#with 2014 High Hopes an EXTREMELY close second (for the same reasons)

[zeroaddzero]

Hottest Bruce era you can only choose one no overthinking - go!

Gotta go with Born in the USA - specifically late 1985. I am not immune to a goofy guy with big muscles

[bangtanhoesthings]

I am happy about your blog, but skeptical. I love Vmin soooo much. No, I don't think they are a couple. I just love their friendship to the extreme. What I haven't been able to fathom is how any Jikooker or Jimin solo can say such horrible things about Tae or how any Taekooker or Tae solo can diss Jimin. It makes zero sense if you truly respect your favourite artist. Vmin LOVE eachother and are greatful for one another. They would hate seeing their fans push such negativity out there towards one of their best friends.

It also leads me to beleive that the Jikooker and Taekooker accounts that think Tae or Jimin could be sabotaging a possible romance have zero observational skills and their analysis abilities amount to a big fat zero! If they can't see Vmin love or ML love and the support they show one another then they aren't capable of rational analysis. Automatic block.

Sorry for the rant. I have ended up blocking hundreds of accounts and although I have found some positive Jimin loving Taekook accounts, I have yet to find a Tae loving Jikook one. My hopes are high. Don't let me town! 🤞

Funny how that works. I must be on the same quest as you but just trapped in a parallel universe because somehow, I still haven’t found a Jimin loving Taekook account that doesn’t eventually throw shade at him like it’s a spiritual obligation. Like at first, it’s subtle "no hate but…" (spoiler alert: hate incoming) or "just saying" (aka passive aggression unlocked). And then suddenly, we’ve connected the dots and Jimin is responsible for inflation, climate change, seasonal allergies and your ex leaving you in 2014. Like... is this a rite of passage? Is there a secret Taekook Temple where you unlock Level 3 Passive Aggressive Commentary after sacrificing a Jimin photocard under the light of a purple moon?

But I’m still out here like an unpaid intern looking for that rare Taekook account. With hope in my heart, pain in my eyes, and Jimin protection spells in both hands. Call me a masochist. Call me a delusional optimist with a dream and a Wi-Fi connection. Call me what you want, just don’t call me if you’re gonna disrespect Park Jimin.

I do understand your caution and skepticism, it is very valid. I also have been burnt by people I thought were sane but later spewing hateful rhetoric about either Jimin and Tae. I have been led to believe someone was a safe space, only to find them full on monologuing like a Disney villain about how Tae "isn't even close with Jimin anymore" while sipping tea brewed in delusion.

Let me be clear: I love Tae. He is the reason I fell headfirst into this beautiful mess of a fandom. Some days I don't know whether to thank him or curse him. His voice? Deep and rich like melted chocolate that’s been blessed by the vocal gods. His aura? Mysterious and magnetic, like a cat that might curse you or cuddle you, you just never know. His artistry? Off the charts. Whether it’s fashion, photography, or making me question my entire sense of identity every time he breathes, he’s got it. I love his quirks, his honesty, his chaotic good energy. I could go on and on.

And when I say I love Vmin, I mean it with my chest. They are my second favorite duo (also shoutout to Minimoni who have in the past year sneaked in to also occupy that second position because somehow Namjoon and Jimin manage to radiate therapist energy and chaotic academia at the same time). These two have been through it since their trainee days; laughing, crying, bickering, and just being there for each other. “Friends” and "4 o'clock" weren't just songs but an emotional ambush.So yeah. I don’t do slander. Not of Jimin, not of Tae, and definitely not of Vmin.

As I once humbly declared on my blog (okay, maybe not humbly): I am here to advance the Vminkook throuple agenda. And no, I will not be taking questions at this time. Honestly, if BTS ever confirmed a sub-unit with the three of them, I’ll be on the floor, sobbing. Until then, consider me the unofficial president of the Vminkook fan club....lol 😆😆

In all seriousness though, I really hope you find your people. They exist. The ones who love BTS without agenda, who cherish every bond without pitting members against each other, and who don’t use “just my opinion” as a smoke bomb for shade. They’re out there. Somewhere. Maybe even reading this post.

Good luck, Anon. And may your block list be long and your heart stay soft. 💜

[fantastic-bby]

Books & Poems I love

Hello, I am just dumping my favourite books and poems here because I like them and I want people to read them too bcs they're cool. Disclaimer: I haven't read some of these books in a REALLY long time, so the explanations might be a bit off since this is mostly what I remember from when I had read them. All will be under the cut and I hope someone out there finds these as enjoyable as I do!

Books

1. Huntress by Malinda Lo

Nature is out of balance in the human world. The sun hasn’t shone in years, and crops are failing. Worse yet, strange and hostile creatures have begun to appear. The people’s survival hangs in the balance.

To solve the crisis, the oracle stones are cast, and Kaede and Taisin, two seventeen-year-old girls, are picked to go on a dangerous and unheard-of journey to Tanlili, the city of the Fairy Queen. Taisin is a sage, thrumming with magic, and Kaede is of the earth, without a speck of the otherworldly. And yet the two girls’ destinies are drawn together during the mission. As members of their party succumb to unearthly attacks and fairy tricks, the two come to rely on each other and even begin to fall in love. But the Kingdom needs only one huntress to save it, and what it takes could tear Kaede and Taisin apart forever.

I cannot express how much I adore this book. It's so well-written and the entire book feels like such an adventure to read. I have to warn everyone who will read this that it is quite violent. I also love the WLW inclusion which is carried throughout the story. It's also mentioned in the beginning that Kaede does not want to marry a prince because she could never marry a man. It's filled with lots of romance and it's fantasy because I'm a sucker for fantasy reads.

My sister had bought this book for me after I had lost my first copy and my cat peed on my second copy. The first time, I had bought it from a Big Bad Wolf sale in about 2014. The second, I ordered it through Kinokuniya, but I'm pretty sure you can get it off of Amazon as well.

2. Teardrop by Lauren Kate

Never, ever cry . . .

Seventeen-year-old Eureka won't let anyone close enough to feel her pain. After her mother was killed in a freak accident, the things she used to love hold no meaning. She wants to escape, but one thing holds her back: Ander, the boy who is everywhere she goes, whose turquoise eyes are like the ocean.

And then Eureka uncovers an ancient tale of romance and heartbreak, about a girl who cried an entire continent into the sea. Suddenly her mother's death and Ander's appearance seem connected, and her life takes on dark undercurrents that don't make sense.

Can everything you love be washed away?

This is also a book that I've read multiple times. I've even read the sequel, Waterfall, but I don't think I actually got around to finishing it since I bought it right before my exams. Another love and fantasy novel, it covers a lot of grieving and pain that Eureka goes through after losing her mother and at one point, she actually wishes it was her that had died during the accident.

Her relationship with Ander is quite sudden since he just shows up out of nowhere and just happens to know practically everything about her. I, personally, enjoy this book out of the amount of angst that it's filled with. It's very well-written and I still have the first copy that I bought at the same Big Bad Wolf sale that I had gotten Huntress. I think I had gotten the sequal at Kinokuniya as well (?), but I'm not entirely sure because it's been a really long time.

3. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal, but The Reestablishment has plans for her. Plans to use her as a weapon. But Juliette has plans of her own. After a lifetime without freedom, she's finally discovering a strength to fight back for the very first time--and to find a future with the one boy she thought she's lost forever.

Another very angsty book. It centres around Juliette, a girl who, for some reason, kills everyone she touches. It's also written in First POV and in the format of a journal. It feels more personal because some of the lines are striked through to show a thought that Juliette had in the moment of writing that she decided to replace with a different approach instead.

The beginning is basically Juliette being locked away in some sort of a prison because of her 'gift' and she writes to keep herself from going crazy, but then one day some guy is put into the same cell as her. It's another romance novel and also a kind of superhero novel It also gets pretty... ahem... seggsy... at one point, but it's a good read.

I've read the entire series aside from Restore Me. I have it, but I haven't gotten around to reading it yet. Shatter Me is also from the same Big Bad Wolf sale as the other two lol. Juliette is also trapped in a love triangle at one point, but I won't get into it. It also gets a bit violent, but slightly less graphic than Huntress is and is also another 'self-discover' kinda book. (can you see a theme here that I read lol)

4. Winter's End by Jean-Claude Mourlevat

Four teenagers escape from their prison-like boarding schools to take up the fight against the tyrannical government that murdered their parents fifteen years earlier. But only three of the friends make it safely to Jahn's restaurant, the headquarters of a secret resistance movement, where they discover the astonishing power that one voice can have in the fight for freedom.

As the battle rages, the three friends are in a race against time to save their companion, who has been forced to participate in a deadly, ancient game for the amusement of his captors. Will this new generation prevail, or are they destined to meet the same grisly fate as their parents?

This is also extremely angsty. It's also pretty violent as well, so that's a warning for whoever will read this. Once again, well-written, nice flow to the story and I just really like this book. There's a lot of uncovering in the book that makes you go HUH because the four students end up uncovering a lot about their government and the secrets that involve the four of them.

It has a very heavy dark tone to it, which I really enjoy. It's a bit different from the other three which is less fantasy and more of a dystopian book. It's a very heroic, determination feeling that follows the students as they journey throughout the book. Also something that follows the students are a group of dog-men... things... that I'm pretty sure I actually had small nightmares imagining when I had read this in around 2013 or 2014.

Poems

Disclaimer: Half of these were poems I did essays on in high school aside from L. These are my illustrations of it and they're the ones that stood out to me when I had first read them.

1. Daffodils by William Wordsworth

I read this in high school when I was taking English Literature. It's a poem that Wordsworth wrote after his wife had passed away. I love the way it's written and William Wordsworth is one of my favourite poets. It's filled with the feeling of being lost and rediscovering the joys of the small things in life. There's a lot of imagery that refers to the flower, daffodil, and overall, it's just a a very soft themed poem.

I think the reason this poem stood out to me was because I was feeling a bit lost at the time I read it (the end of highschool) and I was desperately trying to find something I could relate to in some way.

2. Winter by Andrew Young

Another one that contains a lot of imagery. It's a poem about the beauty of Winter and how, while it's seen as a dark and gloomy season, it has hidden beauties that you can see if you're able to look past the initial image of it.

This poem in particular, I'm pretty sure I have a soft spot for in my heart mainly because of the soft spot I have for Winter in general.

3. London by William Blake

This is a more dark toned poem. It covers what old London used to be like with the raging poverty at the time. A lot of child labour and sex workers that would struggle with making money when they would accidentally get pregnant.

It's quite a depressing poem that I like because of the dark undertone and I, personally, really enjoy William Blake's works.

4. L by Bernice Chauly

L is a poem about how her daughter had cut her hair right after going to the hairdressers. While Chauly's daughter is crying when she yells at her, Chauly is reminded of when she had done something similar when she had just turned five years old. She thinks back to it and remembers that, at the time, all she wanted was to see her late father.

This is also more heavy set and it makes me think of the way children must feel when they lose their parents at such young ages.

[amberprice4everbrazil]

Chloe de Lis lied to Rachel and the Lis comic.

Well, I just saw the fourth issue of Life Is Strange Dust Comic, the conclusion I got is that Chloe de Lis lied to Rachel, and this spawned Rachel that we see in Lis, which is hated by many and extremely misunderstood.

