Advice for the New Kids.

[WiseOldMan]

Dear All,

Congratulations for getting in to one of the country´s top universities. You are going to have the most incredible 4 years (or longer if you discover drugs) of your lives. Just a few tips, however, to give you that edge. You will have no doubt read a lot about the so-called "social separations" in the town. True, the town does suffer slightly from exclusivity fever, but with the departure of you-know-who and many of those who were here because of you-know-who this is set to decline. Places to watch out should you want to delve into such a lifestyle or avoid it, are Broon´s at lunchtime (anyone drinking bottles of wine or gin during the day moaning about Scotland in general is a key member), Luvian´s or occasionally (and somewhat inexplicably) Drouthy Neebor´s.

Hope Street, running down from McIntosh Hall, is also a stereotypical hideout for the presumed priveledged. The houses nearer to North St are the better one´s, and a dinner-party invite (get used to it people!) to one of these places should not be passed up, just for the sheer shits and giggles.

You´ll soon discover that you´ll see the same faces around town wherever you go again and again even if you don not know the person to whose self said face belongs. This is a great St Andrews specialty. After a few times of eye-contact, introduce yourself. Great friends are made this way. If you notice someone you have not seen before after the first week or so, and they are tanned, and clamped to a mobile phone, you can presume they don´t really care about being at university but, you never know, they might just care about being friends with you. The only way to truly enjoy St Andrews is to socially put as much into it as you can. This doesn´t have to mean drinking and dining out all the time. It´s a personal choice, but do try and get out there. Life is far more better for it.

I shall leave any more advice I have until I can gauge the reaction of this thread. Finger´s crossed.

[DrAlex]

You were drunk at time of writing, right?

[hr]

RUSH KATO '05!

rush.kato@gmail.com

[the racing tortoise]

Quoting DrAlex from 01:08, 14th Sep 2005
You were drunk at time of writing, right?

[hr]

RUSH KATO '05!

rush.kato@gmail.com

I just thought he was from Texas.

[hr]

and I really don't want to say any more.

[streakeye]

Sounds great! thanks for the advice!

[Oral]

Thankyou, that was great advice! So what are the best ways of making friends in St Andrews then?

[Guest]

Sounds like Dr Brian Lang to me.

[DrAlex]

Quoting Oral from 00:23, 14th Sep 2005
Thankyou, that was great advice! So what are the best ways of making friends in St Andrews then?

Your name is Oral? God, that must have been tough on the playgrounds...

[hr]

RUSH KATO '05!

rush.kato@gmail.com

[Idealist]

Now I think that this was posted by one of those registered posters who rant on about how shit st andrews is, cos its clearly not cool to like it with such passion. However as an unregistered user they can sing its praises and camp it up till there fluttering heart is content, without being thought of as *shudder* someone who goes to st andrews and actually likes it! Most of what is said is true, however I'm finding it difficult to relate to the following points:

-The mention of Broons, Luvians (huh?) and Drouthy's (again..huh?) as yah hang outs but no mention of ye olde favourites like the Westport and Ma Bells (all of which by the way, are perfectly nice places, just tend to be a little pricey and as a result, attract a certain crowd)

-I have yet to recieve a dinner party invite in St Andrews, is it just me? Yes I have been invited to dinner at friends' places, but I wouldn't exactly call it a dinner party, and there was no formal invite. None of which were anywhere in or around Hope Street.

-Besides Freshers Week (when everyone repeats "Hi, my name is...., what subject do you do? Where are you from? What hall do you live in?"" to random strangers about 856 times a day) I have never decided to make friends with one of many familiar faces of St Andrews, unless I have had a particular reason to talk to them (friends, clubs, classes, drunken pull etc etc).

-The said relationship between tanned mobile phone clampers and a lack of caring for our dear educational institution.

Erm ok well, maybe the only things I agree with are 1. St Andrews is generally a friendly place and 2. I like it!


[hr]

[s]"You can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time"[/s]

[Al]

I fear you look for sense where - possibly - none was intended.

