You’ll hear a broad vocabulary when I discuss my pursuit of higher education and it’s not a desire to be confusing (my life is confusing, let's keep my education simple, thank you). Pursuing a degree through the American system living in nations using other systems means spending a significant amount of my life explaining my life. This is a rare problem as higher education is normally completed in one's home nation. My online university "attendance" has spanned a record 4 countries including the USA, and that my friend, has been during one academic year. This naturally excludes three holidays in three more countries during said academic year.
Like all cultures, Americans have certain assumptions regarding university. If I said, "I'm a junior," to an American, he would make a mental link to a previous reference where he encountered such an occurrence and assume that I am working on my third year of school enrolled in an establishment offering a four year degree. If I said, "I'm a junior" to a Brit, he would either scratch his head or say something tacky like "oh that's nice," because my statement does not fit into his paradigm. This, in a nutshell, is what constitutes culture and this in a nutshell is where I confuse people.
"I'm working on my studies."- I would say this to a Frenchman (or woman). In French we often refer to our college education as "studies" ("les etudes") because "studies" go on eternally. I’ve yet to formally understand the system. Regardless, students simply engage in "studies." “College” is the French word for high school and you obviously want people to think you're slightly more advanced so avoid that term.
"This is my second year of uni."- I would say this to a Brit or an Aussi. In the UK, a BA degree is less broad then in the American system reducing uni to three years. You can be a freshman ("fresher"), a middle year student ("middle-ist"), or a final year student ("finalist"). I learned the term "uni" from an Aussi friend who made it sound very appealing. The Aussis are normal like Americans and spend 4 years on uni.
Like all cultures, Americans have certain assumptions regarding university. If I said, "I'm a junior," to an American, he would make a mental link to a previous reference where he encountered such an occurrence and assume that I am working on my third year of school enrolled in an establishment offering a four year degree. If I said, "I'm a junior" to a Brit, he would either scratch his head or say something tacky like "oh that's nice," because my statement does not fit into his paradigm. This, in a nutshell, is what constitutes culture and this in a nutshell is where I confuse people.
"I'm working on my studies."- I would say this to a Frenchman (or woman). In French we often refer to our college education as "studies" ("les etudes") because "studies" go on eternally. I’ve yet to formally understand the system. Regardless, students simply engage in "studies." “College” is the French word for high school and you obviously want people to think you're slightly more advanced so avoid that term.
"This is my second year of uni."- I would say this to a Brit or an Aussi. In the UK, a BA degree is less broad then in the American system reducing uni to three years. You can be a freshman ("fresher"), a middle year student ("middle-ist"), or a final year student ("finalist"). I learned the term "uni" from an Aussi friend who made it sound very appealing. The Aussis are normal like Americans and spend 4 years on uni.
"I'm in varsity."- I would say this in South Africa. "Down south" we go to "varsity." This does not imply you play sports. You do constantly hope for "hols" (holidays) because "hols" are "lakkar" (great). The South African university system follows the calendar year so "high school leavers" finish in December and begin "varsity" in January/February with periodic months off throughout the year. Despite the difference in schedule, a degree spans four years.
"I'm in DLP."- I would say this if I ran into another Liberty University student. DLP (Distance Learning Program) means you're an online student and pursuing your degree from bizarre places. Okay, I made up the part about bizarre places.
"I'm a sophomore in college."- In the USA, college and university are synonymous. College traditionally indicated a two year degree establishment but the difference has dissipated and concept of "college kid" is culturally desirable. We label students as freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors reflecting their process towards the average 4 year degree. The American university introduced the concept of the AA (Associates of Arts).
"Would you like clarification regarding my education?"- This is a statement I could make to people of all nationality and cultures who find my education....um....shall we say....unorthodox. But what can I say? People often think expats are bizarre.
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