h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Our university systems are quite different, it seems - but then, the way our universities work seem quite different from each other! The Uni I'm at, Southampton, doesn't have a credit system, whereas others do, and you can choose what modules make up your course and how much credits you get. Southampton just has a course which you either complete or fail. So a History course in this Uni means you only study History, but at Staffordshire Uni, where my girlfriend is, there is a lot of room for other interests.

Although I'm thinking of applying to the Open University - do you know about that or have something similar?

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I want to go to your university! Studying all English wouldn't be a problem at all.

I think I've heard of an Open University, but I don't think anyone's ever explained to me what it/they is/are. Care to elaborate?

Here, the Open University offers degree courses accross the country - you do everything at home when you want to, designed for people working etc. And it's got a good reputation. It's a good idea for people who can't afford a full-time education.

I wonder if you could apply in America..?

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Hmm... sounds similar to two things from here. The first is something known as "Community College", which isn't nearly as expensive as normal Universities and Colleges, and offers a rather wide variety of courses, the credits of which can be transferred to most Universities. The second thing I'm not sure of the name of... I see a lot of commercials for it on TV: you just work to a degree on your own time at home, via the internet. Course, any degree will take years and years to complete. Interesting concept, though.

And... I've no idea.

Open University has existed for far longer than the internet, probably 35 or more years, and I think most of it is done through the post - I'll find out more about it and let you know. They also show television programmes for Open University students at about 3am on BBC2, but I'm not sure how exactly it's organised. The good thing is that it's existed long enough to be respected, and not seen as a "group of teachers out to get money with their own nightschool qualification" profiteering.

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That's exactly the attitude that night school gets around here-- the bad one, that is, not the good one. It's a pity, because some people really are trying and haven't the money to do otherwise. Ah, we Americans and our assumptions...

(sorry I took so long to respond... I was on vacation in Virginia for a week and had no access to the net, much less h2g2, the whole time! )

Seems like there are some constants both sides of the water then, and not all of them good.. Oh well...
But it should be good - nothing like a challenge and trying to actually achieve something.

I also am not on h2g2 much at the moment - I've just moved house, and the new house technically doesn't have a phone line connected yet, so I have to wait for that. But I'll try and keep in touch.

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My opinion exactly... but I think the stereotype's burnt into our skulls.

I hope the moving's going well... and get that phoneline up soon... what would h2g2 be without Bluebottle?

Well, for many that have never met me, same as always But thanks for the flattery. I beleive I'm back on-line now, so we can talk away.

So, what have you been up to in the last week? Here I'm moving in, and last weekend I went to Sarah's graduation, which was impressive.

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Oh the last week? Well, my parents decided to move me into a room in the basement from my normal bedroom, giving that one to my little sister since she's been stuck in what amounts to a very large walkin closet for the past ten years. I actually quite like this room *glances around* just isolated enough that I can get away from my family if needed, but not like I'm cut off or anything. The only real problem was moving in-- I mean, one accumulates enough junk in 10 years *without* being a pack rat as well... I had a lot of notes and papers from school when I was about 12. I finally got everything moved, though-- now I've got to help move some other stuff as well. *tired* I don't think I've slept this solidly for months...

In other news... well, I got in a car accident about three weeks ago, two days after my brithday! No one was hurt, except the cars, and I ended up totaling my family's van (not hard when you consider it was 12 years old and a *ding* cost more to repair than the car was worth). But that's why we have insurance.

That's really about it... what kind of degree does Sarah have now (I'm assuming graduation from uni)? And why was the ceremony impressive? American graduation ceremonies (both high school and uni) are generally pretty much free-for-alls.

I know what you mean about how tired you get after moving your possessions - I definately was after I moved into this new house, and I haven't fully unpacked yet!

I'm glad you survived the car accident - how did that happen?

Sarah now has a BA (hons), and so is an Honourary Bachelor of Arts, and yes it was a graduation from uni. The fact that she graduated is impressive, the ceremony itself wasn't. The way that Staffordshire University organised it meant that there were up to 14 different graduation ceremonies, which meant that none of Sarah's friends, and indeed, no-one she knew, was at the same ceremony as she was. Plus there were the typical silly "blackboard and spider" mortar board hats and the gown - but I'm proud she's done well.

