From: Mike Schwab <michael.schwab@...>
Date: 2005-12-03T09:22:06+09:00
Subject: Re: [OT] Studying in the US

>
Congrats on (nearly) finishing your preparations for college.  It's a 
great time if you do it at all correctly.  While I don't have any 
experience at universities in other nations, I want to caution you 
against moving to the US.  Our political screw-ups have a really sad 
effect on our day-to-day lives.  I'm not just talking about 
counterproductive drug policies and arrogant torture policy; the 
hypocrisy goes much deeper than you might realize.  Our cities and 
towns have been built in a way that favors cars so strongly that bikes 
are an uncommon sight in many communities, and drivers lose touch with 
their peers because they are always behind a thick layer of steel and 
glass.  This in turn makes it quite dangerous to ride bikes in such 
communities, because drivers aren't aware that you might be on the road 
as well.  So parents forbid their children from biking; social 
isolation mounts among those who are too young to drive or too frugal 
to own a car; the economy fails to provide any entertainment for those 
under 21 because they aren't mobile enough to be profitable; and the 
only diversions kids show interest in are alcohol and pot.  But these 
substances are forbidden and users persecuted, which doesn't reduce 
consumption but forces it into unsupervised situations, where it 
becomes all the more dangerous (especially because of the copious 
driving involved in this constant cover-up).

College life is a wonderful escape compared to growing up in the 
suburbs, especially if you're at a school like mine that recognizes 
that alcohol is a health issue and not a disciplinary issue (sadly I 
don't know of any other US schools that have such an enlightened 
policy).  Still, the culture of substance abuse persists; and our 
national obsession with big-box sporting events also has a crappy 
effect because it drastically increases social segregation on campus 
(and essentially steals the lives, and destroys the cartilage, of those 
who are talented enough to be recruited).  Great teachers are far 
between, as are students who unabashedly show an insatiable interest in 
anything.  Schools in other nations may not have the same social unity, 
but at least people know why they are there (to learn) and they value 
that opportunity pretty highly.

Now, I know that people abuse substances the world over, but I am 
certain that the patterns of use in most places are not so pointless 
and boring as they tend to be here.  Go somewhere (like Canada) that 
has a drinking age of 19 or lower; you'll find yourself in a much nicer 
environment.  Personally, I am hoping to get myself to your part of the 
world by any means possible... I understand your regard for US schools, 
but I again caution you against leaving the warm embrace of social 
democracy.

California is a bit of a different story.  Failing Europe or Canada 
that's probably where I'll end up, so if you make it there let me know!

-Mike

> And by then you'll be of legal drinking age in the US as well.
>
> Finally, I'll let my own nationalism slip through, and suggest that 
> you think about Canada as well as the US.  The University of Toronto 
> is a good school for CS and math, and is a great city.  Simon Frasier 
> University near Vancouver is smaller, but has a good reputation as 
> well, and both Vancouver and Toronto are fantastic cities to live in.  
> Canadian universities also generally cheaper than the US, even when 
> paying international tuition rates.