High school then university or community college then university?

I have a question!

What's a "Community College"? Is it a "Public College"?

Here in Brazil the most respected colleges are the public ones.
We use to say that dumb people with money study at Private Colleges (Also know as "You Pay, You Pass") while smart people with money study at Public Colleges.
(People without money can only study at Public Colleges if they are really smart)

And yes, there are maaany exceptions, those are only the stereotypes.

Here in the U.S., AFAIK, a Community College is like a "small" university so you can get all your requirements completed in order to go to a university. It acts like a university though. Think of it like a catch-up school

The most similar thing that I can think about are the optional (and paid) preparatory classes know as "Little Courses" (Cursinhos) that some students take in order to be prepared to the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vestibular.

It seems it is kind of like that. Community college is just one loooooong exam to go to a univeristy

"College" seems to be a somewhat flexible term that can refer to 16-18 year olds' education (though not generally A-levels when studied at secondary school) or any sort of tertiary education, unless the terminology has changed more recently. Universities seem happy enough to refer to themselves as such, e.g. St John's College, Oxford.

As for tipping, I generally hate it as a concept: I prefer people to be up-front about exactly how much something costs. If a business doesn't pay its waiters enough, I tend to think the solution is to start paying its waiters enough. If the service is terrible, complain about it, much as you'd do if the same is true of the food.

Community college is more like... expanded high school (the last few years of required education around ages 15-18) with a lot more freedom. You go to a community college for one of a few reasons: To get what's called an AA (Associates in Arts) degree which is a 2 yr degree that covers basic courses like mathematics, english, and humanities and having an AA usually (but not always) helps you get accepted into a 4 yr college or university. To get an AS (Associates in Science) which is basically the same as an AA but is more tailored to a major (like computer science). To get certified to do a job - EMT (firefighter with medical training), dental assistant, office tech, hair dresser, welder, car mechanic, etc. Or just for continued education like learning a language or gardening.

Universities and 4yr colleges are a totally different beast. You have to decide which major you want to pursue and then all of your classes revolve around that degree.

Both cost a crap load of money, with the unversity/4yr college costing a significantly larger amount.

Anybody in this thread able to explain the Japanese school system? I'm having one of those moments where I see something on TV then suddenly I must know everything about it.

It's frowned upon if you don't tip 15% at proper restaurants. Nobody tips at fast food restaurants, though -- the business steals the workers' tips anyway. (*cough* McDonalds *cough* scum *cough*)

If you're feeling charitable, you can tip for most other blue-collar type jobs, e.g. petrol garage attendants, maids, plumbers, gardeners.


When I visit I'm going to refuse to tip just for the experience.

In some countries, tipping is considered offensive because it's seen as charity. I admire those countries. Where it's compulsory to tip, there are people who can't afford to but still do so because it's only "proper". Businesses really should take more responsibility for their employees.

Read my earlier post... Our education system is completely different. Basically our Secondary School + our definition of College (age 11 - 16, then 16 - 18) = your High School, and then we go on to Uni.

I think I'd just stay clear of using the word "college", it's just too ambiguous. Unless things have changed (which is possible, all this e.g. "year nine" malarky is totally alien to me), 16-18 is still "school" unless one goes to a technical college or the like, but just "college" by itself isn't a term I've heard applied to the A-level students who comprise the bulk of 16-18 year olds.

Well, as a 16 year old A-level student myself we're definitely referred to as college students... But if it's too much for you guys to handle then just consider it a preparatory school for Uni.

I'm afraid it is too much to handle. All this change and stuff, things should stay the same. Things stayed the same in my day, when it was a golden age of everything and stuff, the youth of today, it's just dreadful etc.

Bah humbug, etc. etc.

To: everyone.

How security-conscious are the people in your country, generally speaking? Do you lock your doors? Do you have panic rooms? Do you have burglar bars? How many locks are there on your front doors? Do you have immobilisers on your cars? Do you hire private security? Are gated communities common?

Nowhere near as much as somewhere like SA. We obviously lock houses and cars, but for me at least. No gated communities that I've seen in the UK, no panic room, no burglar bars, no private security. Just one lock on the front door.

