Going Ratty

Yestreday I decided to give up my dreams of starting a debating club here in my college. Two reasons: there isn't enough enthusiasm here among the students and more importantly, I can't afford the time I could spend being gainfully employed elsewhere. It wasn't a decision I took lightly and it's worse for me than you think - debating is such an important link to who I was before I came to USA.

But I'm different now, I guess, if I've gone so far as to give up on debating. After all, it never occurred to me in Singapore to skip a session and coach another school, even though the opportunity was certainly there. No, I suppose I have changed. I'm officially part of the rat race.

The fact is that students here simply don't get off easy. No subsidised accommodation - it costs more to live on campus than any other place, actually. No subsidised education, unless you have a scholarship - which, thankfully, I do. My biggest gripe is the lack of public transport, which means I need to save up to (a) take my driving test and (b) buy a car so I can get to wherever it is I'm working in order to pay my school and accommodation fees. You see the trouble?

It changes a person's entire point of view. Instead of thinking, "How much time can I afford for ECAs?", I think, "How much is the time I spend on ECAs worth?" Instead of thinking, "Are my ECAs taking me away from my studies?", I think, "Are ECAs affecting my earning potential?"

The answer is yes, of course. Students here, especially initially penniless international undergrads, routinely work 60-70 hours a week... most of it illegally. I say 'initially', because working that much isn't at all necessary - these kids later want be able to pay for both their 'work car' and 'party car', and buy as much pot as they need. But you can't afford not to work, and you certainly can't afford to waste time on ECAs when there are bills to be paid.

The process of transformation from "I'm going to get a well rounded education which will include ECAs" to "I'm going to pay all my college bills on time" is complete when you forget, or dismiss, what you can gain from an activity like debating, and convince yourself that waitressing or taking orders for pizza deliveries is being gainfully employed.

I'm not there, not yet - and hopefully, not ever. I know what I'm missing by giving debating up. Thank God for small favours, eh?