Document 854

Correspondence from Canada: Letter 06 - 13.09.81

Author(s): 852

Copyright holder(s): Name withheld

[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].

Information about Document 854

Correspondence from Canada: Letter 06 - 13.09.81