It deals with all the subjects which concern us as human beings: wisdom, doctrine, worship, and law, but its basic theme is the relationship between God and his creatures. At the same time it provides guidelines for a just society, proper human conduct and an equitable economic system. From the time the Qu’ran was revealed, until this day there has always been a large number of Muslims who have memorized all of the Qu’ran, letter by letter. Not one letter of the Qu’ran has been changed over the centuries.

Another source for the basis of Islamic life is al-Hadith, or sunnah. This is a vast body of transmitted stories and sayings attributed to the Prophet and his comparisons. Unlike the Qu’ran, these stories are not assembled in a single, absolutely accepted text. There are actually many collections of Hadith. Over time, during the first few centuries of Islam, it became obvious that many so-called hadith were in fact spurious sayings that had been fabricated for various motives, at best to encourage believers to act righteously and at worse to corrupt believers’ understanding of Islam and to lead them astray. Since Islamic legal scholars were utilizing hadith as an adjunct to the Qu’ran in their development of the Islamic legal system, it became critically important to have reliable collections of hadith. While the early collections of hadith often contained hadith that were of questionable origin, gradually collections of authenticated hadith called sahih were compiled. Such collections were made possible by the development of the science of hadith criticism, a science at the basis of which was a critical analysis of the chain of (oral) transmission (isnad) of the hadith going all the way back to Muhammad. The two most highly respected collections of hadith are the authenticated collections the Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. In addition to these, four other collections came to be well respected, although not to the degree of Bukhari and Muslim’s sahih collections. These four other collections are the Sunan of Tirmidhi, Nasa’i, Ibn Majah, and Abu Da’ud. Together these four and the two sahih collections are called the "six books" (al-kutub al-sitta). Two other important collections, in particular, are the Muwatta of Ibn Malik, the founder of the Maliki School of law, and the Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal, the founder of the Hanbali School of law.

The third source that provides an important basis for the faith is the biography of the Prophet of God—Muhammad. Muhammad ibnu Abdillah was born in Mecca in the year 569 CE. Orphaned at an early age, Muhammad was cared for by his uncle. He earned his living as a trader and a Shepard among the Bedouins, and was known by his people as al-amin (the trustworthy one). When he was 25, he married Khadija. When Muhammad reached the age of 40, the angel Gabriel came to him with revelations that established his prophethood. Muhammad was first ordered to instruct his immediate family on Islam, including his beloved wife Khadija, but eventually it was revealed to him that he should begin delivering the message to all of mankind. In the next 20 years of his life, he communicated the message of Allah to his people, and set an example for how each human being should lead her or his life. This is especially valuable since Muhammad is the last Prophet of Allah. In the year 632, the year of his death, the Prophet delivered his famous last sermon.

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The immigrant experience in the United States was one that consisted of a drastic transition in peasant life which uprooted citizens from their native villages. Their villages served not only as their homes and workplaces, but as communities and as a way of identifying themselves as a people. However, varying political and economic upheavals in their homelands caused them to seek out other options, as it came down to a matter of do or die for many, not a matter of choice. Once in America, they had to struggle with the unfamiliarity and alienation that was thrust upon them in the New World. The situation of uprootedness was not limited to the English or Irish, but to peasants in other countries, as well, including the Italians, Chinese, and Mexicans.

The Italians fled from their villages in flocks of millions at the end of the 19th century . Although reluctant to leave their established communities, the high cost of oil, along with widespread starvation and cholera outbreaks forced them to make the trip overseas.# Italians did not migrate out of their own volition, but rather because “Life was impossible here. …America has become a disease, but out of necessity.” stated the president of an Italian agricultural society.# They were forced to leave because there became no other options, although pamphlets, posters, and word-of-mouth did tell fantastic stories of the dazzling new life that awaited them in America. # Italian communities were uprooted suddenly, and many did not have time to make plans for their new lives in America. After arriving in America, the peasants worlds were turned upside down, and many fostered warm affections toward the familiarity of their home country.#

