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Document 854

Correspondence from Canada: Letter 06 - 13.09.81

Author(s): 852

Copyright holder(s): Name withheld

Text

[CENSORED: address]

13th Sept.

Dear Maw, Paw, & my "intellectual" Sister,

Thanks for all your letters. Glad to hear the house-painting is going well, & that Dad's hitting top form at the golf, especially against Woody. I wish I could score 88 around.... oh, it was Seafield, not Belleisle. Still, I'd be doing well to go round Seafield in 88 - I don't think I did it this summer!

Well, I'm still settling in here. One bad piece of news is that it's unlikely I'll be able to keep my place as House Monitor, because of Immigration regulations. It seems I can't be paid for being anything other than a Graduate Teaching Assistant if any Canadian is able to do the job. It seems ridiculous that I'd need a work permit to sit at the desk for a few hours a week, and the International Advisor is "taking my case to Ottawa" but doesn't look as if I'll be lucky. So I'm probably not going to save half my residence fees after all, which is a bit of a blow. The house monitorship represented my one real opportunity to save this year. The government here has slapped a differential fee on overseas students - like in Britain last year - and so money is going to be fairly tight, I imagine. I get paid on the 26th or 27th of the month, so I'll know better then.

Otherwise I'm getting used to being a stranger in a strange land. Fredericton, to be honest, is pretty, but it's also pretty dull and quiet. There's practically nothing to do here but admire the scenery, and work. To stop myself moping around feeling homesick and missing Carole I've read around 5 books of poetry and 2 books of criticism this fortnight! Fellow students say one advantage of F'ton is that it's so quiet there's nothing else to do but study. I understand what they mean! Still, once term gets going I believe there will be more going on.

My room-mate, Mark [CENSORED: surname] has moved in. He's your usual 6'4'' Canadian skier and basketball player, a visiting student from the Uni of British Columbia, spending at year at UNB studying forestry. He seems a nice, friendly guy.

The Maggie is an enjoyable place to live - I've been lucky & landed in the best of the residences. The ones "up the hill" tend to be more raucous, and more impersonal. Hockey - ice hockey - is the big game here, and their big world event, the Canada Cup, is on just now. There was a house party to watch Canada v. the USSR on TV last week and Canada won 7-3. And today (Sunday) there's a barbecue so everyone can get to know everyone else. Other house events - like a house tennis tournament, planned for next Saturday - will take place thro'out the year.

I got a postcard & letter from Carole recently - she's been visiting France, and sampling the local wine festivals in Germany. Her German is improving and she can now hold reasonable conversations in it. She's having a good time.

Anyway, I'd better go now - I'm in the middle of doing my weekly washing. I'm always glad to hear the news, so keep writing! Regards to all,

Love,
[CENSORED: forename].

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Correspondence from Canada: Letter 06 - 13.09.81. 2024. In The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech. Glasgow: University of Glasgow. Retrieved 19 March 2024, from http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=854.

MLA Style:

"Correspondence from Canada: Letter 06 - 13.09.81." The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech. Glasgow: University of Glasgow, 2024. Web. 19 March 2024. http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=854.

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Information about Document 854

Correspondence from Canada: Letter 06 - 13.09.81

Text

Text audience

Adults (18+)
Audience size 3-5
Writer knew intended audience

Text details

Method of composition Handwritten
Year of composition 1981
Word count 565

Text medium

Other airmail

Text publication details

Part of a longer series of texts
Name of series Correspondence from Canada

Text setting

Private/personal

Text type

Correspondence/letters

Author

Author details

Author id 852
Gender Male
Decade of birth 1950
Educational attainment University
Age left school 17
Upbringing/religious beliefs Protestantism
Occupation University Lecturer
Place of birth Ayr
Region of birth S Ayr
Birthplace CSD dialect area Ayr
Country of birth Scotland
Place of residence Bridge of Weir
Region of residence Renfrew
Residence CSD dialect area Renfr
Country of residence Scotland
Father's occupation Insurance Broker
Father's place of birth Auchinleck
Father's region of birth S Ayr
Father's birthplace CSD dialect area Ayr
Father's country of birth Scotland
Mother's occupation Dental Receptionist
Mother's place of birth Ayr
Mother's region of birth S Ayr
Mother's birthplace CSD dialect area Ayr
Mother's country of birth Scotland

Languages

Language Speak Read Write Understand Circumstances
English Yes Yes Yes Yes In most everyday situations
Portuguese Yes No No Yes When trying to communicate with my in-laws
Scots Yes Yes Yes Yes In domestic/activist circles; reading literature

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