The evidence in Lis, Bts and Lis comic that Chloe lied to Rachel, are:

1.       The conversation of Chloe and Sera in BtS.

Chloe: Do not you think the truth is more important?

Sera: The truth? What’s so good really, Chloe?

Chloe: I can not lie to Rachel. I will not do that. She trusts me and I do not want to ruin it.

Sera: If you love her, you will lie to her. You can do whatever you want, Chloe. You have the power. What you have to decide is whether you will protect Rachel, or cause her even more pain. So please tell her that I’ve never been here. Let her have the peace she can. Without me.

In BtS supposedly tried to explain the behavior of Rachel in the first game through the history of its mother, but that did not make sense.

Why there are three endings in BtS:

A) One where Chloe tells the truth, but Rachel did not know Sera.

B) Another where Chloe tells the truth and Rachel knows Sera (to get this there are two ways, you can ask for Rachel’s bracelet and deliver it to Sera or you convince Sera in her dialogue with Chloe, the latter being the most difficult).

C) If Chloe tells the truth, Rachel know Sera, and the Rachel de Lis would not exist, because Sera would be an example for her not to engage with drugs and not the other way around. Sera did her rehab and was clean. Another thing Rachel does not even smoke in BtS.

2.       They stayed in Arcadia Bay. Rachel was always able to get away on her own, she told at the kissing scene that she had the money for it (“Allowance money” or her father’s bribe, as she herself said. What James hid, in addition to Sera), but as we saw on BTS, she wanted to get away with Chloe. So why did not Rachel de Lis escape by herself? As Chloe lied to her, she continued her relationship with her family initially, a relationship that was one of Rachel’s reasons for wanting to flee, was reestablished by Chloe’s lie, and this we see in the epilogue where Rachel dines with James, Rose and Chloe and she seems happy, the momentary stability this brought led them both to wait longer to get more money to flee in the future, but what could happen if Rachel found out later that Chloe lied to her. What would happen to Rachel’s relationship with Chloe, and her relationship with her parents? Chloe the only person in the world Rachel could trust, see what Rachel tells Chloe in the scene in her room, after discovering that her father lied about her biological mother in BtS: I think you’re the only one in the world who I can trust. Yeah, I believe she later discovered Chloe’s lie, and it destroyed her relationship with her parents, especially her father, who possibly stopped giving her money, or she did not want to be supported by him any more , leading her to run out of money. The initial money Rachel had could have been spent by her and Chloe during their momentary peace of fun, or she could have spent that money to pay for the dormitory in Blackwell, of course, if she could not get a scholarship for it since his grades were high. At last she clearly wanted to move there because of her broken relationship with her parents, because there would be no other reason for it, after all she had a house in the city, and the dormitories were only for people who came from other cities and had no a home in Arcadia Bay. The reason she did not run away on her own after discovering that Chloe had lied to her was possibly because she had no money or could not let Chloe, which seems to be so, why there is a lot of evidence in Lis that, though subtle. Maybe she forgave Chloe, but their relationship did not remain the same, but I think she still wanted to get to run away with Chloe. Rachel was in love with Chloe, in BtS we see this, in option, something more or friendship, if you choose the “friendship” option, you can see Rachel’s sincere disappointment. She asks the question: Oh, is that all? And before she sets fire to the oak, Rachel says with the same disappointment what was happening between them was something special, even if to Chloe everything is just friendship. In this case, I even like the “friendship” option. Because here you can see very well how Rachel related to Chloe (you can still choose a kiss in the second episode). And even if Chloe did not speak directly about her feelings, Rachel herself shows it. Chloe was probably Rachel’s first love. In addition, Rachel de Lis owes money to one person, carved from a tree near Prescott Dormitory in Blackwell, we see the following inscription “Rachel Amber owes me money. Pay Bitch”

3.       Rachel did not have a good relationship with her parents in Lis, they did not search for her, they acted cold, they did not believe something wrong could have happened, Chloe tried to persuade them but failed, why she did not have a good relationship with Rachel’s parents either.

4.       The strongest evidence that Chloe lied to Rachel is in Life is Strange Dust comic, which implicitly demonstrates that Chloe de Lis, lied to Rachel and feels guilty about it, Chloe in reviewing her in an alternate reality demonstrates this in your speeches and expressions, you can see in the image. She says: Rachel I … Rachel waits! Rachel! I’m sorry, Rachel. It may be that Chloe feels guilty for not being able to save Rachel, but besides, I think she feels guilty for never telling Rachel herself the truth and their relationship has gone wrong because of it, so they do not run away and Rachel died in the Dark Room. Of course, the fault of Rachel’s death was not Chloe’s, but her lie may be one of the things that, which led to Rachel dying in this reality. Because at the end of the fourth edition of the comic, there is a reality where the two managed to escape and are together in Santa Monica in 2014, this reality must be the reality where Chloe told the truth, and both fled early from Arcadia Bay. Thus Rachel did not die in the Dark Room. Rachel’s personality in BtS shows that she would flee Arcadia Bay much earlier with Chloe, after Chloe tells the truth. See the BtS cut off dialogue in the hospital scene, if you choose the Tell Rachel All option, the conversation is as follows.

Chloe: Your father … he’s working with Damon.

Rachel: What?

Chloe: They found your mother. She kidnapped him. There’s almost been killed.

Rachel: No. That’s not … that’s not true.

Chloe: I was there. I saw all this. It was so awful. But it’s true.

Rachel: No.

Chloe: I’m so sorry.

Rachel: No. No, no, no!

Rachel is shocked and upset, and James and Rose presumably hear her and enter the room, worried. The two of them go to her, but Rachel reaches for James. Chloe gets up and tries to hug Rachel, and she resists at first, but lets Chloe comfort her. Rachel starts to cry and looks angrily at James, who looks very sad and distressed.

Anyway, Rachel deserved more in the comic, they should have explained her behavior in it. Rachel deserved more on Lis and Bts as well.

Lis is about, overcoming the problems of real life and redemption. Everyone has a second chance:

Max had a chance to redeem himself after years of ignoring Chloe;

Chloe had the chance to redeem himself, to be a selfish person;

David had a chance to redeem himself from being a violent stepfather;

Frank had the chance to redeem himself from being a pedophile and an idiot;

Victoria had the chance to redeem herself, to be a bitch;

Nathan had the chance to redeem himself from being a broken and psychopathic teenager;

EVEN THE JEFFERSHIT’S BITCH WILL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO RECOVER IN THE JAIL!

But how was Rachel’s image? It was that of a traitor, a liar and manipulative, because hardly anyone notices that she is the doe that guides Max during the game to do justice to her and Chloe that they would die in the hands of psychopaths. That her disappearance makes Max and Chloe have more contact and be together during that week.

At least the end of the comic she is alive, at least this they gave her, the opportunity not to die in a plastic bag in a dirty hole in a pile of crap!

One I say one thing to you, Rachel is a misunderstood character because it was poorly developed.

In Lis, we spent the fucking game looking for Rachel, who is clearly important to the story and to Chloe

What do we know for sure about Rachel since the first game? The development of Rachel’s character is the biggest shit I’ve ever seen in a video game and the story of the character. She was hardly a character in the first game to begin with. She was a plot item. But even the plot items can be explained, but not Rachel, why?! Oh, I remember, because DONTNOD wanted her to be the mysterious character. Fuck that! With that they turned her into a negative character.

In BtS, they excluded almost everything about her relationship with Chloe, which clearly showed that she was developed to be Chloe’s romantic coupl. What is the purpose of having a game that forces players to make multiple decisions, just to have the same final shit ?! There was no closing, no choice mattered, no hope, nothing. It was not bittersweet. It was just mean and annoying.

This is not about Amberprice vs. Pricefield, it’s just Rachel’s plot and character development, it’s about the message they passed on to lesbians.

They could give Rachel a proper story and an adequate explanation, not this painful and messy story about being harassed by a pedophile drug dealer, and killed by a pedophile psychopathic teacher.

Something bad happened to her that broke her even more and led her down a very lonely and dark path. There is a lot of evidence pointing to this in the first game. In addition, there is a possibility that Rachel was murdered only during episode 1 because of the doe and the stench of her pit, meaning she may have been in Jefferson’s hands for six months.

This game has a beautiful conceptual art, design and characters, an interesting setting of storytelling, a lot of potential, but fail miserably in delivering a meaningful story and plot, not giving us real power to decide! CHOICES DO NOT CARE IF THE END IS ALWAYS THE SAME! Life is still Strange, but besides … It’s fucked up, bad, because no matter how much you struggle to overcome your problems and be happy, you’ll end up dead or having to lose or sacrifice someone you love, especially if You’re a lesbian. Sounds good, right? This is the life that Lis and BtS show.

BTS, LIS and the comic are not good for to give hope to the lesbians. But, BTS is a more realistic game than the LIS, because in our reality, it is not possible to go back in time, which makes BTS easier to associate with reality.

If the characters were real people, Max would not talk to Chloe again, Chloe would die in a bathroom looking for Rachel, and since they did  take Rachel’s image as a traitor, LIS gives a very bad realist message about relationships between women.

As if relationships between women were impossible and failed, and it would only be possible in fantasy, where it is possible to go back in time, this is the message that LIS passes.

BTS should be the best lesbian game in history if they had put all the content, it would be sad and tragic in one of the finals, but at least we would have confirmation that Rachel and Chloe’s relationship was real and true, and that their relationship would continue if they had not been murdered by psychopaths, so the comic shows this in a reality, but still does not explain the story of Rachel.

Anyway, Chloe in Lis, the character that represents to the stereotype of a lesbian, had the image of muggle and selfish, abandoned by the best friend of childhood, betrayed by the girlfriend, killed by a psychopath, could only be saved in a reality fantastical where people are able to go back in time, and still later in this fantasy reality wants to return to girlfriend who betrayed her. Is that their message Dontnod? What it generates it in the mind of the inattentive person when she associates Chloe, Rachel, being lesbian and the reality, this: Being a lesbian is bad and sad, if this game were with real people.

So I thank writers AmberPrice, Pricefield and others who did not make Rachel a motherfucker in their stories, why Rachel and Chloe deserved more. We lesbians deserve more.

Sorry, for the spelling mistakes, I’m Brazilian, I do not speak English.

[ayemanolld]

The History of how can i get scholarship to study in usa

Study Abroad for African Students

Study abroad experience could have a profound impact on the person: from changing one's career route and social circles to improving international engagement.

Students from Africa, for several years, have been at the pursuit of high-quality education offered all around the world. Motivated by strong aspirations and livelihood opportunities, the African students are looking beyond what their home nation can provide.

Study abroad experience can have a deep effect on the individual: by changing one's career route and social circles to improving global engagement. A recent study conducted in the University of Minnesota has shown that international students become civically involved and, despite the expectations, are most likely to return to their home states.

Why Does African American Students Search Education Abroad?

Depending upon the character of a person and their career objectives, international students from Africa can study in prestigious African American universities or venture to go further and travel to the USA, Canada, UK, Germany, Ireland, Turkey, Dubai or many other destinations in Europe or Asia.

In the last decade, South Africa has seen that the second largest number of pupils in Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Libya, and other African nations.

Below is a brief overview of the entry statistics published in 2018.

What motivates African Study abroad students?

As the following graph reflects, students from the area are strongly motivated by career ambitions and the possibility of improved livelihood opportunities. The answers reflected in the graph are for potential undergraduate students, but the exact very same patterns hold for master's and PhD students as well.