Similarly, the Chinese were driven out of their communities and into a world of alienation and isolation. Chinese people were uprooted out of their communities through the waning Manchu government, and were forced to deal with the ridicule of Americans at their old practices and customs. The white Americans paid little attention to them, and actually developed an animosity toward them as job competition ensued.# Although they did not acculturate with American society, many of their festivals and rituals vanished from their lives while in America. After death, many had their bones sent back overseas to China, since the funeral procession was one of the few traditions that they held onto, and didn’t want to be buried alongside their hostile American neighbors.# The Chinese did not merely have their communities transplanted overseas, but rather had them abruptly ripped apart when settling over in America.

The Mexicans were forced to move out of their country after a chaotic series of political and economic uproars, caused primarily by the Mexican Revolution.# The farm-workers and miners now lived in company-owned settlements in which every aspect of their lives were regulated, and some even considered it to be worse than the serfdom back home in Mexico.# Although some did succumb to Americanization, most resisted the adoption of American culture and were adamant on keeping their Mexican heritage and ways. Mexican children were only permitted to speak Spanish at home, and they retained close bonds with their close neighbors to the South.# Prejudice and segregation were dominant themes in their lives, and they were described as an “illiterate, diseased, pauperized” people in an article.# The Mexicans had their communities uprooted, and did not simply decide to move toward the unwelcoming lands of America out of choice.

The role of the village played a crucial role in the lives of people everywhere. The shared community gave them a sense of security and power in their lives. By saying that communities were uprooted, one is saying that these people were forced away from their homes and everything they’d ever known, and shoved into a completely unfamiliar territory. These people, not only Europeans, but also the Chinese, and Mexicans were forced to learn how to survive in an often unwelcoming foreign land. They did not simply pick up and move voluntarily, but out of necessity of the situation.

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Believe it or not, a diploma straight out from college is not a sure fire and effective means to assure success. Currently, people are now going back to school to earn more than a college diploma. There is that Masters Degree, additional training, that all-important certification.

The competition now is so cut throat that being educated means actually going out of your way to update yourself with the current business trend, software, theory, medicine, etc.

Currently there are various means to get that vital education, one form is via the internet through an online degree. First it has to be asked, is this an effective and is this the best way to get a degree?

Read for yourself and find out.

An Online degree is convenient and hassle-free but just as effective The internet has made the world such a smaller place. To be competitive means one has to be knowledgeable. To be knowledgeable, one has to study. If you are among the many who do not have enough time, enough money and the energy to go to school full time and carry all those books to the classroom and walk through all those halls, there is a solution for you: the online degree.

What the distance learning is then, may just as be called the online degree now. Distance learning provides anyone the ability to study in his or her own pace, in his or her own time. the internet has made the same process so much easier. Lectures, classmate interaction, materials are just as readily available online and with just a simple click of the mouse and viola – you could do any of all things mentioned in real time and in the convenient comfort in your own home.

Online degree, where you need not be absent ever

There are no more excuses about being late because there was no parking space, or the traffic was terrible. In an online degree study, commuting does not exist. Lectures and classes may be attended to online and in real time.

The best thing about online degrees, besides saving time, saving money is possible since this is cheaper compared to the traditional degrees offered by universities.

What are its benefits?

The benefits of an online degree are many. For one, having a degree boosts your ability to earn and be in demand more — professionally speaking. According to a survey, almost seventy percent of supervisors consider a degree attained online as just as a significant factor in their decision to promote or advance an employee. This statistical fact helped bolster most major universities to offer online degrees in their curriculum.

Online degrees most especially benefit those students who have families and children and who find it so difficult to combine family life, work life and study life. Compared to a degree attained from a campus, online degrees provide one with a flexible and manageable time. There are no annoying fees that you have to put up with like football or marching band teams.

Research is also very much available as most online degrees have a system wherein the library could be accessed and materials could easily be ordered from other schools.

In summary, online degrees works best for one who wants to receive the same quality education in a lot less pricey package and in a lot less stressful condition and a lot more convenient environment.