That aside, I don't think mentioning dinner parties and the shits in the same sentence was a particularly circumspect move. Or could one opt for the giggles?

[WiseOldMan]

Did you even read my posting properly? Everyone knows that ever since the hey-day of two years back, Ma Bell's has undergone a severe social demotion. Why do you think they painted it bright orange? To attract Ukranian revolutionaries? No. Ma Bell's lost popularity with the rich contingent as soon as it was identified as being a nesting ground for said rich contingent. The people who stayed? Those who wanted to be seen as the rich contingent (aka self-dillusioned lower middle). Make sense? As for the Westport, Heaven's no, dear chap. Apart from the Cajun Chicken Panini and the Tsing-Tao, Cosmopolitan's at this bar are a long-gone activity. Why? Because a change in management at the end of last summer resulted in the firing of many of those who attracted the kind of people who can drink cocktails every lunchtime. Simple social equation. And where did these people go who missed the Westport but could no longer drink in there for fear of being labelled traitors? Why, the only pub in town with a window seat to LOOK at the Westport. Drouthy Neebor's.

In the meantime, Broon's improves it's lunch menu and cocktail lists, does some clever hiring and expands the wine list. Welcome with open arms Eurotrash and rich bitch circles, who feel safe that noone is in there to gape and make fun of them (a la Ma Bell's). Recently Ma Bell's has had a surge. Time only will tell if it lasts.

As for Luvian's. Was it mentioned as a "hangout"? No dear chap, just as a rather exquisitely stocked (and therefore priced) bottle shop where you should buy your wine for a Hope Street dinner party, and not reach for the 3-for-10 deals at (God forbid) Bottom's Up.

Dinner at a friend's is not a dinner party. Dress up, drink up but never throw up! That's a dinner party. If you don't know what "band practice" is you're on the wrong track. Would you like to come to a dinner party with me next semester? Purely for quizzical purposes, naturally.

And the point of the thread was to encourage the new kids to chat to as many people as possible. St Andrews harbours the ideal environment with which to do this. One can never have too many friends, I always say...

As for the tanned and clamped. Why else would you be on holiday rather than matriculating and pre-advising if you didn't really care about university? Quite logical, I think.

And, lastly. I am not a usually registered user. I was directed to this site by a graduate friend. And I love St Andrews. I just love Reading Week that little bit more.

[unreg]

there is a point where one can indeed have too many friends; this can be referred to as the point of 'saturation.' At this so-called point of saturation, it can be said that the the addition of one more friend will necessarily result in a diminished quality of relationship with one's older friends. thus if you have too many friends, you never have any truly close friends because your time becomes divided between too many people. i've thought about this quite a bit, and thats why i don't talk to too many people...out of respect and admiration towards my current friends. other than that, this thread has been a great help...thanks to the guy who started it.

[Idealist]

Economics student by any chance?

[hr]

[s]"You can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time"[/s]

[Telinar]

Aaaah, I love St Andrews, it ROCKS!!! My two pennies on this subject:

1. Join societies! They're a great way to meet new people and try new things. And there's so many you're bound to find one that sounds fun or bizarre. Piratesoc comes to mind, but there are others.

2. As for pubs...my personal favourite is the Union (Shock! Horror!). Although it is one of the ugliest buildings in the town, beaten only by Melville and the Library, it's nice inside. Plus the drinks aren't too badly priced, I consider £1.30 for vodka and coke a bargain. It's nice inside and generally has decent music playing, although you do get the odd dodgy piece now and again.

3. Turn up to lectures. It might seem good to skip them for the fun of it but as a general rule, it will come back to haunt you come exam time. Unless of course you're ill, then it's totally acceptable.

4. JOIN FACEBOOK. This cannot be stressed enough. Facebook is about half of your social life and you can do it from the comfort of your own room. By the end of the first semester you will know what a poke war is and how to stalk someone on facebook (NOT GUILTY of this myself...)

5. Enjoy yourself. You are here to learn but this place is so damn sociable, the pubs help , but for such a small town, we really are a diverse bunch.

