SCOTS Project - www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk Document : 854 Title : 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]. This work is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. The SCOTS Project and the University of Glasgow do not necessarily endorse, support or recommend the views expressed in this document. Information about document and author: 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: English Speak: Yes Read: Yes Write: Yes Understand: Yes Circumstances: In most everyday situations Language: Portuguese Speak: Yes Read: No Write: No Understand: Yes Circumstances: When trying to communicate with my in-laws Language: Scots Speak: Yes Read: Yes Write: Yes Understand: Yes Circumstances: In domestic/activist circles; reading literature