Living Costs.
(If you are an impoverished scholar from Hopkins trying hard to save enough money to go for an European holiday or having to make do with $3-a-night accommodation in Honduras, don't read this: it will piss you off. If you are a student from Cambridge, please read it - and please tell me that what I say isn't true. I REALLY HOPE THAT IT ISN'T TRUE.)A*Star finally responded to my reimbursement requests. I don't expect to get a lot of money from them because, hmms, I am subletting my place to Chris (I have to tell them that - I don't want to get charged for some criminal bleaching of trust thing) and Cambridge housing is cheaper than Hopkins housing. Just to quote some figures from the files I sent to A*Star:
Hopkins (my current apartment):
Total: $9414.00
Average monthly: $855.82
I will be in the UK for 2.5 months, thus, the corresponding cost would be
$855.82 x 2.5 = $2139.55
I would have already pre-paid 2 months of rent to the school that is not refundable: $855.82 x 2.0 = $1711.64
Cambridge (the perfect place that I've found):
Monthly: £325.00 + ~£20
I will need the place for 2.5 months, so I am expecting to pay
£325.00 x 2.5 = £812.50 ($1602.15 - compare $2139.55)
Or
£325.00 x 3 = £975.00 ($1922.67) if they charge by part-there-of.
Not including bills - but also won't come up to $500 for 2.5 months?!
I supported everything with my online bills and quotes from Cambridge Accommodation Services.
Hmms if that is the case I really do not understand why people in Cambridge are getting paid like $200 - $300 more than we are? I don't know what the PSC scholars there are telling the government really. I have been there - and trust me, if a formal costs £8 - £10, a proper restaurant dinner here costs $15 - $25 too; and if a meal from the hall costs £5 with kitchen fees a proper meal in Hopkins costs $6.00 - $13.00 too, and if we are using dining dollars and not cash multiply that by 1.25.
Bus here costs $1.60 per ride, and bus in Cambridge costs 50p if you have a university card. Bus ride to-and-fro New York City is $35.00 cheapest, not including taxi fares of $22.50 one way to the bus station (these days, I either drive there or take 1.5hrs of MTA there - parking = $10 for 24 hours and MTA = $3.20 because need to change once). If you can get fun fares on National Express, bus fares from Cambridge to London costs £1 - £5 one way, you can usually get them at the last minute, and you WALK to the bus station.
WHAT IS THIS? The same thing applies to Chicago.
And they can still tell Yi Chung that 'as long as you have money to spare, we can't justify a raise'. Well, I have almost given up. If we continue this campaign, we would basically have to advocate for a drop in allowances for scholars in all other schools. We can survive with our allowance - it's just that it's impossible for us to fly SQ (at least not for me, it's getting too expensive) and we won't have a lot of money left every month for random online shopping or getting a new coat etc.. I'll just wait for it to rise automatically, and if it doesn't, then so be it. I'll continue to look for the cheapest possible airlines to fly, and I'll borrow money from my parents (or get them to sponsor me) if there isn't enough - and return them when I start work.
Oh well...
Added 11:31pm, 11 April 2008: Sorry for the rambling - it just seems ridiculous to me when things in two places are similarly priced and the other place gets 20% more than we do. It's not only not fair to us, but it isn't fair to Singaporeans who are paying us too. We wanted more because we wanted to match up a lifestyle - but to Singapore that is NOT a reason, yet they don't find the reasons that we come up with convincing enough - and we also can't bring ourselves to lay everything bare in front of them and request for a thorough, general review. Read the comments to understand why I get worked up all the time when this issue raises itself, sometimes incited by others, sometimes just by me doing some harmless practical research, and sometimes just by travelling!
I didn't want myself worked up all the time, that is why I plead you people to tell me that what I know and what I found out isn't true, so that I can be convinced that all scholars live lives with similar financial considerations as we do. This kind of feeling of injustice is not good for me - and if it cannot be resolved, I will still have to learn to accept it spiritually. I think I need someone to tell me what to do :(
Labels: Life