I'm a first year right now so I'll still be around next semester, and look forward to meeting you new kids.

[hr]

http://telinar-beln.deviantart.com or http://standrews.facebook.com/profile.php?id=37105240

[Telinar]

And only just realised that this thread is a year old LOL. Ah well.

[hr]

http://telinar-beln.deviantart.com or http://standrews.facebook.com/profile.php?id=37105240

[Midget]

Quoting WiseOldMan from 20:54, 17th Sep 2005As for Luvian's. Was it mentioned as a "hangout"? No dear chap, just as a rather exquisitely stocked (and therefore priced) bottle shop where you should buy your wine for a Hope Street dinner party, and not reach for the 3-for-10 deals at (God forbid) Bottom's Up.

Luvians IS the place for 3-for-10, Luvians is very much for everyone, its better value than anywhere else too. Tesco may have wine for £3 but its a whole lot shitter than the 3-4-10 at Luvians.

[hr]

IMAGE:img9.imgspot.com/u/04/241/18/160019.jpg Fall and Ruin: Candidate Ewin
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[ohps!!!]

Quoting WiseOldMan from 17:10, 13th Sep 2005
Dear All...

this all sounds a bit scary are you saying people all the people are like raas? oh dear think i've made the wrong decision i wont fit in at all!

[Rufus]

Quoting ohps!!! from 18:48, 6th Apr 2006

Quoting WiseOldMan from 17:10, 13th Sep 2005
Dear All...

this all sounds a bit scary are you saying people all the people are like raas? oh dear think i've made the wrong decision i wont fit in at all!

No, no, no.

St Andrews (like the great majority of places on earth) has a wide social spectrum. Whatever university you go to will have a disparity of wealth between the students; that's life.

This has been said many, many times before, but I think it needs to be repeated:
You will meet lovely 'rich' people, you will meet foul 'rich' people; you will meet lovely 'poor' people, and you will meet foul 'poor' people.

Before coming to university, tell yourself that you will give everyone a chance; whether they are a perceived 'yah', 'raa', or 'whatever'.

You may be pleasantly surprised.

[Cain]

Quoting ohps!!! from 18:48, 6th Apr 2006
this all sounds a bit scary are you saying people all the people are like raas? oh dear think i've made the wrong decision i wont fit in at all!

Woah...relax.

I think that from the reaction to the original post, what was said at the start is not quite the whole picture.

Fact is, St Andrews has a huge range of demographics for such a small place covered in its student population. There are a bunch of yahs/rahs etc. There's also a bunch of middle class students, working class students, foriegn students (from every continent), students from about every faith, indie kids, skater kids, goth kids, sporty kids, r'n'b kids etc.

So don't worry about not fitting in. You might not fit in with everybody. But it's a safe bet that you'll fit in with somebody, and you'll probably even make friends that you never thought you'd meet before you came here.

Enjoy it, and remember: Every village has its idiots. Find out who a person actually is before you accept/reject them because of labels.

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I hold an element of surprise

[pannking]

oh dear is everyone really a raa? im terribly worried i'm really not going to fit in myb i've made a mistake!! i came 2 the openday and i went into starbucks n this guys was like "i really sorry im going to have to ask you are you from yorkshire?" i dont even have a broad accent!! (i mean he made up for it and offered to show me round where the best restaurants and stuff were) but do people judge u like that all the time?

[DrAlex]

Quoting pannking from 09:47, 7th Apr 2006
"i really sorry im going to have to ask you are you from yorkshire?" i dont even have a broad accent!! (i mean he made up for it and offered to show me round where the best restaurants and stuff were) but do people judge u like that all the time?

Is it not possible that he was asking for another reason, other than to judge? Maybe he, or friends and family, are from Yorkshire. There are definitely cunts here (I submit myself for exhibit A), but there are cunts everywhere. I think of all places, St Andrews is one of the best at catering to the likes and needs of all people. It's by no means "all rahs", nor is it "no rahs": It's just a spectrum of all sorts of people.

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"Listen to DrAlex."-Polli
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