Nearly three in four respondents indicate that progressing into a higher degree qualification is a significant element in their interest in pursuing an undergraduate degree abroad. Almost half see a foreign undergraduate degree as a method of advancing into their current career path, and a similar proportion see a foreign diploma as a requirement to enter their intended profession. Finally, almost a third (29 percent ) see study abroad as a way of improving their career prospects.

The graph illustrates clearly how weighted the poll answer is to these factors, relative to private or cultural motivators such as chances for exchange or personal interest.

Where to study abroad?

According to the Newest QS Applicant Survey, the US and Canada are the top destinations for African students to proceed with their research. Around 36% of pupils refer going to colleges in both US and Canada for undergraduate and master courses. The figures showed 31%, 25% and 23% of pupils then prefer the UK, Australia, and Germany respectively.

China is yet another popular destination that has seen a stride in the flow of African students to their very best universities. The amount of pupils from Africa took a whopping spike of 95,000 in 2014, and the country has since vowed 30,000 more scholarships to encourage more mobility from Africa. France has also been bringing pupils from French-speaking countries like Algeria and Cameroon.

The factors for students from Africa to opt for these countries is highly influenced by the caliber of instruction and over all the Financial Aid. Many universities in Europe also need less or no tuition prices.

The investment in a diploma from a US institution was viewed positively by global employers for decades. The breadth of the curriculum encourages students to explore topics far beyond their own major. This offers a broader understanding of the world along with a more open perspective.

Such skills and strategies are much valued by employers and also have developed a powerful entrepreneurial spirit among US graduates. The rapid growth of Silicon Valley in California is one particularly shining example of the advantages of a US Higher Education. Study in the USA and follow your own American dream.

Study In Canada

Canada offers a exceptional chance to research completely in English, entirely in French or on a bilingual program. With a population of roughly 10% of its southern neighbor, the USA, Canada has lots of space. Because of this, there are clear pathways to immigration post-study. Canada is renowned for its friendliness of its people, its safety, and its quality of life.

These points have made Canada an increasingly popular destination for research among international students generally. Approximately 20 percent of the Canadian population speak French as their native language. English, in 56%, is by far the predominant language throughout the country. It is important to remember if you are out of a French-speaking country.

Study Abroad agencies mainly work with associations in the English-speaking portion of Canada. This is only because we believe proficiency in English is now a vital skill for today's worldwide mobile workforce. If you plan to operate in Canada after graduation that a solid understanding of English is going to be essential. However, for people who do prefer to study in French, Seed is able to provide extremely inexpensive options too.

At all levels that the British schooling system has an superb global reputation for academic achievement. The UK is home to a number of the most famous schools, colleges and universities in the world.

It's the achievements of graduates of the UK higher education system which generated the nation's academic reputation.

Study In Germany

Germany is the economic powerhouse of Europe together with the continent's largest economy. The earliest research universities in the world were in Germany and several are still available now.

The United Nations Development Programme puts Germany as 6th about the Human Development Index. This is forward of more popular study abroad destinations the USA, United Kingdom, and Canada.

The German Government reports that there are around 375,000 international students enrolled at college . That's over 12% of the total amount of university students in the nation. Around 18,000 African students, each year choose Germany for university abroad.

The German education system is particularly strong in the STEM Subjects -- Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. No surprise as the nation is home to famous engineering and manufacturing brands. STEM topics are popular course choices with African American study abroad students.

Study in Turkey

Turkey isn't just a gorgeous destination for travellers but also attractive to many foreign students. Research in Turkey can be relatively cheap in comparison with many other nations overseas. There has been huge investment in universities there in the past couple of decades. Because of this, Turkish colleges offer high-quality education and top-of-the-range centers, but in a really reasonable rate, to equip their students with the essential knowledge and skills required to excel in the professional world.

Public universities mostly offer applications delivered entirely in Turkish, though it is also likely to find some bilingual (Turkish and English ) applications and even some programs delivered in French select institutions. There are not any programs taught completely in English in public universities and so any African American student seeking to research in public universities will need to study the Turkish language initially and successfully pass the Tomer Exam (the Turkish equivalent to the TOEFL Exam).

Private universities offer a lot of programs taught entirely in English. We'll mainly focus our attention on private universities in this guide as we do strongly believe in the global work opportunities that are going to be offered to you in the event that you study in English.

Dubai is located in one of the seven United Arab Emirates and is currently home to specialists from all over the world. It is famous for its extravagant architectural projects, including the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa. Dubai has a famously fast-growing economy and is known for innovation. Of course, the luxury shopping adventures also make it a dream destination for many foreign students.

Ireland is a European nation famous for its civilization the world over. It's admittedly a known study destination for African students than its close neighbour, the United Kingdom. However, as we hope to show in this manual, there are tons of good reasons to think about Ireland for your studies.

The Irish men and women are proud of their civilization and thus work hard to maintain it. Ireland is an Anglophone country which makes it appealing for both African American students who speak English and those who wish to enhance theirs. Ireland is home to students from other parts of the planet too. The Majority of the students that study in Ireland come in the European Union, Switzerland, the UK, and North America.

Ireland has a younger population than many Western European nations and also a highly educated people. The nation is often referred to as the Celtic Tiger because of its strong financial performance over the previous 30 years.

Ireland has a pioneering and can-do spirit. Irish expertise in agriculture has helped turn arid lands in Africa into fertile farming. As well as an upstart Irish airline business, Ryanair, revolutionised air travel within Europe, becoming the largest European airline concerning passenger numbers pre-COVID.

Unlike the united kingdom, Ireland is a member of the European Union (though it is not part of the Schengen visa zone). In recent years, as a result of its highly educated workforce, Ireland has drawn multinationals, such as Amazon and Microsoft, to set up European HQs here. Since 1st February 2020 it's the largest Anglophone state over the European Union, which will be likely to make it an appealing foundation for additional international companies seeking to set up hubs inside the European Union's Single Market.

Ireland is a really safe and gorgeous country with great places to visit. With such rich history it wasn't a surprise Capital Dublin was designated a UNESCO City of Literature in 2010.

African Students in the U.S.

Now, not all of those students listed above are visiting the U.S., needless to say, and next week we'll discuss more about where else these students may be studying and how to contend with the other destinations African students are considering and choosing.

Source Country

Students Studying in the US

Nigeria

12,693

Egypt

3,701

Kenya

3,322

Ghana

3,213

Ethiopia

2,118

South Africa

2,040

Morocco

1,563

Nigeria leading the bunch isn't a surprise, as it has the highest GDP of African American markets, and thus has more students that can afford a U.S. schooling. The remainder of the list all have economies in the Top 8 across the entire world, except for Ghana, that isn't much behind at 11th.

While another 47 nations in Africa aren't listed above, virtually all of them are sending students to the U.S. and other nations for tertiary schooling.

It may seem, by taking a look at the above list, which Nigeria is the crystal clear place to spend your recruiting efforts. But remember, with greater student numbers comes more competition from other schools overseas.

Do not discount the rest of the countries with fewer students already traveling into the U.S., as those might be untapped markets that would give you more bang to your recruitment buck. As we said in a prior blog article about Africa, the less traveled route represents the competitive route. Consider how fine it would be to be among the top-ranked universities in a college fair.

According to this 2018 report from IIE only 4% of overseas students in the U.S. were from sub-Saharan African nations. (The statistics for people from northern African nations is combined with those in the Middle East, which account for 2 percent.)

Who are these students and what are they studying?

African students bring an invaluable perspective and drive to campus, says WENR in this slightly older post.

Based on Africa.com, the jobs with the most growth in Africa's expanding economies are those in agricultural technology, agricultural management, telecommunications, structural engineering, civil engineering, electrical engineering, structure, actuary science, and geophysics. Tourism and health care will also be on the upswing.

If your organization has a solid program in these areas, there are some frequent flyer miles to be earned and students to be recruited.

Can they afford it, though?

But while the language barrier might not be a significant challenge, a financial one definitely is. The cost for one year for an American school greatly surpasses the average yearly family income for some African nations.

What incentive is there for universities to offer larger financial aid bundles to these international students? Word of mouth to get you personally. Bear in mind that college-aged population thrive? That is a lot of mouths and the subsequent generations will probably be learning about education choices from those who went before them.

WES predicts that,"Given that the price of successful recruitment efforts and the need to set up both dollars and recruiters , such networks of alumni can provide an abundance of rewards with relatively few dangers."

Prerequisites to Study Abroad

The requirements to study abroad for many international students would count on the nation, the college, and also the program. However, there's a typical set of files necessary to apply to all universities.

Transcripts from Schools

Recommendation Letters

Statement of Purpose

For Undergraduate programs, students would have to pass the typical global entry exams like SAT based on the country you are applying to. The African American matric qualification alone may not qualify one to the necessary level.

For postgraduate programs, you'd require completion of degree certification and would be required to write the country and course-specific entrance exams.

The minimum standard requirements for Universities will change across the nations. Also based upon the medium of instruction, students will have to take language tests to demonstrate the level of proficiency.

Aside from this, to get a student visa, you would also need to show Confirmation of enrollment, proof of sufficient funds and meet the medical insurance requirements.

Writing a comprehensive entrance essay or personal statement puzzles many foreign applicants. The majority of non-native English applicants do not feel confident in their application papers. That is why many of them use this platform to order essay online:

All the countries mentioned above are focusing on widening their educational prospects by enticing more international students. As a part of it, many scholarships are offered by the many organizations to encourage pupils. Listed below are a couple of notables ones for pupils from Africa.

Mastercard Foundation Scholarship: Canadian and American Universities have booted up the Mastercard to offer a $500 million initiative to offer scholarships for 15,000 students, especially from Africa. The University of Toronto, McGill University, the University of British Columbia are among the top colleges offering the scholarship applications.

Australian Development Scholarships (ADS) for African Pupils: An initiative from the Australian Government to provide fellowships and financial help for 1,000 postgraduate students from Africa.

The Beijing Government Scholarship (BGS): Provided by the Beijing Municipal Government that supplies a full tuition fee for international students studying in Beijing.

French Government (Eiffel Excellence) Masters and Ph.D.. Scholarships: Scholarships of Masters and Ph.D. students from developing countries majoring in technology, science, economics, law, and political science.

VLIR-UOS Training Scholarships in Belgium: Offered for pupils from African nations with preference given to girls who take available master and training programs in English.

Language Language Proficiency

Students will need to provide evidence that they have achieved a certain amount of English language proficiency.

These will be the commonly accepted tests.

IELTS Academic Module

TOEFL

VU English EAP

These tests must be taken no less than two years prior to beginning the course.

The majority of African students prefer to choose a degree in technology or business studies. In European nations notably languages, art, and human northeastern university canada sciences are also popular topics followed by legislation and political science.

Students from African countries are wanting to go abroad to countries offering them better standards of living. The ability to keep in the nation after finishing the training course is also becoming a significant deciding factor. Nonetheless, it is also common for pupils to return their expertise to their home states and contribute to strengthening their market.

Every country has something to offer, and it is ideal to pick the course based on academic and individual tastes.

