I go to Uni not college

Sorry I'm a bit late getting this one written.  My schedule was a bit hectic and time, as normal for me, was not my friend.  The week was the usual with going to lectures, reading, and deciding on what I needed to write for my preliminary paper. Not to mention writing it. The paper is not graded per say, but is an introduction of ourselves to our Personal Academic Tutor. We are to turn it into our Tutor's box by 4:00 PM on Monday. 

As I said, the purpose is to give them an idea of what area we are looking to do research and a little bit about our background.  This way we can have a productive conversation about the direction we should go.  In some ways 1000 words is quite a bit, but when you get on a roll, it seems not enough.  It will the the smallest assignment I will do in the next four years. 

I was keen to get it done before Saturday so that I could make an excursion out of Southampton and not need to worry about finishing it up.  Hence, I'm writing this two days later than planned.  


The trip was a much needed break from routine and the daily grind.  My bishop was kind enough to give me a lift, so I rode with him and his wife to the London Temple.  It is actually misnamed.  It is in Surrey, which is 32 miles SW of London Proper.  another 1 hr and 20 min drive.  It takes nearly 2 hours to drive from Southampton to the Temple.  The drive was lovely, the conversation was lively, and the temple gorgeous. The grounds are sprawling with benches and beautifully landscaped.  Like all temple grounds it was very peaceful.  The leaves were starting to change and the air was crisp.  It was an added bonus to the peace on the inside.  After the session, but before heading down to the cafeteria for lunch, the bishop pulled me aside to a quite corner to extend a calling to me.  It is the first time I've had a calling extended in the temple... but it was cool.  If you care, I've been called to be a Relief Society teacher.  So as far as my load goes, not too heavy since I will teach once a month, but I know the prep, if done correctly will take time.  I also know that if I keep things in the correct perspective and tend to the things that matter most first, all will work out.  

In good writing, I would give a smooth transition here so that I can change topics.  But I'm not sure this can be classified as good writing, so this is the transition instead.  

As I have traveled to different places and talked with various people from around the world I have learned many things about education systems.  Someone was telling me, I think it was Chris, that he has international coworkers who would get indignant when he would use the words university and college interchangeably.  I now know why.  I'm not sure the whole of Europe, but in the UK compulsory education is to age 16.  So secondary schools finish at what the US would consider sophomore year.  They do not receive a diploma to go out and find their way in the world.  If they stop there, their ability to find employment will be greatly reduced.  They would be hard pressed to even flip burgers.  At the end of secondary education they study to get into a college.  The college might be academically geared or a trade school.  If you want to attend a Uni, you must go to two years of college first.  They have 4 possibly 5 classes per term of upper course work to prepare them for Uni studies.  If they go a trade route, some schools might count that for Uni admissions,but the top schools like Cambridge, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, and Southampton don't. It must be an academically focused college.  So to ask a graduated University student what college they went to is somewhat of an insult.  College is prep work.  They went to a University. In the US you can get a full fledged  bachelor's degree from colleges, but not so in the UK.  So if you are talking with someone from outside of the US ask them about their Uni, not their college.