Life In London | Travel Light

The latest news is that the average tuition fee for a college education in the UK has already tripled from $5000 in 2009 to $15,000 in 2012. For the longest time until 1997, the tuition was footed through the national budget. This made college education less daunting then compared to what the British Parliament has passed this year that will take effect in 2012.

What does this news tell Filipinos who are so vent on pursuing a student visa in the United Kingdom as if it’s some cheap flight deals and find work on the sides? This year, UK immigration has already tightened the screw by reducing the number of work hours, making it hard for most working students finance their studies. A year from now, the effect of the tuition fee hike will definitely bleed everyone’s wallets. It was not any wonder why students in London smashed windows at the Supreme Court, urinated on Winston Churchill’s statue, attacking Prince Charles’ car and burned the Union Jack. They felt cheated, and as British citizens, they all had the right to.

So if you’re an economic migrant trying to find your luck in the UK, abandon the dream and go find your fortune elsewhere.

Anyone can cook

August 17, 2010 Celebrations

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I’ve watched Ratatouille before, and saw it again during dinner time. It was one of the most memorable movies I’ve seen, being the first movie I saw outside the Philippines, specifically in Odeon Theater, and it has probably one of the best lines so far that simply struck a chord in my heart.

Anton Ego is everyone’s nightmare. He’s the boss breathing down your neck, a colleague spitting fire at you, or a bank running after you. Whatever the case may be, the rains won’t totally ruin your wedding day. A bouquet of flowers would be tossed, everyone would still be sipping champagne and dancing merrily until the wee hours in the morning. There will always be that someone, a family or friend, who’d back you up every step of the way. Your personal Ego can’t torture you unless you allow him to.

Let me share what the all-time harsh food critic Anton Ego wrote down his learnings on the paper:

In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face, is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so. But there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense of the new.

The world is often unkind to new talent, new creations, the new needs friends.

Last night, I experienced something new, an extraordinary meal from a singularly unexpected source. To say that both the meal and its maker have challenged my preconceptions about fine cooking is a gross understatement. They have rocked me to my core. In the past, I have made no secret of my disdain for Chef Gusteau’s famous motto: Anyone can cook. But I realize, only now do I truly understand what he meant. Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere. It is difficult to imagine more humble origins than those of the genius now cooking at Gusteau’s, who is, in this critic’s opinion, nothing less than the finest chef in France. I will be returning to Gusteau’s soon, hungry for more.

UK student visa: If you’re a Pinoy, read this.

June 6, 2010 Around the world

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I was reading through an FB forum for Filipino nurses in the UK and noticed the common sentiments of people there:

- Filipinos who were scammed to go to the UK as students with a promise of finding work there
- Filipino student nurses who can’t find jobs to support their studies
- Filipino student nurses were now given 10-hour work per week and could no longer make ends meet

A few years ago, a friend of mine has been lured to taking a student visa in the UK as a first step to get there and find work. Part of her retirement pay amounting to P150,000 went to consultancy, seminars and the processing of her student visa application. The agency asked for an additional P150,000. My friend realized that she’s being scammed so she tried to refund her money but the agency refused.

These agencies would promise things they know you would love to hear – high-paying jobs in the UK that would allow you to save more and secure yourself financially. It’s no wonder that Filipino students flew there in droves under student visas (Tier 4 scheme) only to find themselves going down the gutter – expensive school fees and jobs were scarce. And you just can’t turn your back knowing that you had already incurred debts you need to pay. This is really worse than a apidexin scam as it drastically changes your life.

During my brief stay there, I was actually planning to get myself enrolled to Kingston University and take up Fine Arts. The undergraduate fees alone would cost me up to £10,000. So I was like where in God’s name will I find that? Back then, the minimum wage per hour was £5. If that would be computed using the 10-hour work week prescribed by the immigration office, I would need 2000 hours or at least 4 years to pay off my tuition fee and this doesn’t even include allowance for food, clothing, rent and transportation.

Imagine the desperation of some of the Filipinos there going through that predicament. There are far too many of them who have been hit by the latest changes in the Tier 4 scheme under Non-Vocational Qualifications. The changes apply to adult students coming to the UK to study non-degree or below degree level in the further education and English language sectors.

- Students will only be allowed to work during the school term for 10 hours a week
- Students doing a 6-month course or less, are not entitled to bring dependents with them to the UK
- Dependents of students are not permitted to work unless they qualify in their own right under Tier 1 (General) as a highly skilled migrant or as a skilled migrant worker under Tier 2 (General worker, Sportsperson or Minister of Religion).

There is nothing wrong about studying in the UK as long as you can support yourself financially. But if you severely lack funds to support yourself as a student while there, it might not really worth taking the risk. And to think that you’re a Filipino, not even an EU citizen, makes your chances of survival very slim. You would need every miracle you can get.

So you still want that British student visa?

Anyone can cook

UK student visa: If you’re a Pinoy, read this.

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