California Dreaming
When I return to California, my living situation will be typical of many American students: 4 girls in a house within walking distance from the beach and a 10-minute drive from campus. Breaking through the looming morning fog that rolls in off the Pacific Ocean, the sun shines all day, often making it difficult to concentrate on your studies, but well worth it. With lifestyle opportunities like this, it’s hard to believe that less than 5% of students take advantage of the chance to go abroad.
At York there are various opportunities for students to study in America. The University of California and the University of Illinois are two of the bigger programs offered, but most universities in the US provide one-year exchanges for international students.
You do pay for the privilege of experiencing a different culture, however. Although the University of California’s San Diego campus is public and subsidized by the state, it still costs around $15,000 a year including accommodation. This is considered cheap when compared to Northwestern University in Chicago where tuition, room and board add up to $43,000. Additionally, students in America don’t pay for their education using government loans. In fact, the government only offers need-based loans in which students must fill out piles of paper work to prove their need and even then they only get small grants.
York students who sudy in California get a bargain as they are only forced to pay the York tuition charges. I considered this quite unfair when I was forced to pay $15,000 this year for an education which the rest of my surrounding students only paid £1,000 for.
Though university is much more expensive, the cost of living is relatively cheap in America. Students usually live on campus for their first and maybe their second year and then head off to apartments or houses. As you get out of the big cities and into the countryside like Cal State Chico, rent can be as low as $200 per month, but then in places like San Francisco or New York students pay upwards of $700.
Perhaps because we are forced to pay outrageous prices for our education in America, one area where UCSD seems to offer more than York is in its facilities. The entire campus is linked to the web through wireless cards, so students can use their laptops anywhere from their accomodation to the on-campus eating facilities and have high speed connections. The athletic facilities are also of a better standard in American Schools. UCSD offers three gyms including over 20 indoor and outdoor basketball courts, 4 football feilds, two swimming pools including one Olympic size, and various cardio and weight equipment to ensure students can keep their bodies fit and toned for the weekly trips to the beach. York, however, tops California when it comes to bar facilities as many universities in the US offer dry campuses where students are hard pressed to find any alcohol.
Drinking can be cheap and cheerful in the US too, if you overlook the fact that we generally have to tip the bar staff. (Can you imagine that in the Gallery?) The location of San Diego, a 15-minute drive from the Mexican border, offers clubs with $3-$5 all-you-can-drink cover charges. And there are the charning men running around with whistles who throw your head back and pour tequila straight from the bottle down your throat. Going over the border also gets around the fact that you can’t legally drink in America until your 21st birthday.
Fraternity parties provide an exciting route to drunkeness too, as hundreds of students crowd into a house and backyard, pushing their way through the crowds to get to the key element of any American house party – the keg. Girls find these parties particularly appealing because they drink for free and, conversely, guys are often allowed entry by guest list only, a sneaky tactic fraternities use to ensure that the guy to girl ratio is tipped in their favour for the evening. However, depending on the location of universities, students are often forced to deal with quiet hours, which results in cops breaking up many of these parties by 12:30-1:00.
Much like the American Teen movies we all love, or love to hate, students do tend to fall into a hierarchy of popularity, with ‘jocks’ being the king of the social castle. At a division 1 athletics school like Nebraska or Florida State, athletes attain celeb status as watching their games at the local stadium has become a major social event. Often whole weekends are based around the upcoming games with pre and post parties, and tailgating before games. Additionally many games are televised making university athletes nationally recognizable. Athletes are not always as disimilar as one might expecet. At UCSD the rugby team is know as a drinking team with a rugby problem – a reputation that crosses national boundaries.
Below Athletes is the Greek system; Fraternities and Sororities are social organizations that students are accepted into by bizzare initiation ceremonies. Beyond the Greek system, other clubs and political activist groups absorb the rest of the student population, apart from the occasional student who simply wants to study.
And talking of study, we do inevitably have to drag ourselves off the beach or athlectics track to work on our degrees. In fact, the academic system differs tremendously from that of sunny England. I was stunned to find that I would only attend four hours of class per week at York after spending 20 hours a week in lectures in my two years at UCSD. Also, a history class here only holds 12 students compared to the 200 person lectures UCSD is forced to offer to facilitate its 30,000 students.
Both countries have something to offer, and, having only experienced two universities, I cannot claim to be an expert. Whilst the small size of York makes it easy to find a place both in the academic and social scenes, I will not be sad to go back to 85-degree weather and a room with an ocean view.
Codes of Culture
The initial excitement of going to the other side of the world will soon wear off, so don’t be suprised if you soon find yourself feeling depressed, frustrated and homesick. A wide range of symptoms may indicate this, from uncontrollable weeping to compulsive eating and drinking, even the directing of agression and hostility towards the local population.
In the United States, it is easy to forget that the laws regarding smoking are more severe than in other places. Smoking is often banned in public places, even in the streets and in the parks.
American law states that you have to be above 21 to purchase and drink alcohol. This law is one which is very strongly reinforced. There are also curfews on noise levels. If you are determined to party, then make sure that you don’t get caught!
Language often remains the greatest cultural barrier, sometimes with embarassing consequences. To be ‘bumming’ does not mean to be indulging in the delights of anal sex, but to be somewhat angry. A ‘fanny’ refers to the bum, and not to what you might otherwise expect. If someone decides to remove their ‘pants’, they will, thankfully, only be relieving themselves of their trousers.
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