Robert Thatcher is a freelance publisher based in Cupertino, California. He publishes articles and reports in various ezines and provides online degree resources on http://www.about-online-degrees.info.

The first week of classes after the Spring Festival break have ended - eighteen classes of grade three, English majors. Next week I have twelve only! The schedule is strange. But, I’m not complaining for I have one class less than my contract states - sixteen a week. Though it’s two up, one week it’s also six down, the next. Plus, I have nothing in the evenings.

Evenings have always been a strange time -and sacrosanct for me - private, and for whatever I want to do. And, I have my evenigs to myself when I can write, drink, watch or just lose myself ion my thoughts.

Strange - I call evenings strange because I am sort of moody then, most times. Does that have something to do with the tides, the moon or whatever? I don’t know and have never cared to discover. Perhaps, I will now.

Friday evening is English corner time at my university. It’s the time when students gather around the fountain in the university campus and converse in English , or at least, try to. Many end up looking for their soul mates because this is one place where opporsites meet, attract or are attracted and boding begins.

The English corner is also a place where English is cornered. English is cornered in the hearts and minds of students who realize that it’s an important tool to further their careers. Most times, students in China are too wary of using English. Some are shy and most are scared of losing face. Making a mistake that is noticed by others entail a loss of face for the speaker. Not undersdtanding what another has said and to be found to have not understood is another occasion for loss of face.

At the English corner, impressions are made, friendships begun and romance courted. It’s also a place where the ‘foreign teachers’ are actually cornered. They, the foreign teachers, surrounded by dozens of students, and sometimes more, are occasionally bombarded with inane questions that are repeated dozens of times in the space of less than a dozen minutes.

Most foreign teachers smile and grin and bear. Sometimes, the questions shot, relate to politics of the foreign teacher’s country, their social problems and the like - essentially, questions that may be embarrassing to answer, especially to those who have been fed on a limited diet of news and information. School text books often have pieces about other countries. Generally, the material tends to portray other countries in a poor light. Why, you might ask. The answer is - something innate in human nature and its politics.

Questions like why did you come here are par for the course. The tone, sometimes, suggests, ‘Go back to where you came from’. ‘What was your job at home’ is passable but not when it’s followed by a ‘what was your salary there?’

‘Do you like China?’ is a question that expects just one answer -’yes’!

‘What do you like about China?’ is grilling, continued.

To be fair, there is really nothing wrong with some of those questions if the answers were not met with a nod that seems to agree but a tone and demeanour that seems to say ‘I know more than you reveal. You are lying.’

Yet, foreign teachers, often troop to the English corners, especially if there is one at their own institution. Most schools and colleges/universities tend to have one of their own, in addition to sundry ones organized by eager-for-a-money-making-opportunity businessmen. Some resauranteurs and coffee-house owners organize such ‘events’ in their premises and lure foreigners with promises of regular income but deliver nothing when they find that clients are reluctant to drop in, except in larger cities where some denizens seem to have more money than they can spend.

Often, people befriend foreigners and invite them to dinners and lunches as a means of showing off a trophy, for that is what foreigners often are in China. The deep-rooted culture, distrust of foreigners and an unwilingness to share information ensure that foreigners remain aliens. It is nearly impossible for foreigners to actually integrate into the mainstream society, regardless of the number of years spent. Therefore, unbeknownst to them, they are invited, offered the best seats at a dinner table (the one facing the door) but treated with a subterranean contempt.

There is a growing belief (amongst the Chinese) that most foreigners who come to teach in China are those that have few skills or none and end up in China where all they can teach is their mother-tongue, English - and, sometimes, not even that. As a result, contempt for foreigners is growing.

For long, the foreign teachers have lorded over their less informed and apparently pea-brained wards and counterparts. But, things are beginning to even out and contempt is met with equal contempt.

It’s a matter of time before the scales tilt the other way and the stream of foreigners that landed in China to sample its exotic culture and lifestyle will either run dry or come for purely economic reasons.