Information sources and financing for Study Abroad

Almost six in ten prospective students look to education agents for assistance in identifying and exploring options for study abroad. However, the QS survey clearly indicates that most pupils make significant use of online channels as well, especially organic search, institutional sites, school choice websites, and social websites. Between 80% and 100% of survey respondents stated they make extensive use of all of these online tools.

The other striking feature of student mobility from the region is that the dominant role played by third party funders, particularly in the kind of government or company scholarships. As the following picture reflects, personal or family financing plays a major role for many students from the region.

The standing of funding resources illustrated here reflects the prominent part of third party funders (and also the significance of affordability variables ) that we've observed elsewhere for key markets in the area, especially Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana.

The agent recruitment channel is still developing in Africa. Many of these service providers are small operations and brand new to the job. They are determined and eager to sign new contracts -- unlike most of their colleagues in China and India who have become extremely discerning about which universities they will support. We've fulfilled a number of agents in the African nations at the ICEF Miami workshop and highly recommend this opportunity to meet and evaluate the options.

Contrary to the recruiting agent systems in China and India that are highly developed and have grown to a challenging community of super bureaus with many unstructured (and often uncontrollable) sub-agents, you will find opportunities to develop valuable relationships with many of the agencies that are growing in Africa. This recruitment station is a site topic all of

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Arteta’s Midfield Choices The Key As Arsenal Face Tottenham Hotspur In Uncharted Territory

New Post has been published on https://perfectirishgifts.com/artetas-midfield-choices-the-key-as-arsenal-face-tottenham-hotspur-in-uncharted-territory/

Arteta’s Midfield Choices The Key As Arsenal Face Tottenham Hotspur In Uncharted Territory

LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 03: Mikel Arteta the Arsenal Manager before the UEFA Europa League Group … [] B stage match between Arsenal FC and Rapid Wien at Emirates Stadium on December 03, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

On Sunday afternoon, Arsenal will travel the few miles down the Seven Sisters Road to Tottenham for one of the oddest North London derbies in memory. Not just for the Covid backdrop and the tentative return of 2,000 socially-distanced fans to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but because Arsenal go into the game fourteenth in the Premier League PINC and Tottenham first.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. It wasn’t supposed to be like this when José Mourinho pulled on his Tottenham pyjamas last November, reputation dented by the tumults he engendered at Chelsea and Manchester United and abhorred by a substantial portion of the Spurs fan base for his perceived negativity in demeanor and tactics. And it certainly wasn’t supposed to be like this when Mikel Arteta surfed back into town just under a year ago, riding a wave of hope that he might be Pep Guardiola Mk. II.

Yet here we are. And the polarized context only adds to the tension. Arsenal are desperate for their first derby away win since a single goal from Tomas Rosicky gave them victory at the old White Hart Lane in 2014. Three points would take them within five of Spurs and give confidence and morale a much-needed boost after heated, clear-the-air talks midweek.

LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 12: Jose Mourinho, Manager of Tottenham Hotspur looks on ahead of the Premier … [] League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal FC at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on July 12, 2020 in London, England. Football Stadiums around Europe remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in all fixtures being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Spurs, meanwhile, are looking at the bigger picture. As José Mourinho said in his press conference on Friday, “Because now we are in such a good position it is a little bit different. Because we want the points we are not just like: ‘We want to beat Arsenal because to beat Arsenal is the only good thing we can give to our fans.’”

Recent North London derby games have been riveting, perhaps the most entertaining rivalry in the world in pure footballing terms. We have seen four or more goals on six separate occasions over the past decade. But the current circumstances and the two men now at the respective helms point to this meeting being significantly cagier.

Mourinho’s perpetual penchant for bus parking in high-stakes derbies was on show last weekend at Stamford Bridge and even playing at home, with fans urging them on for the first time since March, it is unlikely he will throw caution to the wind.

Arteta, for his part, has proved a far more cautious manager than many expected when he first took over from Unai Emery. His most important mission upon arrival was to fix Arsenal’s leaky back line and, aside from a 3-0 drubbing at the hands of Aston Villa four weeks ago, that he has done. Especially in the games against the big six in which Arsenal have come out on top – the FA Cup semi-final and final wins over Manchester City and Chelsea and the league games against Liverpool and Manchester United – Arsenal have been reactive in the extreme, happy to sit and soak and strike on the counter.

Arsenal’s Spanish head coach Mikel Arteta (C) gives instructions to Arsenal’s English striker Eddie … [] Nketiah (L) and Arsenal’s Gabonese striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (2L) on the touchline during the English Premier League football match between Arsenal and Everton at the Emirates Stadium in London on February 23, 2020. (Photo by Tolga AKMEN / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or ‘live’ services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Images)

Yet when such an approach is unsuccessful – and in recent weeks Arsenal’s results have been poor – it is an invitation for criticism. Arsenal’s creative struggles have been much discussed, with talismanic striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang not finding the net from open play since August.

For that reason, the biggest questions prior to this derby surround the Arsenal manager’s team selection. After employing a lop-sided 3-4-3 formation for much of the early part of his reign, with Aubameyang on the left of the front three and Alexandre Lacazette playing through the middle, Arteta has recently moved towards a 4-2-3-1 with Aubameyang central and Lacazette left out in favor of an additional midfielder.

Yet on Thursday night in the 4-1 win over Rapid Vienna in the Europa League, Arteta paired Alexandre Lacazette with Eddie Nketiah in a more traditional front two. Lacazette dropped off to help work the ball forward and Nketiah operated as the spearhead of the attack, with Reiss Nelson and Nicolas Pepe cutting in to provide incision and invention from either flank. The central presence of Mohamed Elneny and Ainsley Maitland-Niles, meanwhile, provided the stability and dynamism to allow both full-backs to push up.

LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 03: Marcel Ritzmaier of Rapid Vienna in action with Ainsley … [] Maitland-Niles of Arsenal during the UEFA Europa League Group B stage match between Arsenal FC and Rapid Wien at Emirates Stadium on December 3, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. A limited number of fans are welcomed back to stadiums to watch elite football across England. This was following easing of restrictions on spectators in tiers one and two areas only. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)

Maitland-Niles in particular was a refreshing sight. Asked what he brought to the midfield, he gave a Sunday league assessment of an elite display: “I had a bit of legs in the midfield, got about, tried to tackle, win the ball back, get up and down the pitch and give us a bit more dynamics, so it was good.” It was indeed and provided a bit of life to what has at times been a painfully ponderous midfield.

The fact that the game was against such weak opposition must be considered, but the performance on Thursday will have given Arteta food for thought. Might he opt for the same formation against Tottenham? If so, which players will he choose to fill the midfield and forward roles?

If Thomas Partey is fit he will certainly return, and Mohamed Elneny’s discipline and focus makes him exceedingly useful against better teams. But Arteta would be a brave man to play only the two of them and deploy Aubameyang and Lacazette as a two-pronged attack.

LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 08: Thomas Partey of Arsenal during the Premier League match between … [] Arsenal and Aston Villa at Emirates Stadium on November 08, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

With just two central midfielders – whether in a 4-4-2 or a 3-4-3 – Arsenal risk being overrun. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Moussa Sissoko and Tanguy Ndombele have formed a formidable central trio for Tottenham this term and with Harry Kane, who can become the derby’s outright all-time top scorer on Sunday, also prone to drop in and make it a central quartet, Arsenal could be outmanned.

To avoid that possibility, Arteta may opt for another midfielder. Dani Ceballos and Joe Willock could both play as a box-to-box No.10 option or if Arteta really is looking for stability, he could bring in Garnit Xhaka or Maitland-Niles alongside Partey and Elneny. As Arteta himself said when praising Maitland-Niles’ versatility after Thursday’s game, the Hale End academy graduate can “play as an attacking midfielder.”

If he does go for that three-man midfield option, it would make the central areas congested, but could free up Arsenal’s full-backs and wingers to contribute more offensively.

Finding that balance between defensive security and creativity is the main theme of this second act of Arteta’s reign. How he approaches the task could not only define the outcome of Sunday’s derby but his long-term future at the club.

From SportsMoney in Perfectirishgifts

[mandlavlgn]

How to Get More Results Out of Your northeastern university sat

Study abroad experience can have a deep effect on the individual: by transforming one's career route and social circles to enhancing global engagement.

Students from Africa, for several decades, have been at the pursuit of high-quality education provided all over the world. Motivated by strong aspirations and livelihood opportunities, the African students are looking past what their home country can provide.

Study abroad experience can have a deep effect on the individual: from changing one's career route and social circles to improving international engagement. A recent study conducted at the University of Minnesota has demonstrated that international students become civically involved and, regardless of the expectations, are somewhat likely to return to their home states.

Why Does African American Students Seek Education Abroad?

Based upon the character of a person and their career objectives, international students from Africa can study in prestigious African universities or venture to proceed further and travel to the USA, Canada, UK, Germany, Ireland, Turkey, Dubai or a number of different destinations in Europe or Asia.

In the last decade, South Africa has witnessed that the second biggest number of pupils from Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Libya, and other African countries.

Below is a brief summary of the admission statistics published in 2018.

What motivates African American Study abroad students?

As the following chart reflects, pupils from the area are strongly motivated by career ambitions and the possibility of improved livelihood opportunities. The responses reflected in the chart are for potential undergraduate students, but the same patterns hold for master's and PhD students too.

Almost three in four respondents imply that progressing to a higher degree qualification is a significant factor in their interest in pursuing an undergraduate degree abroad. Nearly half see a overseas undergraduate degree as a method of advancing into their current career path, and a comparable proportion see a foreign diploma as a requirement to enter their intended career. At length, nearly a third (29 percent ) see study abroad as a way of enhancing their career prospects.

The chart illustrates clearly how weighted the poll answer is to those factors, relative to personal or cultural motivators for example chances for exchange or personal interest.

Where to study abroad?

According to the latest QS Applicant Survey, the US and Canada are the top destinations for African American students to proceed with their studies. Approximately 36% of pupils refer going to colleges at both the US and Canada for undergraduate and master courses.

China is yet another popular destination that has witnessed a stride at the circulation of African students to their top universities. The number of students from Africa took a whopping spike of 95,000 in 2014, and the nation has since pledged 30,000 more scholarships to promote more mobility from Africa. France has also been attracting students from French-speaking countries like Algeria and Cameroon.

The reasons for pupils from Africa to choose these countries is highly influenced by the standard of education and over all of the Financial Aid. Many universities in Europe also need very less or no tuition prices.

Study in USA

The investment at a diploma from a US institution was viewed positively by international employers for decades. The breadth of the program encourages students to explore topics far beyond their major. This gives a broader understanding of the world and a much more open view.

Such skills and approaches are much valued by employers and have also developed a strong entrepreneurial spirit among US graduates. The rapid development of Silicon Valley in California is just one particularly shining example of the benefits of a US Higher Education. Study in the USA and follow your own American dream.

Canada offers a unique opportunity to study completely in English, entirely in French or onto a bilingual program. Having a population of approximately 10 percent of its southern neighbor, the USA, Canada has plenty of space. Because of this, there are clear pathways to immigration post-study.

These points have made Canada an increasingly popular destination for research among international students in general. Approximately 20 percent of the Canadian people speak French as their native language. English, in 56%, is undoubtedly the predominant language across the nation. It is important to remember if you are from a French-speaking country.