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I've still not put all my stuff away either-- piles of notebooks and other random things are all over this floor, but then, I think they may have always been there...

Anyway, the accident happened mainly because I ran a red light I never saw. I was driving with my mom on a road I didn't know, and she was telling me to go somewhere I didn't understand, and thus never saw the red light and t-boned a little Neon with my family's van. I've been told it was the best kind of accident-- no one was hurt and the cars repairable (though ours was totaled because it was so old to begin with). All I really lost was a lot of confidence and about $100 of my b-day money to pay the bill and I've got three points on my license, which'll go away in a year if I'm a good girl. And yes, I was wearing my seat belt. I had the bruise on my collerbone to prove it.

How does 14 different graduation ceremonies work?? I mean, what if someone has two kids, say twins, graduating from the same place in the same year? I know what you mean about it stinking that she didn't "graduate" with her friends-- half the fun is listening for their name to be read out loud, silly middle name and all, and watching them get their diploma. *gets a little nostalgic* Our graduation ceremony this May for high school was actually quite dignified-- none of the normal heckling from the students or general chaos that comes with high school graduations. The worst noise came from the *parents* who had to be warned to be quiet several times as students got their diplomas, and near the end, one of the friends of my best friend's boyfriend tossed a beachball into the air, which was quickly taken by one of the assistant principals. The really funny thing is that when that happened, the entire class gasped in horror! Well, at least I know that there will be some polite people in the world after all...

A 12 year old car is quite modern by my family's standards - my father drives a classic Morris Minor. But the trouble with modern cars (that includes all of the last 20 years) is that they aren't made as strongly as they used to, and are pretty much designed to die after only 10 years service so that you have to buy a new car to replace it. Ones from the sixties and before can pretty much last forever. Much better buy in the long run, and they have more character too. I can't stand all these modern identically curved blobs on the roads today.

I've never had a graduation ceremony, nor the ball (prom?) thing which some consider important. At Sarah's, it was divided into a graduation for each Department in the University - Sarah's being the School of Humanities and Social Sciences - and the courses within the departments. All the different departments had several ceremonies each, which worked out to be about 14 at a guess. But there was no chaos, just simple, quiet parents, quiet students, polite applause and a speech or three. But then, it's not so much of a day-to-day event here, you only graduate once in your life, if you're lucky.

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Well, the van I totaled was one of the early mini-vans, some monsterous Dodge creature, and I'm surprised that it didn't just blow up the moment I hit the other car. It was on its last legs anyway, and the only reasons we kept it as a third car was 1, gas was so expensive so we just had three tanks to use up before we needed to buy any more and 2, for the express purpose as the "let-Amanda-drive-it-so-if-it-gets-totaled-it-doesn't-matter" car. So it served its purposes... and someone'll probably buy it from the junkyard and fix it.

I never went to my prom either, but there are many many reasons for that. Other than the fact that my boyfriend was stationed in Arizona (other side of the country, he's a Marine) at the time, I knew the dances at our school were always horrible, and I didn't feel like spending the entire night with some of the people in my graduating class (polite they may be, but not necessarily personable). That, and it was right before final exams (like two days), and I was exhausted as it was... everything sort of happened at the wrong time.

Most of the general impoliteness at our graduation was for a few students that I felt really deserved the cheers-- they had almost flunked out several times, and I remember one girl who had taken six months off because she got pregnant and had a little boy, but *didn't* let that stop her education and graduated on time. For those people it really was an accomplishment, and I was proud of them. I wasn't so glad to be graduating except for the fact I'll never have to go back to that school again... I'm sure when I graduate from uni in four years, I'll be more into it.

Hmmm... Well, I'm glas you're fine. One day I'll have to learn to drive, but I doubt I'll be able to afford to for a few years at least.

In England, the whole Ball (NEVER called Prom - a Prom is a concert or a walk by a beach or pier) phenomenon isn't really bothered about as much. I didn't see the point in going to one as dressing up didn't seem to achieve much, it's much nicer to simply go for a walk with some friends. Schools, though, aren't really graduated from. Exams are passed, but you go to school, you leave, that's it.