Until then, the English corner will continue to thrive, where foreigners will tend to feel progressively more cornered and less sure of themselves, where uneasy questions will continue to be flung and unbelieving interrogators nod while they neither believe nor tell that they don’t believe.

It’s Friday evening, nearing the English corner hour at my university and my sacrosanct private time is ready to be thrown to the toothless sharks!

Rajesh Kanoi (Jack) is a published writer, now living and working in China. Many of his short-stories, poems and articles have been published, including a book of short-stories, ‘From China With Love’ (Lipstick Publishing).

http://www.writingup.com/blog/oneinabillion

http://o3.indiatimes.com/kjack

Student loans in Canada are provided by a joint Federal and Provincial program with the amount of and eligibility for a loan different between the Provinces and so depends upon the Province you are a resident of (your Province or territory of residence is decided by where you have lived for the last 12 months consecutively whilst NOT a student). You may, however, attend any educational establishment in the country provided both the establishment and the program of your choice are listed by the assistance office in your province.

There are several different types of funding for post secondary education that include grants and bursaries (which you wouldn’t have to pay back) but there are 2 main types of student loan – the Federal and Provincial programs. Whichever type of loan you wish to apply for it all has to be started off by applying to the Provincial/Territorial Assistance office for the Province you are officially a resident of.

The main attraction of a student loan is that although they are REAL loans that do have to be repaid, they are interest free while you remain enrolled in an eligible education program. Once you graduate/leave education the repayment terms are set (normally low interest and you agree the repayment term) and you begin to pay them back. Banks and other lending establishments are no longer involved in offering new loans as all funding is provided by the federal or provincial governments.

Quebec, Northwest Territories and Nunavut are NOT involved in the Canada Student Loans program and have their own systems. If you are a resident of one of these 3 provinces or Territories then you need to contact the particular office for that Province.

To start the ball rolling with the application for a loan there are several processes that you should consider. Your eligibility is the most important – both you (the applicant) and the course you wish to undertake must meet the criteria laid down.

The applicant: The main factor of eligibility is whether you are intending to be a full or part time student. If you are a part time student (20 – 59% of full course load) you may only apply for federal assistance though you would apply through the provincial/territorial assistance office.

A full time student (60% + of a full course load) may apply through the same offices but will be considered for both Federal and Provincial support (depending upon the province in question) though this would have to repay both the loans. The difference between the Provinces and Territories is prevalent here as these provinces: Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and the Yukon all would entail paying the loans back separately. If you are from Ontario or Saskatchewan then you would make one payment back to the NSLSC which would cover the total amount borrowed from both the federal and provincial programs.

The course you wish to enroll on must be listed on the Master List of Designated educational Institutions – it is strongly advised that you ensure the establishment you wish to attend is recognized by your provincial provider and the course choices meet the necessary requirements before you commit to it. This also applies if you wish to attend an overseas establishment.

Your personal financial status will determine the amount of assistance you will be offered with the Federal loan system covering up to 60% of the total you are assessed as needing and the provincial system contributing up to the remaining 40%. Your “needs” are assessed by the provincial office when you apply as they handle the initial application and will forward you the loan documents. Once the Provincial or territorial Student Assistance office has received and processed your application, it will establish the amount of loan you are entitled to apply for and carry out credit checks. Once approved, your Canada Student Loan will be administered by the National Student Loans Service Centre (NSLSC) through to its termination (full repayment).

This agency is responsible for all loans supplied since 1st August 2000 and has two distinct sections. The Public Institutions Division (looking after anyone attending a course at a Public facility such as a University or Community college) and the Private Institutions Division (for those who are receiving instruction at a privately funded facility like a technical college or trade school).

For more, detailed information on Student Loans in Canada please visit http://www.onestopimmigration-canada.com/student_loans.html

The author and his family arrived in Canada in 2003 as permanent residents and have developed a Onestop information resource for Canadian Immigration and Life in Canada – http://www.onestopimmigration-canada.com