Study Abroad agencies mainly operate with institutions in the English-speaking part of Canada. This is because we consider proficiency in English is an essential skill for the globally mobile workforce. If your plan is to work in Canada after graduation a strong knowledge of English will be essential. But for those who do like to research from French, Seed can provide extremely affordable options also.

At all levels that the British schooling system has an excellent global reputation for academic achievement. The UK is home to some of the most famous schools, universities and colleges on the planet.

It is the achievements of pupils of the UK higher education system that generated the country's academic standing.

Germany is the economic powerhouse of Europe with the continent's biggest economy. The earliest research universities on the planet have been in Germany and several are still open now.

The United Nations Development Programme puts Germany as 6th about the Human Development Index. This is forward of popular study abroad destinations that the USA, United Kingdom, and Canada.

The German Government reports that there are approximately 375,000 international students registered at college there. That's over 12% of the total amount of college students in the country. Around 18,000 African pupils, each year choose Germany for university abroad.

The German education system is especially strong in the STEM Topics -- Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. No surprise as the country is home to famous engineering and manufacturing brands. STEM subjects are popular class choices with African American study abroad students.

Study in Turkey

Turkey is not only a beautiful destination for travellers but also attractive to a lot of international students. Research in Turkey can be relatively cheap in comparison with many other nations abroad. There has been enormous investment in universities there in recent years. As a result, Turkish colleges offer high quality education and top-of-the-range centers, but in a really reasonable rate, to equip their students with the necessary knowledge and skills needed to excel in the professional world.

Public universities mostly offer applications delivered entirely in Turkish, even though it is also likely to locate some bilingual (Turkish and English ) applications as well as some applications delivered in French at select institutions. There are not any programs taught completely in English in public colleges and so any African American student seeking to study in public universities will need to study the Turkish language first and successfully pass the Tomer Exam (the Turkish equivalent to the TOEFL Assessment ).

We will mainly focus our attention on private universities in this manual as we can strongly believe in the worldwide work opportunities which will be offered to you if you study in English.

Dubai is located in one of the seven United Arab Emirates and is currently home to specialists from all around the world. Dubai has a famously fast-growing market and is known for innovation. Obviously, the luxury shopping experiences make it a dream destination for many foreign students.

Ireland is a European country famous for its civilization the world over. It's admittedly a known study destination for African American pupils than its close neighbour, the United Kingdom. However, as we hope to show in this guide, there are tons of good reasons to think about Ireland to your studies.

The Irish people are proud of their culture and thus work hard to maintain it. Ireland is an Anglophone country that makes it appealing for both African American students who already speak English and those who wish to enhance theirs. Ireland is home to students from other parts of the planet too. The Majority of the students that study in Ireland come from the European Union, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and North America.

Ireland has a younger population than most Western European nations and also a highly educated people. The country is often known as the Celtic Tiger because of its strong financial performance during the previous 30 decades.

Ireland includes a pioneering and can-do spirit. Irish experience in agriculture has helped turn arid lands in Africa into abundant farming. As well as an upstart Irish airline business, Ryanair, revolutionised air travel within Europe, becoming the largest European airline concerning passenger numbers pre-COVID.

Unlike the UK, Ireland is a part of the European Union (even though it is not a part of the Schengen visa zone). In the past several years, thanks to its highly trained workforce, Ireland has attracted multinationals, such as Amazon and Microsoft, to set up European HQs here. Since 1st February 2020 it's the largest Anglophone state within the European Union, which will be likely to make it an attractive foundation for additional foreign companies seeking to install hubs within the European Union's Single Market.

Ireland is a very safe and beautiful country with fantastic areas to go to.

African Students in the U.S.

Nownot all of those students listed above are visiting the U.S., of course, next week we'll discuss more about where else these students may be studying and how to contend with another destinations African students are considering and picking.

Source Country

Students Studying in the Usa

Nigeria

12,693

Egypt

3,701

Kenya

3,322

Ghana

3,213

Ethiopia

2,118

South Africa

2,040

Morocco

1,563

Nigeria leading the bunch is no surprise, as it has the highest GDP of all African economies, and consequently has more students that can afford a U.S. education. The remainder of the list all have savings in the Top 8 across the continent, except for Ghana, which isn't far behind at 11th.

While the other 47 nations in Africa are not listed above, almost all of them are sending pupils to the U.S. and other nations for tertiary schooling.

It may seem, by looking at the above list, that Nigeria is the crystal clear place to invest your recruiting efforts. But keep in mind, with higher student numbers comes more competition from other universities abroad.

Do not ignore the remaining nations with fewer students already traveling into the U.S., as those may be untapped markets which would give you more bang to your recruitment dollar. As we said in a prior blog article about Africa, the less traveled path represents the competitive path. Consider how nice it would be to be among the top-ranked universities in a college fair.

According to the 2018 report by IIE only 4% of overseas students in the U.S. were from sub-Saharan African countries. (The statistics for those from northern African nations is united with those from the Middle East, which account for two percent.)

African students bring an invaluable perspective and drive to campus, says WENR in this slightly older article.

Tourism and healthcare are also on the rise.

If your institution has a strong program in these areas, there are some frequent flyer miles to be got and pupils to be recruited.

Can they afford it, however?

Now, while the language barrier may not be a substantial challenge, a monetary one definitely is. The price for one year at an American school greatly surpasses the average yearly household income for many African American nations.

What incentive is there for universities to supply larger financial aid packages to those international students? Word of mouth for you personally. Bear in mind that college-aged population thrive? That is a lot of mouths and the following generations will probably be learning about schooling choices from people who went before them.

WES predicts that,"Given the price of successful recruitment efforts and the need to set up both recruiters and dollars , such networks of alumni can provide an abundance of rewards with comparatively few dangers."

Requirements to Study Abroad

The needs to study abroad for many international students would depend on the country, the college, and also the program. But, there's a typical set of files required to apply to all universities.

Transcripts from Schools

Recommendation Letters

Statement of Purpose

For Undergraduate applications, students would have to pass the standard global entrance exams like SAT depending on the country you are applying to. The African American matric qualification alone might not qualify one to the required level.

For postgraduate programs, you would need completion of diploma certification and would be required to compose the country and course-specific entrance exams.

The minimum standard requirements for Faculties will vary across the countries. Also depending upon the medium of instruction, students might need to take speech tests to demonstrate the level of proficiency.

Aside from this, to get a student loan, you would also need to reveal Confirmation of registration, proof of sufficient funds and meet the health insurance requirements.

Writing a comprehensive admission essay or personal statement puzzles many foreign applicants. The vast majority of non-native English applicants do not feel certain about their program papers. That's why many of them utilize this platform to order informative article online:

Each of the countries mentioned above are focusing on widening their educational prospects by enticing more international students. As a part of this, many scholarships are provided by the many organizations to encourage pupils. Here are a few notables ones for pupils from Africa.

Mastercard Foundation Scholarship: Canadian and American Universities have partnered up the Mastercard to northeastern university registrar offer you a $500 million initiative to provide scholarships for 15,000 pupils, especially from Africa. The University of Toronto, McGill University, the University of British Columbia are one of the top colleges offering the scholarship programs.

Australian Development Scholarships (ADS) for African American Students: An initiative by the Australian Government to provide fellowships and financial help for 1,000 postgraduate students from Africa.

The Beijing Government Scholarship (BGS): Offered from the Beijing Municipal Government that supplies a partial or full tuition fee for international students studying in Beijing.

French Government (Eiffel Excellence) Masters and Ph.D.. Scholarships: Scholarships of Masters and Ph.D. students from developing nations majoring in engineering, science, economics, law, and science.

VLIR-UOS Training Scholarships in Belgium: Offered for students from African countries with preference given to girls who take available master and training programs in English.

English Language Proficiency

Students will have to give proof they've achieved a particular level of English language proficiency.

These will be the commonly accepted evaluations.

IELTS Academic Module

TOEFL

University of Cambridge Advanced

VU English EAP

These tests must be obtained no less than two years prior to commencing the course.

The majority of African pupils prefer to choose a degree in technology or business studies. In European nations especially languages, art, and human sciences are also popular topics followed by law enforcement and political science.

Students from African nations are wanting to move overseas to countries that offer them better standards of living. The ability to stay in the country after completing the course is also becoming a significant deciding factor. But it is also common for pupils to be back their experience to their home states and contribute to strengthening their economy.

Every country has something to offer, and it is ideal to pick the course based on individual and academic tastes.

Information sources and financing for Study Abroad

Nearly six in ten potential students look to schooling agents for help in identifying and exploring alternatives for study abroad. But the QS survey clearly indicates that most students make heavy use of online channels too, especially organic research, institutional sites, school selection sites, and social media. Between 80% and 100 percent of survey respondents stated they make extensive use of all these online tools.

The other striking aspect of pupil mobility from the area is that the prominent role played by third party funders, particularly in the form of government or corporate scholarships. As the following picture reflects, private or family financing plays a lesser role for many students from the area.

The standing of financing sources exemplified here reflects the prominent part of third party funders (and also the importance of affordability factors) that we have observed elsewhere to key markets in the area, notably Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana.

The broker recruitment station is still developing in Africa. They're determined and keen to sign up new contracts -- unlike many of the colleagues in China and India who've become exceptionally discerning about which universities they will support. We've fulfilled a number of agents from African nations in the ICEF Miami workshop and highly suggest this opportunity to meet and evaluate the options.

Contrary to the recruiting agent systems in China and India that are highly developed and have matured into a challenging network of super bureaus with many unstructured (and often uncontrollable) sub-agents, there are opportunities to create valuable relationships with lots of the agencies which are growing in Africa. This recruitment station is a site topic all of its own and we will share it at a future blog post this season.

[magzoso-tech]

New Post has been published on https://magzoso.com/tech/social-media-platforms-that-thrived-or-died-in-the-decade-past/

Social Media Platforms That Thrived (or Died) in the Decade Past

“You are what you share.” These famous words from Charles Leadbeater’s renowned book ‘We Think: The Power Of Mass Creativity’ are extremely apt in today’s times. Your personal and professional resume gain extra weightage, based on the number of followers, and the number of eyeballs your social posts get. The last decade in particular, has seen the evolution of social media in tonnes of growth spurts. It saw TikTok become a household name, and Tinder became the new way for people to find partners. While some social media platforms thrived in this Internet era, some stumbled off the shelf.

The increasingly competitive market space and the ingrained fleeting nature of social media forced some platforms to shut shop as well. The biggest shockers were Orkut, Google+, Yahoo Messenger, and Blackberry Messenger or BBM, as users fondly liked to it. In the face of the competition, these didn’t manage to grab their audience’s attention long enough and were forced to close down. As far as social media is concerned, this was the decade of WhatsApp, Instagram, and TikTok.

We have compiled a list of big social media networking platforms that debuted in and reigned in the last decade, and a list of platforms that succumbed under pressure. Some of the platforms that died saw significant highs at the beginning, only to be shut down years later. This list is filled with nostalgia, heartache, and is a nagging reminder to a massive life reality check – nothing lasts forever.

Instagram 

Instagram is one of the biggest social media platforms in the world right now. The image-sharing app was launched in 2010 by creators Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, and was acquired by Facebook in 2012. It enjoys over one billion monthly active users, and has 500 million users who use Instagram Stories every day. The app was also the second most downloaded free app on the App Store in 2018 (2019 stats still not available). Instagram allows users to share photos and videos, lets you follow friends and influencers, and even post 24-hour snippets called Instagram Stories. Currently, Instagram competes with Snapchat and TikTok in the social networking space.