Every house (Specially in the big cities) are http://www.imoveismidia.com.br/Imagens/Fotos/%7B36x98uyfkp1k9e0ri8rxwqh5ik5ytg%7D_carianos1.jpg. We lock our doors and cars. Even the walled houses have burglar bars. One or two locks. Many neighbors share the expenses and comforts of Private Security and yes, we have many gated communities.

Also, many people live in http://www.tocadacotia.com/wp-content/gallery/condeminios-residenciais_1/condeminios-residenciais-5.jpg (It's extremely common here, but not so much elsewhere by what I know. Maybe in Asia).

You mean like towerblocks? Plenty of them in the UK, although most are unpleasant. I heard that some research had been done that showed that the difference between an exclusive apartment block and a run-down druggie-infested tenement is simple: a doorman. Supposedly, the cost of hiring one (well, probably a team of security guys) was thought to be much lower than the longer-term cost of not having them. Guess what the owners usually choose to do...

That completely and totally depends on where you live here in the US. In the areas run down or "the hood" and the likes, then yeah, people are pretty heavy on the security. But in more normal areas, people lock their doors (some own a gun too) but don't go much further. Never seen or heard of anyone with panic rooms or multiple deadbolts on their doors. Gated communties are HUGE around here though. More for the snobby "I live in a gated community and normal people can't come in" aspect and almost nothing to do with security.

College here is just like University but doesn't offer as high an education, it's like a stepping stone between Secondary school and University if you never got the Higher grades required for specific courses. Or it could just be a way to add qualifications to your CV before applying in a relevant field.

For people outside the UK or US and their first language isn't English - What version of English to you spell in, the UK version or US?
Colour (UK) - Color (US)
Trousers (UK) - Pants (US)
Nappies (UK) - Diapers (US)
Aeroplane - Airplane
Aluminium - Aluminum
[censored] - Ass (A word also meaning donkey)
Moustache - Mustache
Mum - Mom
Pyjamas - Pajamas
Cheque - Check (For money, like a pay cheque/paycheck)
.....

Personally, I lock the doors at night and when going somewhere... That's about it. I'll lock the car if I'm leaving it in a public place, but not at home.

Home alarm systems are getting popular, with or without private security to follow up if it goes off. Guard dogs are common in rural areas. There was talk of building something vaguely resembling a gated community somewhere, but I don't recall if they actually did it. Panic rooms, burglar bars, multiple locks, etc. are practically unheard of.

I try to stick to British (though I'm sure a few US words slip in here and there), but I'll sometimes switch to US English when talking to Americans.

I was taught to speak British, then Hollywood taught me American. So I write with a bit of both.

Every door entering the house has a lock on it, same with the windows, it's like the most basic of security anywhere.
I have weapons, anyone breaking in better get their own panic room sorted But really none of the houses here are big enough or glamourious enough to have panic rooms, break ins are that common either to warrant them being built any with houses.
Not many houses in any of the schemes close to me have them, and I live near one of the most poverty stricken places in Europe (at least it was once upon a time). Only places that have those bars are places in the industrial part of the city center, having them in schemes casts a shadowy firgure over the friendliness of the neighbourhood so if a house has them and the people move away those bars are often removed because it devalues stuff.
Not telling you how many locks I have
Don't know what immobilzers are but possibly some new cars do
I don't and not many households do either, we ain't all millionnaires, only ones that do this are building sites usually but they security is no more than a http://lotofguides.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Wire-Fences-300x300.jpg http://1.s3.envato.com/files/17959430/wired-fence590.jpg.

There are a few gated communities round here. Not gated as such, but built in a way that makes it hard to just be passing through without arousing suspicion. They're built to be inaccessible to the poor and have all their own amenities, they're practically private villages. One I know even has its own train station.

PANTS! PANTS UK!

I'd imagine that US English is increasingly encroaching: even as someone who (obviously) prefers British spellings, it's becoming very hard to actually find software that supports it. Some companies are worse than others, Microsoft being a particularly bad offender: they support every language and variant thereof under the sun, but if you want English without American spellings, you're out of luck. Which is quite annoying.