Cosmopolitan Society and Excellent Education for International Students in the United Kingdom - Essay Example

? Culture Studies When considering the world’s famous places, United Kingdom would definitely belong to one of the top in the list. It is situated inthe European continent and considered to be one of the most sought after tourist destinations. This comes as no wonder since it is home to great and scenic tourist sites as well as a rich heritage shown in the castles, mansions, villas, etc. All these are scattered around the four historical countries of UK, namely, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Island. UK is home to Heathrow Airport, the largest airport in the world. With the very first steps taken by UK visitors, they can already feel the splendour that is inherently UK’s. More so when they start exploring the sceneries and the attractive spots that can take their breath away. Any traveller would appreciate and enjoy the British culture and lifestyle. Each of the four countries in UK is independent from each other and has its own flag. Citizens from each country have their own accents. The English language spoken in UK is mixed with other foreign languages. This is due to the fact that foreigners have immigrated and settled in UK centuries ago. They travelled to UK, studied, worked and lived there. Some of the languages found in the UK English are Spanish, Arabic, Italian, German and French. At present, the international travellers and foreigners in the United Kingdom are mostly from India, China, other European countries, Somalia and Middle East nations such as Saudi Arabia, Iran and United Arab Emirates. These foreigners enjoyed experiencing and living the lifestyle and culture of Britain which in no time has become engrained in their own feelings and attitudes as well. This paper is tasked to show the impact to these foreigners, particularly the students from Saudi Arabia, of several factors and culture in UK. The United Kingdom has always been a vanguard when it comes to youth culture even during the Rolling Stones and Beatles era of 1960s (BBC News, 2010). Today, it remains a favourite when it comes to young foreigners looking to get further education like those from Saudi Arabia. There are more than 13,500 international students coming from the Middle East who took their courses for higher education from one of the four countries in the United Kingdom (British Council, 2009), i.e., England, Scotland, Northern Island and Wales. The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) showed in their 2008 to 2009 records that there are even more, with the five foremost Middle East countries having the highest number of enrolled students in higher education courses in UK, namely, Saudi Arabia with 5,203 students, Iran with 2,849 students, United Arab Emirates with 2,696 students, Turkey with 2,683 students and Kuwait with 1,546 students. HESA further showed that I the same school year, more than 22 thousand students from the GCC region studies in UK with 9,742 of them taking undergraduate courses and 12,266 postgraduate programmes (HESA, 2009). Of the huge number of international students in UK, 14,000 from Saudi Arabia have joined the highly regarded system of education it is famous for (Al Homiady & Al Zayani, 2009). This does not come as a surprise since there has been a strong relationship fostered between UK and Saudi Arabia not only in terms of education but even with their sports, politics and business ties. Yearly, more and more Saudi students travel to UK to gain their higher education from the premier universities found in UK’s four countries. In fact, Saudi nationals travel to the United Kingdom more than any other country in Europe. Conversely, while Saudis visit, study and live in UK, numerous British people have in turn chosen Saudi Arabia to work in or even live in permanently. They are quite confident of the Saudi government providing them a safety system that will ensure their security and well-being. There is also a bountiful offering of a wide selection of extra-curricular activities offered in the colleges they enter. To top it all off, they will be experiencing in their stay the vibrant cities of UK along with its fascinating heritage that they can take with them (Sharja City Guide, 2011). Students would however keep in their mind that the UK education can be truly challenging and demanding and it may not come cheap. However, for Saudi students who are known to have come from well-off families, this may be the least of their problems (Times Consultant, 2009). Moreover, Saudi students go to UK not only for their undergraduate but even their post-graduate degrees. It is not difficult to find for them living amenities and housing facilities that would cater to their requirements and preferences. Specific expectations in housing style, facilities and design would most likely be required. This is in relation to the culture and beliefs they have. Being mostly from affluent families in the region, these students are used to living in huge homes. Thus, it would be worthwhile for them to visit some of the accommodations offered in the relatively wealthy areas near their campuses. The universities whose objective is to attract students coming from the Saudi Arabia and the Middle East will have considered this. Universities may have also built accommodation designed for females only, as well as accommodation fitting for families, both of which may be of more importance to students from the Saudi Arabia. The people of UK are quite courteous and polite to the Saudi women. Many of them would are even in awe and admiration for the Islamic religion. They show equality and the same attitude whether a local or an international student. Aside from UK, these Saudi students also include US and Australia as venue for their further education since these countries make use of English as their primary medium of instructions. In Saudi Arabia, English is the second language and many Saudis make us of English in their daily conversation. However, many of these Saudi students are not very skilled with the English language when they join the UK education. This is why often times, they will have to take a course in English to improve their skills. Recently, a group of Middle East students who just graduated from their English major course, wanted to make use of their UK education to become highly knowledgeable in the English language to be able to use it to promote their Islam religion and be able to debate convincingly and accurately with the