Snapchat 

Snapchat arrived at a time when Facebook and Twitter were already extremely popular, and Instagram was gaining momentum as well. Launched in 2011 by Evan Spiegel, the photo and video sharing app now enjoys 210 million daily active users (as of October 2019). Snapchat played on the idea of disappearing messages, something that wasn’t tapped into before. This feature has since been aped by Facebook in all of its properties – including WhatsApp and Instagram.

Telegram 

Telegram is essentially a WhatsApp alternative, and has grown quite a bit of fan following since its launch in 2013. As of March 2018, the app enjoys 200 million monthly active users, and Telegram gets new features regularly via updates. It competes directly with WhatsApp that has taken the instant messaging world by storm.

TikTok 

Having launched in 2017, TikTok is touted to be the fastest growing social media app out there. It has almost 500 million active users, and was the third most downloaded app in Q1 2019 with 188 million downloads. This is 70 percent growth from Q1 2018. The app looks to fill the void that Vine left, but it offers a lot more. Influencing creators on TikTok are considered celebrities, and it is well on its way to world domination. The latest data from App Annie suggests that TikTok is continuing its explosive growth around the world, with the insights company ranking TikTok just behind Instagram in terms of monthly active users through the third quarter of 2019.

Pinterest 

Founded in 2010, Pinterest offers online discovery of information in the form of images, GIFs, and videos. As of August 2019, the platform has reached 300 million active users. Over time, the platform has attracted over 200 billion Pinterest pins, and over 4 billion Pinterest boards. Interestingly the gender parity is quite large, and 70 percent of Pinterest users are females.

Over time, Pinterest has attracted over 200 billion Pinterest pins

Tinder

Tinder, a unique dating app, was welcomed with open arms. Launched in 2012, it has now become quite popular amongst teenagers. Recent user statistics are not known, but a 2018 report states that over 57 million people use Tinder around the world, out of which 4.1 million Tinder subscribers pay for a premium Tinder Plus and Tinder Gold. Furthermore, Tinder is used in 190 countries, and is available in 40 languages.

Quora 

If you’re looking for answers, Quora is possibly the place to go to. From questions like ‘Which is the best way to learn programming?’ to questions like ‘Which is the best country to migrate from India and start a new life?’ – all of these are answered in detailed manner by varied users. This platform was launched in 2010, and is now a pool of some great answers. Quora’s userbase is constantly growing. It grew from 200 million monthly active users in 2017 to 300 million monthly active users in 2018.

Quora was launched in 2010, and is now a pool of some great answers.

Facebook Messenger 

Facebook Messenger was introduced as a separate app by the social giant in 2011, forcing users to download the app from the app stores if they wished to continue chatting to their Facebook friends. While user base stats of the app are not known, Facebook last year introduced AI bots for businesses to chat with clients easily.

Mastodon 

Mastodon, an open source decentralised social networking platform, is fast gaining popularity. Touted to be an alternative to Twitter, the Mastodon community has grown to over 2.2 million people. Unlike Twitter, where one corporation has full control over the rules and regulations, any user can create their own server of Mastodon and manage it.

Twitch 

Twitch is a live video streaming platform that was launched in 2011 and is prominently used for gameplay streaming. It is particularly famous in the US, and as of 2018, it enjoys 2.2 million broadcasters monthly and 15 million daily active users. The platform is owned by Amazon. As of October 2019, Twitch owns 75.6 percent of the streaming market, and YouTube is second with 17.6 percent.

Periscope 

Periscope is also a live streaming app that was launched in 2015 by Twitter. The successor of Meerkat, Periscope has managed to stand its ground in a space where many have faltered. Twitter doesn’t reveal usage stats of Periscope.

Minds 

Minds was launched in 2015, and it essentially runs on the same principle as Mastodon. The open source network rewards its users with tokens for their contribution and engagement. As of March 2018, Minds has over 1.25 million registered users and 105,000 active users.

Helo 

Helo is a newly launched social media app made for the vernacular speaking audience. The app has seen a sharp rise since 2017, and it has 50 million active users in India alone. While traditional social media apps are available in the universal language of English, Helo tries to offer solace to the large vernacular speaking audience. The app supports 13 Indian languages.

ShareChat 

ShareChat follows the same principle as Helo, and taps into the vernacular speaking audience as well. The Indic language-based social network ShareChat app has been growing steadily over the last two years. Launched in 2015, the app is now touted to be India’s largest vernacular social media platform with nearly 60 million users. ShareChat has some big investors like Xiaomi and Twitter, and latest round of funding was led by the latter. The Bengaluru-based chat app startup is today valued at over $600 million.

WhatsApp

Wondering why WhatsApp is at the bottom of this list? Because, it was launched in the latter part of 2009 missing this decade by a few months. While this list is all about the social media platforms that launched and grew in this decade, we couldn’t leave out WhatsApp as its evolution began in this decade, changing the digital social landscape of today. The app became the world’s most popular messaging app in 2015, and as of February 2018, it enjoys more than 1.5 billion users worldwide.

As of February 2018, WhatsApp enjoys more than 1.5 billion users worldwide.

Google+

Google+ was launched with a lot of promise in 2011, but succumbed to the competition from Facebook and others. The final nail on the coffin was a major security issue that was reportedly discovered, compelling Google to shut down Google+ in April this year. The company also claimed that its social platform wasn’t experiencing enough usage or engagement from its users with most sessions maxing out at 5 seconds.

Orkut 

Orkut was a household name in India in the latter part of the last decade, but the growing popularity of Facebook got users to migrate from Orkut, leaving it no option but to shut down in 2014. Owner Google said that other platforms had outpaced Orkut’s growth, and the website no longer exists. Google then pegged its hope on Google+, but sadly, that platform also fell off the shelf this year.

Orkut was shut down in 2014 by Google Photo Credit: TheNextWeb

BlackBerry Messenger

BlackBerry Messenger also shut shop earlier in May this year, blaming the difficulty of bringing new users to BBM as one of the top reasons. BBM was one of the most loved instant messaging applications of its time, but its popularity dwindled as competing chat apps like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger gained momentum.

Vine

In 2016, Twitter announced that it was shutting down Vine, a popular video loop app that offered users the ability to make and share six second videos. The app couldn’t compete with the rising popularity of Instagram, and users who were once considered as Vine celebrities started posting videos on Instagram instead. Instagram can be considered as a big reason why Vine became obsolete.

Yahoo Messenger

If you’re a 90’s kid, there are high chances that you’ve used most of the apps mentioned on this grim list. While these apps don’t exist today, they were once an integral part of our online social life. Yahoo Messenger was once such instant messaging app that died last year. In its prime years, the service was the most used as it was an alternative to emails and SMS messaging. However, with the arrival of smartphones, Facebook, and eventually WhatsApp – Yahoo Messenger lost its steam and users started to switch.

Path 

Initially launched in November 2010, Path social platform served as personal journal of sorts that you could share with your family and friends. This platform gained over a million users once, but eventually died in 2018 due to lack of proper growth and increasing competition.

iTunes Ping 

Apple’s promising iTunes Ping social network failed to gain traction that it had hoped from the users. The music-based social network was launched in 2010, and was shut two years later. It is one of the biggest examples of Apple having difficulty in getting people to use its web-based services.

Meerkat

Meerkat, the once popular live-streaming app, closed in 2016. It was early on the scene by launching a live-streaming service ahead of Twitter and Facebook, but its fame was short-lived.

Yik Yak 

Yik Yak was an anonymous messaging app for college students that shut shop in 2017. The app rode to popularity after its launch in 2014, but soon became a breeding ground for hate speech, cyber bullying, discriminatory speech, and gun and bombing threat, all under the garb of anonymity. The company tried to bring in measures to curb the slur, while also maintaining anonymity, but it then started to lose user base, and had to wind down operations eventually.

Friendster 

Friendster was one of those social networks that helped kick off the social media era. It was founded in 2003, and soon lost credibility due to technology issues. There were problems in feature launches, and it soon drifted into irrelevance as Facebook gained momentum quickly. Interestingly, in the early days, Friendster investors reportedly had approached Facebook with an acquisition deal, which Mark Zuckerberg then refused. Zuckerberg later bought Friendster’s entire portfolio of social networking patents for reportedly $40 million. Friendster closed its doors on 2015.

Friends Reunited

Friends Reunited, another pioneer in the social media industry, announced that it would be winding down in 2016. The platform was launched in 2000, but couldn’t keep up with the likes of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. In its closing announcement, the company’s founder Steve Pankhurst said, “It is clear that the site is no longer really used for the purpose it was built for … therefore, it is with a heavy heart, that we have decided to close the service down.”

Pheed 

Pheed was launched in 2012, and the social platform let you share texts, photos, and videos, just like the others. It managed to top the App Store charts in the social networking category in just a year after launch. Aimed at teenagers, it failed to gain the long-term momentum it hoped for. Pheed was sold to American Movil in March 2014, and in April 2016, Pheed was shut down and the technology was integrated to América Móvil platforms.

DailyBooth 

DailyBooth was a social network that allowed users to take a picture of them every day, and post it with a caption. The website would in turn generate a little flip book style video for its users. While the concept was intriguing, it never truly broke through to the mainstream, and had to close down in 2012.

Tbh app (Facebook-owned)

Tbh app, another anonymous social app, was launched in 2017, and in just a month it managed to rank number one in the US App Store. It was acquired by Facebook soon after, but its fame was extremely short-lived, as the social giant announced its discontinuation in July 2018 due to low usage.

Eons.com 

Eons.com was yet another social networking site founded in 2006, and this one tried to cater to the baby boomers and users over the age of 40. The site was shut down in 2012, after a business issue with the service provider was not resolved. To this date, the site remains shut.