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Yeah, driving is obscenely expensive, even here. (Like I said, gas (petrol, whatever) prices recently sky rocketed so that it took about $20 to fill a small car's tank which is *really* expensive). Plus, if you get in an accident that was your fault, just like yours truly, your insurance rates also go through the roof, mainly cause you're considered a danger to yourself and others.

This is why I don't think I'll be driving again till I come home from uni on vacations either this Christmas or in the summer. One of these days I'll actually get my license (yes, I have a permit, it just means I need a licensed driver in the car with me), but I don't see it being soon.

Anyways, I wonder why the big dance at the end of the year is called a Prom here... Ball makes more sense, and Prom would be short for promenade. *shrug* Here, Prom is considered the whole point of senior year-- I know some girls who were talking about what they were going to wear and who they were going to take all year long, so apparently my senior year was pointless, but I sure saved a lot of money because of it. Besides, I *hate* getting dressed up...

I don't really pay much attention to fuel prices - not much point when I don't drive. But I think that in many ways, cars are used far too often. I'm not really a car person. Yes, they're convenient, but trains are far more useful for more people, and cycling is more friendly. Trouble was, in the 1950s, Britain, correctly forseeing that the car would be THE method of transport in the future, decided to remove all trams from the city centres and destroy a lot of its public railway network in order to make way for roads. Not very useful when now cars are so much the method of transport that you have no choice but to go by them.
But I have to go through the whole getting the temporary licence, paying the Driving Instructor fees, paying for the Theory and Practical tests (about £60 each) and hoping to pass both first time, before putting petrol in a car I need to buy. No way I can afford that.

Yes, Prom is short for Promenade, and although you have the Promenade concerts (see:
The First Night of the Proms:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A579530
The Last Night of the Proms: (written by me!)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A594281
The Promenade Concerts:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A442784
but no, I never saw the point in dressing up either. But then, all my clothes are identical - black t-shirts, 2 pairs of identical black trousers, and a pair of black shoes. My socks are black also. I wear pretty much the same thing everyday, and I don't understand why people make such a big deal about wearing different things.

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I'd love to find a way to get to all the places I needed to go by train-- I'd probably have to take the most roundabout route, though, cause there just aren't that many trains in the US any more. (not passenger trains, anyway). A bike would help with the shorter distances (except for those little things called hills...). I've always held that the best way around was by horse-- transportation and travelling companion in one, never freezes up in cold weather, and is air conditioned in hotter weather (except for the animal getting hot or cold, it's a good choice).

Driving is such a huge thing in the US, though I've never been able to see why. Smelly, loud machines that make you go from one place to another relatively slowly and cause lots of air and noise pollution? Not to mention expensive? I'd prefer to dump my money into research for a transporter, thankye very much.

I actually try to wear something different every day... more along the lines of a different kind of t-shirt to go with my jeans rather than the same color one every day... monotony just kills me (if I'm in a school-spirit mood, I wear my uni t-shirt, if I feel like being mysterious, I wear my Solstice t-shirt and make people guess what it's about-- *not* a pagan fertility rite!). I can see the attraction of a monochromatic wardrobe though... never have to worry about things matching.

The great advantage in being colour-blind is that whether things match or not to other people is completely irrelevant to you, and as you're the one wearing the clothes, little else matters.

My solution to the transportation problem would be to patent hovercraft airships - travel by land, sea and sky in one. Either that or stay in one place - no-where is all that different now.

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I've been cursed with the exact opposite of color-blindness-- I can tell colors apart very distinctly, even if they're only shades different. I'm not a fashion slave (not in any way whatsoever, I'm a bum essentially), but I try not to look like more of an eyesore than I can help. Just me, and I'm .

I don't know that everywhere is pretty much the same now... but then, I haven't the money to travel overseas or even much out of my general area in the US, so I'm probably not the best person to ask an opinion on this. Perhaps it's not that things look so much different, but that they all have a different flavor... I really don't know.