inaccuracies and misunderstanding other people have of Islam (Middle East Online, 2010). They are in effect making use of the English education to give their own religion the right image that it should have. Obviously, families need play groups, schools, and pertinent English language tuition, plus the likelihood of having Arabic schools in close proximity, and this will give you the tendency to narrow down your choices to the largest cities, or to the towns with rather huge Muslim populations. Also, it may be useful to investigate what facilities for prayer are present within the campus as there are universities that allow their lecture auditoriums to be used for Friday prayers, and some have separate facilities for prayer for both males and females, with separate restrooms. The Saudi Arabian government and the British government, as already mentioned, have a very strong mutual business relationship. UK finds Saudi as their go-between for the other Middle East countries. Also, Saudi purchases a huge number of weaponry for their military from UK. Saudi also imports numerous products from UK, e.g., medicines with penicillin, aircraft engines, tobacco, military propellers, etc. Saudi Arabia, in turn, Saudi Arabia exports oil to the UK along with other products such as Petrochemicals, equipment for navigation, fuels, crude oil, etc. (Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, 2005).  Weather in UK is quite varied. In a matter of an hour, weather may turn rainy to sunny then cold to warm. During winter, it is very cold and in summer, the weather is quite warm. This weather is influenced mainly by the ocean. A 2009 typhoon in UK resulted to street floods which damaged power lines in more than 3,000 homes and closed down 200 schools for about a month. Flights in and out of UK were also disrupted (Williams, 1821). Transportation facilities in UK are main taxis, buses and trains. The transportation fares are quite reasonable especially for students. Those who have their own car will not find a hard time parking. The international students from Saudi Arabia has felt confidence with the safety and security they have in their UK stay as well as a feeling of belonging that made them not only come back for more of UK. These Saudi students would even persuade friends and relatives to also get their education in the UK. Being a follower of Islam, Saudi students or any other Muslim students will never lack of restaurants serving halal foods. The Islamic law makes it necessary for them not to eat pork and to most Muslim students, only halal food can be taken. “Halal” literally means “permissible”. It refers to the forbidden things that people can do according to the Islam faith including pork and all pork products, alcohol, birds of prey, animals that are not properly slaughtered, products containing contaminants, other intoxicants and carnivorous animals (www.ifanca.org, n.d.). Saudi students would surely be happy to know that Islamic shops and restaurants which serve halal foods can be found all over UK and it is likely that several are just near their campus. In Edgware Road, a popular street in London, a row of Arabic restaurants, cafes, shops and pharmacies can be found. This street is also referred to as Arab Street. In terms of the pursuit of religion, the Saudi students can do whatever they do in the Middle East because they can simply go to a nearby mosque to pray and meditate. The people of UK know how to respect other people, whether foreign or not. This is one good reason why they would prefer to have their studies in UK despite the high price of education there which comes free in Saudi Arabia. The students will also learn eventually that everything they would need during their stay can easily be provided for them in UK. Those who got used to the hot and dry Saudi Arabia weather may find the cool or even the rainy weather in Saudi a very welcome change. Ultimately, UK offers international students a taste of their cosmopolitan society and excellent education. This is the reason why more and more students are investing on a good education from the four countries in UK. This is despite the high cost of education that they offer. This is the same reason why Saudi students are attracted to get further education from one of the campuses in UK. Many of them find that the education in UK is far more excellent than any of those that they can get in Saudi Arabia. Cost of education may not be an issue to them but though there may be some areas of concern, it is not really a problem if time and effort will be used by the student to ensure his stay will be one of the most enjoyable experiences in his life without having to suffer his religion, beliefs and his own culture. To save time, effort and money however, it would be best for the Middle East student to be very vigilant in his choice of college or university and make sure that before he enrolls, he already found the housing facility that would offer him the food and allow him the religion he requires. They abound in UK, it is just a matter of finding them. Reference: 1- BBC News (2010). United Kingdom country profile. Available: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/1038758.stm. Last accessed 13 March 2011. 2- British Council (2009). Available: . Last accessed 11 March 2011. 3- HESA (2009). Available: . Last accessed 11 March 2011. 4- Al Homiady, M and Al Zayani, M. (2009). ‘Dialogue between Two Kingdoms.’ Available: http://www.aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=3&id=16351. Last accessed 13 March 2011. 5- Sharja City Guide (2011). Rising Numbers of Middle East Students Seek Higher Education in UK. Accessed 11 March 2011 . 6- Times Consultant (2009). Student life in UK. Accessed 11 March 2011 http://www.timesconsultant.com/student_life_uk.php. 7- Middle East Online (2010). UK celebrates graduation of first English language students from Al Azhar university. Available: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=40264. Last accessed on 11 February 2011. 8- Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia. (2005). Saudi-British Relations. Available: http://www.mofa.gov.sa/Detail.asp?InSectionID=2306&InNewsItemID=28862. Last accessed 12 March 2010. 8- Rachel Williams. (1821). Floods, snow and gales batter Britain. Available: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/feb/10/flood-snow-weather-uk. Last accessed 12 March 2010. 9- Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America." Available: http://www.ifanca.org/halal/. Accessed 11 March 2011. Read More