[chorusfm]

Brand New – Science Fiction

If asked to condense Brand New’s career into one word, that word would be “reactive.” From the title of their second album, Deja Entendu, translating to “already heard” to the abrasive, pedal-infused guitars that dominate their fourth album, Daisy, Brand New have always been a band known to react to critics, fans, and perhaps most importantly, themselves. For many readers of AbsolutePunk.net (R.I.P.) and now this site, August 17th was a day eight years in the making. It started in typical Brand New fashion with fans receiving cryptic packages in the mail, sparking internet confusion and excitement. This time, however, that package contained the band’s fifth (and presumably final) album, Science Fiction – a fitting goodbye to fans who waited just as long for lyric booklets, let alone a new album. After all, frontman Jesse Lacey has been uncommonly direct about the band’s whereabouts this past year, announcing things like, “We’re done,” at shows, selling shirts predicting the band’s end (2000 – 2018) and even ribbing the band’s bad habits on standalone single “I Am a Nightmare” (“I’m not a prophecy come true/I’ve just been goddamn mean to you”). So here we are, less than a week after the band mysteriously announced a new vinyl LP to be shipped in October, and we finally have a new Brand New album. But before we look any further into it, you have to understand that many of us grew up with this band, either during their original eight-year run or waiting another eight for a new album. Brand New introduced me to an entire genre; their songs were among the first I would learn to play and eventually perform at numerous high school talent shows and parties. I made new friends and lost old ones while these songs played in the background; I graduated, got engaged and started a new life with these records in my collection. It’s nearly impossible to detail exactly what Brand New means to the kind of people who frequent this site, but it’s also integral to understanding why Science Fiction feels so vital. For many, it serves as the final piece to a puzzle they’ve been placing for 16 years, a send-off from a band whose music was always there when they needed it. And for Brand New, Science Fiction is a victory lap, an album that finally sheds all expectations in favor of something more mature, more grounded, more real. And it’s better for that. Put simply, Science Fiction is a sigh of relief. Those expecting another complete transformation should know that going in, because on first listen, Science Fiction is surprisingly tame (especially for a band who opened their previous album with “Vices”). The band doesn’t unearth an entirely new genre for themselves, despite strong Americana influences against a fitting dystopian setting. As promised, the songs hearken back to a place Brand New could’ve explored before Daisy, building most from that album’s slower numbers (opener “Lit Me Up” recalls the swirling, The Cure-esque guitars of “You Stole”) and the demos that leaked prior to the band’s third album, The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me. Also worth noting is the album’s cinematic scope, connected by a series of spoken word segments and eerie field recordings. Despite not playing into the fan service that would have been a more extreme change in sound, the album is designed to give fans the most before the band’s departure, running just over an hour despite excluding its pre-release singles. Science Fiction gives us hints of past eras and the artists who influenced those eras; the crunchy power-pop of “Can’t Get It Out” and “No Control” recall the straightforward rock numbers of Deja Entendu, as well as the recent output of close friend Kevin Devine. Career highlight “Could Never Be Heaven” further cashes in on Lacey’s best Morrissey impression, an influence often emulated but only truly realized in the second half of the band’s discography, while “Waste” plays like a sonic cousin to “Brother’s Song” with a shiny, new arena-rock luster. Brand New only truly repeat themselves once here, but when they do, it ends up being a standout moment. “451” is a foot-stomping blues number that recalls Daisy’s sharpened, twangy guitars and Lacey’s fiery vocals. Even if the band doesn’t entirely escape the shadow of previous experiments, they do fully flesh out those experiments here. “In the Water,” makes use of harmonica and banjo, effectively billing itself as Brand New’s first song to lean into country territory since “Good Man.” Lead guitarist Vincent Accardi lets loose sparingly, but when he does, he pushes tracks like “Same Logic/Teeth” and “137” into the stratosphere. The former frankensteins Modest Mouse- like guitars with jagged chorus-lines and a harmony-laden, near-acapella bridge while the latter is an exercise in restraint, slowly building to an explosive, “You Won’t Know”-sized guitar solo. Despite documenting his fatigue, Lacey is at the top of his lyrical game, painting pictures as realistic (“Not just a manic depressive/Toting around my own crown/I’ve got a positive message/Sometimes I can’t get it out”), apocalyptic (“Let’s all go play Nagasaki/We can all get vaporized/Hold my hand, let’s turn to ash/I’ll see you on the other side”) and biblical as ever (“Holding this mic to a pillar of salt/She won’t say anything at all.”) Sprinkled throughout Science Fiction is commentary on the band’s end; Lacey is “strumming with a heavy wrist” on “Can’t Let It Go,” while on the chorus of “Waste,” he sings, “If it’s breaking your heart/If nothing is fun/Don’t lose hope, my son/This is the last one.” There are even references to past songs treated like Easter eggs for longtime fans, whether it’s a line about taking your head apart or “At the bottom of the ocean, fish won’t judge you by your faults,” being sung in Accardi’s signature baritone. You’d be surprised how fast an hour goes by in the shadow of an eight-year wait. In that context, “Batter Up” is an understated career closer, one that acts much more modest about Brand New’s swan song than I do in this album review. Somewhere between “Jesus” and “Soco Amaretto Lime,” the gorgeous arrangement finds Lacey at the end of his rope, simply remarking, “It’s never going to stop/Batter up/Give me your best shot/Batter up.” If it sounds like a bit of a downer, well, it is, and that’s nothing new for Brand New. But there’s a reason I describe Science Fiction as a sigh of relief. Despite their weariness, the band never place the burden on their listener. Regardless of the divisive mystique surrounding them, Brand New have been consistently grateful and in awe of their fanbase, especially recently. When I hear “Batter Up,” I’m reminded of seeing Brand New at Stage AE in Pittsburgh on July 10th, 2014. It was Lacey’s 36th birthday, and as he closed the show with “Soco Amaretto Lime,” he made a heartwrenching change to the song’s refrain: I’m just jealous ’cause you’re young and in love. He didn’t sing it with hostility; he sang it with humility, the same humility that shines in the line, “We all see what once was beautiful turn old and grey.” But Science Fiction is beautiful, for all of the nostalgia it stirs up and all of the memories it has yet to detail. And goddamn, does it feel good to type that. --- Please consider supporting us so we can keep bringing you stories like this one. ◎ https://chorus.fm/review/brand-new-science-fiction/

[byeoltan]

Did You Know?

that in BTS ‘봄날 (spring day)’ MV, the train station that showed taehyung waiting in the beginning is actually a real train station, iryeong station in yangju city, gyeonggi-do, albeit an abandoned one, since they only transport cargo now.

and that the music video is one helluva train ride to a place where there stood a tall tree, the place where they got together and come in terms with grief and hardships in life because the cold winter does end at some point, and spring comes. but let’s talk about that later :) lets, lets talk about the very first lines namjoon uttered so carefully, such vulnerable words

i miss you saying it like this makes me miss you even more even looking at your photos, i miss you ain’t time so heartless i..hated us the us who now can’t even look at each other’s face even once

보고 싶어/bogoshippeo means ‘i miss you’, an informal, casual tone that you can use freely to significant others, friends, families, it literally means ‘i want to see you’ but essentially, it means, ‘i miss you’, here, though, namjoon used 보고 싶다/bogoshipda, which is also an informal word, but a non-conjugated form of 보고 싶어/bogoshippeo, it holds a slightly different meaning than just ‘i miss you’ because it’s not a verb. 보고 싶다/bogoshipda for lack of better words, is an expression of longing, and carries a deeper emotion than just i miss you, kinda like a monologue (?) cos he’s not saying it to someone in particular, the expression feels a bit colder, which is ironic cos then he went on about how cold time is for making him missing someone.

this place is all winter, even in august winter comes it’s like my heart/mind races with time the lonely ‘snowpiercer’ who travelled to the south (i want to) while holding your hands, go all the way to the other side of the earth i wish i could end this winter, i wonder, friend, how much does the longing should fall like snow for spring day to come?

설국열차 is the korean title for the movie ‘snowpiercer’, also the name of the train in the movie that holds the last remnants of humanity after an attempt at climate engineering in order to stop global warming has unintentionally created a new ice age. essentially, ppl in the train thought no life can exist outside of the train, not knowing there is (a polar bear), which showed up at the end of the movie. i thought it was brilliant how namjoon referenced this movie, it’s like he’s saying no matter how hard circumstances can be, no matter how hard you think you have it, there is always hope, there is always a way out, there’s always spring after a cold cold winter, even when it seems impossible, you can have your cake and eat it

(or not ;p) 

the lyrics in this song isn’t that hard to comprehend tbh it’s quite straightforward but the way they express it is both poetry and cynicism at its best, and despite the repetitive chorus the song is atcually quick and full, leaving nothing short of amazement. 

like the tiny dust that floats/flies in the air if i’m the snow that flies in the air  i would’ve reached you a little faster 

my heart swells a little here, because they are reiterating what namjoon says about wanting to hold hands so we can end this winter together, that they want to, if only they’re with us, doesn’t it soothe your heart a little? knowing there are people out there who knows how cold life can be, and wants to get to us quickly so we could the end it together 

and when some of the members lament

the snowflakes are falling little by little bit more, they fall i miss you (i miss you) how much longer do i have to wait and how many more nights do i have to stay up, to see you? will i ever get to meet you?

the others be consoling like, well,

after we pass by the end of cold winter until spring day comes once again until the flowers blossom at that place (even when it’s cold/even when you have to wait long), for a little while, please stay please stay

but then yoongi’s part came and i sobbed a little because it’s so??

i wonder if you have changed, or if i have changed. perhaps, i’ve changed. i hate the time that’s flowing at this very moment  i guess we have changed, huh i guess everyone does that, huh yeah, okay, i hated you but even when you left, there was never a day that i’ve forgotten about you and even though i actually miss you, i’m gonna erase you now cos that’ll hurt way less than blaming you

and it doesn’t help when both seokjin and jimin go on to say

i try to blow away the cold you who is like smoke, like white smoke even when i say i’m going to erase you the truth is i still can’t let you go

 /crieS/ which is why the ending gets me because

you know it all you’re my best friend the morning will come again no matter what kind of darkness or (bad) seasons  they can’t last forever

(and) it looks like cherry blossoms are blooming (now) and this winter too, is coming to an end i miss you  if i wait just a little bit longer if i stay up just a few more nights i will come to see you i will come to take you (away)

after we pass by the end of cold winter until spring day comes once again until the flowers blossom at that place (even when it’s cold/even when you have to wait long), for a little while, please stay please stay

i want to mention here that omelas referenced in the mv as we are all prob aware of by now, tells a story of how a child was kept hidden in a secluded place in the omelas city, with horrible conditions, in exchange of happiness of the entire city. and that the same tragedy also shares with children in the movie snowpiercer itself, where they were enslaved and used as replacement parts to keep the train functioning. to put it simply, children depicted in both stories were convinced to give their life for the continuation of a way of life that was totally oppressive to their own circumstances, which is extremely radical in a way that has deep resonance for our real world, like how can you stand being together in a society that is built from abuse and discrimination, entrenched inequality, and do nothing?

and it is precisely because of this, bangtan continues to voice out their opinions as they did in previous albums, and call out the perpetrators as well as the bystanders for everyhting that has gone wrong, that could go wrong, and that is going wrong in the society, especially in the events relating to their home country south korea

let me bring you back to the music video where jimin picked up the white shoes from the winter sea

the white shoes that middle-school/high school students wear in south korea

and how he carries the shoes all through out the mv

before he brought them to a tree after they all got off the train 

and hang them

these scenes imo is very much referenced to the sewol ferry tragedy that took place in april, 2014, the incident that had resulted in more than 300 deaths, including 250 second-year high school students and their teachers from danwon high school who were on a field trip that day, and is recognized as one of the most devastating maritime disaster in decades, and it’s not just because of a sinking ferry itself but because of willfull negligence and corruption.

fyi when the ferry was sinking, the captain of the ship and a number of cabin crew made announcement for the passengers to stay where they were when they themselves chose to abandon the ship while hundreds of people were still trapped inside. and being good citizens they all remained at their cabin, where they waited for further orders, which never came 

the members of crew who stayed to help passengers were among those who died. 

and the disaster doesn’t end there. it was found out later that the ship itself was illegally modified and was carrying almost double its legal limit with inexperienced crew and a questionable relationship between the ship operators and state regulators. the investigation was also conducted behind closed doors where the families are not permitted to observe the recovery operation, these allegations as well as  the way the government lacked transparency adds more to the lengthy laundry list of grievances souht koreans have against park geun hye’s administration. there were questions raised as to where she was when it happened that morning and why wasn’t the issue addressed publicly even 7 hours afterwards.

