In the list of students in my home department, next to my name, it says "MA University of York (UK)". I'm special. With the exception of one Israeli student, no one else has a country specified next to the name of their university. The problem - the complication and confusion - is that there's a York University in Toronto (or in North York, more accurately). The two universities have different names - York University, University of York - but there are few enough of us who are tuned into such nuances. Throughout my time in Toronto, I had to specify that I'd been a student at York-the-one-in-the-UK.
I thought that when I moved to the UK, I'd no longer have to worry about specifying. I was wrong. It's even worse. The well-educated will still ask me whether I mean the York-in-Canada or the one in the UK, especially if they know I just moved here from Canada. A large number of others will mishear me as saying my MA is from New York (It's my funny foreign accent), and then either ask which institution (I just told them!) or just cruise along under the wrong assumption.
There's a London ad campaign which has similarly caused me confusion. When I was moving to London, most people I knew in Ontario needed to know which London - London, Ontario or London, England? When I arrived in London, large posters on the Underground proudly proclaimed "EVERYONE'S LONDON". The emphasis on the final ON made me think "Ontario" every single time. Why was the ad campaign emphasizing the "on"? I have no idea. It gave the advertising all the wrong spin to my biased brain.
There are too few names in the world. I went to a book launch for a book named Nova Scotia - it has nothing to do with Canada, and everything to do with "New Scottish Stuff". And so it goes. I'll continue to need to specify which York I went to - and which of three countries it's located in.
I thought that when I moved to the UK, I'd no longer have to worry about specifying. I was wrong. It's even worse. The well-educated will still ask me whether I mean the York-in-Canada or the one in the UK, especially if they know I just moved here from Canada. A large number of others will mishear me as saying my MA is from New York (It's my funny foreign accent), and then either ask which institution (I just told them!) or just cruise along under the wrong assumption.
There's a London ad campaign which has similarly caused me confusion. When I was moving to London, most people I knew in Ontario needed to know which London - London, Ontario or London, England? When I arrived in London, large posters on the Underground proudly proclaimed "EVERYONE'S LONDON". The emphasis on the final ON made me think "Ontario" every single time. Why was the ad campaign emphasizing the "on"? I have no idea. It gave the advertising all the wrong spin to my biased brain.
There are too few names in the world. I went to a book launch for a book named Nova Scotia - it has nothing to do with Canada, and everything to do with "New Scottish Stuff". And so it goes. I'll continue to need to specify which York I went to - and which of three countries it's located in.
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owlfish- S. Worthen
- S. Worthen
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Nicely enough, I have a friend who's starting the same MA there this autumn.
Secondly, do you have a Young Person's Railcard yet? I can't remember if you got one on your last trip here. If you haven't, do so right away. I'm quite certain you're under 26, so won't need an ISIC card to get it. Just use your passport. It's worth the UKP 20 to buy it, since it gives you a third off all rail travel in the UK - and that includes both the Heathrow Express and the train up to York from King's Cross. Indeed, the pass could pay for itself just by doing those two trips. (You'll need a passport-sized photo of yourself in addition to the UKP 20 to purchase it.)
Trains to York run at least once an hour if not more often. If you catch an express, the trip only takes one hour and fifty minutes. It's quick! You can check the train schedule here, but you might not want to, for your own peace of mind. It'll take however long it takes to get from Heathrow to King's Cross - and you can never tell how long or slow the passport lines will be.
(I'd offer to come help you with the suitcases, but I'm not entirely sure whether I'll be here or in Toronto then. I wish I knew.)
1I understand that there is empirical evidence to suggest that busy station staff don't always closely check the expiry date of the ISIC card in question, though.
So be cute, tell a sob story, and negotiate a flat rate before getting in if you do decide on a lengthy cab journey.
Most entertaining.
When I first moved to Warwick, I was chatting to an American postdoc who'd recently arrived from Texas, and I mentioned that I'd done my undergraduate study in York. ``York?'' he enquired, in a surprised tone of voice. ``Where the hell's York?''
``You know New York, right? Well it's the original one...'' I replied.
I always tell people my parents met in Paris and lived in London (which is true it just sounds more exotic if they don't realize that both are in SW Ontario).