the yellow ribbons symbolize hope and solidarity with the families victims and i think it’s genius how they incorporate this knowing very well that they can be blacklisted from the government which is ridiculous at every level. the government was highly blamed for many lives lost that day, what with the lack of safety standards in the country, the families were also mostly left out of the investigation, there’s just so many dissatisfaction ppl have over park geunhye’s administration, and that itself is an understatement. and with bangtan and bighit donating 100 million won (approximately $85,000) to the sewol ferry disaster 416 family council, they are probably blacklisted already :/ 

the pile of clothing could also be a metaphor to ppl who left this world as exhibited by french artist christian boltanski’s work entitled ‘personnes’ as part of monumenta in 2010. i quote, “These grouped clothes may represent mass graves, or corpses arrayed for identification in the school gym, but they also constitute a kind of cemetery. For the experience is just the same: that there is nobody here and yet the place is crowded. Personnes, the piece is called: people, but at the same time no one.”

which is why even though tying shoes high on a tree branch or power lines have variation in meanings for different country and culture, there is one famous belief taht i think is what is meant here; that tying shoes high on a tree branch signifies someone has died and that the shoes belong to the dead person. that the reason they are hanging, is so when the dead person’s spirit returns, it will walk that high above the ground, that much closer to heaven 

and it would’ve been fineeeee to just reference spring day like this as a remembrance to the passing of the passengers and the beautiful children because the song DOES talk about grief and hardships in life, and that no matter what kind of darkness or (bad) seasons they can’t last forever 

but then bangtan had these lines that are repeatedly voiced melancholically all throughout the chorus until the very end of the song and i just–

after we pass by the end of cold winter until spring day comes once again until the flowers blossom at that place (even when it’s cold/even when you have to wait long), for a little while, please stay please stay

it’s as if bangtan is throwing shade at the captain and his crew for being dishonorable, asking the children to stay where they were ‘until the rescue boats arrive’ when they themselves were up and about ready to get out of the ship, 

it’s just. 

when the boys say these last lines it’s as if, it’s as if the boys are saying to the children that they know it’s hard to wait, but just stay there. it’s okay to stay there, i’ll come to you instead, yeah? just you wait there till i come to you so we can end this suffering together

[ericasbookblog-blog]

Graphic Novels

Yue, S. (2010). Smile. New York, NY: Scholastic, Inc.

Introduction 

Growing up and being a teenager is hard enough, but it is even harder when you have got a million things going on! Friends, family, boy troubles, and even dentists visits do not make being a teenager any easier. In Raina Telgemeier’s Smile, the reader is taken through Raina’s journey through all of her struggles, and is reminded that sometimes all you have to do is smile!

Evaluation of Book

Through reading Raina Telgemeier’s Smile, one of the traits that is seen within the illustration is the illustrator’s ability to create depth with detail. I think it is important to highlight just how beautiful the colors are within the illustration and how the colors work together to create the depth that the reader is able to see. For most of the book, Raina is seen having conversations, and in times that she is not, the reader is able to read what Raina is narrating. One of the biggest examples of depth within detail comes towards the end when Raina is at her high school dance. The two pages of pictures have no text, all you see is Raina and her new group of friends having an amazing time dancing, and at the bottom the rest of the events that are happening within the dance, and the reader can just see how different Raina is looking in comparison to the beginning of the book. Through the depth in detail, the reader is able to really go Raina’s journey with her and the reader really feels invested in the story, hoping that she will find the joy and confidence to smile and be happy with herself.

Another trait illustrated is understatement. There are various examples within the book where the text is depicting something different than what the character might be expressing. An example of this is when Raina is at Juan’s party and everyone is playing “Spin the Bottle.” Everyone is excited to be participating, except Raina. From the illustrations, it is clear that something is going on that is making her not want to be a part of the game. Later on, it is revealed in the text that Raina does not want her first kiss to say it was “gross” kissing her, and she does not want any of the “ugly boys” that are there to be her first kiss. There are various instances aside from this one where the reader does not need explicit text to put pieces together on how Raina is feeling or what is going on with her.

This book was a fun read, primarily because the dialogue in the book makes it so easy to follow. It is not until you are reaching the end of the book that you realize that you have been with Raina through 6th grade, and now she is at her first high school dance! So much happens throughout the book, so many events that are monumental for anyone, however the dialogue that is present makes it so much easier and relatable to follow. There is a specific scene in the book where Raina is describing how perfect the day is, then an earthquake happens. Everything that is depicted, from Raina’s mom’s reaction, to her siblings, to even then worrying about her father are all relatable and told in a dialogue that the reader can keep up with. Through it all, you really forget that through everything Raina is going through because the reader is consumed on everything and everyone that Raina is meeting in her life. 

Response

While reading this book, I felt all types of emotions. This book reminded me of being in middle school and having braces, it reminded me of my first time I had a crush, and I was ALSO in band (I played the clarinet though), and it reminded me just how annoying my little sisters were while I was going through all the struggles of becoming a teenager. I think one of the reasons this book is such a wonderful read is because you really do go through a journey with the character. While reading, I do feel like I got to see Raina grow up and become a much happier version of herself. One of my favorite parts in the book is when she finally stands up to her friends after they pull her skirt down. She finally realizes that those are not real friends- they have been treating her negatively for so long, and she distances herself from them. Ultimately it works out for the best because then she makes new even better friends! It is really easy to get consumed in the story and for the reader to connect, as so many of these events have happened to most of us.

I think it is important for books like these to be out there, because even though the book takes place a long time ago, a lot of these events are relatable to children and teens now. Raina is such a relatable teen for many kids and teens out there, but perhaps the best part of the whole story is that she gets through it! For many children, going to middle school, having their first crush, getting braces, getting acne, it is all too much! It is nice for there to be books that are able to depict a person that has gone through it. Sure, it was not easy, and she literally lost two teeth in the process, but she gets through it and even has moments where she does enjoy school and everything else. In my opinion, it is so much harder being a teen now than it was when I was a teen- having positive role models can be helpful and even characters in literature than can be relatable.

As a whole, I think this is a wonderful book. I think there are so many subjects and topics that are touched that you really do not notice it, until you are towards the end and you realized “oh, what a journey it has been!” I personally think this book has a lot of detail and other wonderful qualities that make it a great read. At my current library, children are always trying to get their hands on one of Raina Telgemeier’s books- and I can see why. With a character like Raina it is so easy to feel like you get what she is going through. I think this is a great book for kids or teens to read. 

Conclusion 

Overall, I enjoyed reading Raina Telgemeier’s Smile. The book has so many wonderful qualities, from the colorful pictures, to the engaging dialogue, it is a book that is relatable to any teen at any part of their teen years. Also, I think there is so much more content than just Raina’s story about her braces that makes it appealing to readers. I would give this book five out of five stars.

Citation

Telgemeier, R. (2010). Smile. New York, NY: Scholastic, Inc. Yue, S. (2010). Smile. New York, NY: Scholastic, Inc.

Tamaki, M. (2014). This One Summer. New York, NY: First Second.

Introduction 

In Jillian Tamaki’s This One Summer, the author tells the story of two girls and their summer at Awago Beach. Though it is a tradition that both girls have to attend Awago Beach in the summer, there is no shortage of exciting events and challenges that they each face. At the end, Windy and Rose leave Awago Beach hopeful for the following summer.

Evaluation of Book

One of the main traits that is seen within the illustration is the depiction of action. There is a lot of action occurring in the story, and the illustration does a great job in portraying those actions. One of the specific scenes that reminds me of this trait is when Rose and her mom have their disagreement. The illustrations really portray how angry Rose is as well as her mom’s feeling of just not knowing how to communicate how she is feeling. Also one of the things the illustration does is show noise. The illustrations have a recurring “ticka, ticka, ticka” in the background, which only seems to intensify along with their argument. The illustration’s ability to portray action makes it easier for the reader to visually imagine what is really going on, and how all the characters are feeling.

Another trait within the illustration is texture. The texture that is displayed within the book also goes hand in hand to create the total composition of the illustrations. One of the best examples of the texture is when Rose and Windy are seen walking from the beach back home. When they walk, they have to go through grass and other tropical greenery. Seeing the texture in the illustrations really reminds me of what it is like to go back to El Salvador. The weather over there is extremely humid and sticky. Seeing the illustrations I get the same type of feeling. In addition, the texture is evident within the character’s faces. An example of this is Rose’s mom. She does not look old, neither does her dad. However because of the texture in the illustration, you can see that there has been aging maybe because of some stress that she has encountered. It is not until later in the book that the reader finds out that she had a miscarriage last year, and going back to Awago reminds her of it.

A trait that is seen within the writing is precise vocabulary. One of my favorite parts in the book is when Windy always questions things. She always questions things or events with the precise vocabulary- at the end of the day all she wants is an answer! Also, the entire story is written in a way where the vocabulary makes the story easy to understand and follow. One of the things that is hard to believe is that the entire book takes place in the span of one summer. A lot of events occur within that time and it does not feel like it because most of the events occur within the span of watching horror movies, going to the beach, and just Rose hanging out with Windy. The fact that the words are easy to follow along with the illustration, makes this a story that is a fun read. 

Response

One of the ways that I was able to relate to the story is by the dynamic that the main character, Rose, has with her father. It is very clear from the beginning that Rose and her father have a very close relationship and she is very upset when he leaves because of an argument with her mom. I remember growing up I was very close to my father. I would always prefer to go do things with him than with my mom. Reading and seeing the character in the story be similar, really brought me back to that time. Another way in which I related to the story was just remembering what summers were like growing up. I personally never went to any specific location, however I remember just repeating the same action over and over and it almost made you dread the summers. Reading about Rose and Windy’s summer reminded me of just being bored doing the same thing, but still- being thankful that you were not in school!

Having books like this in literature can send out various messages. One of the primary messages it sends is the importance of communication. Throughout the story, there are various times that the characters are not able to communicate effectively and it ultimately ruins their relationship. An example of this is Rose and her mom. They are not able to communicate effectively about their entire situation so it creates a very hostile situation. Another example is the events happening with the Dud (Duncan) and Jenny. Since Jenny becomes pregnant, there is never really a time in the story where her and Duncan talk about the situation. Instead there is always a harsh exchange of words, to the point that she almost drowns. Another message is the importance of family. Personally, I think Rose would have had a much more enjoyable summer had she cleared up the situation with her mom. However, because there were so many emotions that were happening, they did not clear things up until the end, and it is only because Rose overheard the conversation her mom was having with Windy’s mom.

Overall, I do think this book was a good book. I was a bit surprised by the events that occurred throughout the book, however, I noticed quickly that those events were not altering the main characters and their situations. Ultimately, they were trying to have a great summer and leave their problems, but that is not how things work- you cannot run away from your problems. I also enjoyed reading about two really good friends and their summer. It is a wonderful thing to read about two kids that do not go to the same school, but still they remain as friends every summer. Seeing friendships like these definitely sends out a positive message.

Conclusion 

I really enjoyed reading This One Summer by Jullian Tamaki, illustrated by Mariko Tamaki. The story was exciting enough to follow as well as the illustrations. Personally, I think I enjoyed the illustrations a lot more than the text, simply because they allowed the story to be elevated to a new level. I would give this book four out of five stars.

Citation

Tamaki, J. (2014). This One Summer. New York, NY: First Second. Tamaki, M. (2014). This One Summer. New York, NY: First Second.