I think it’s pretty different in the UK. Both my parents got their phds here in London (albeit, in genetics) and iirc they weren’t doing any kind of teaching, marking, tutoring, etc. They for sure travelled quite a bit and were publishing a lot of papers, but that’s as far as that goes. The hardest part of the work was the “work”.
Ruby Granger #46 Actively making time for boredom
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Fair enough, here PhD students are basically teaching assistants. To be fair a lot of these activities are paid extra on top of the PhD allowance.
Oxford offers a part-time version of their English PhD. I’m wondering if that’s what she’ll go for, especially if this library job is more than just a summer position. The part-time program gives her an excuse to draw out her time at Oxford longer, be under less pressure (in theory), and still live at home (unlike the full-time program, she just needs to attend a certain amount of days a year, not live in the Oxford radius).
Well, that's not worst than Clara's poetic adventures hurting herself or Marfa being a cringy teen ruining vegan supposedly edible things for fun. Now daddy Sirius seems to be the only almost sane one in that asylum. Probably because he's outside a lot more than the others.
Looks like she's in Copenhagen now.
Will she top last year's holiday high score? And how long before she's back to performative poverty and complaining about how poor she JANUINELY is while having 20 holidays over the summer?
Will she top last year's holiday high score? And how long before she's back to performative poverty and complaining about how poor she JANUINELY is while having 20 holidays over the summer?
On the bright side for us though, is the prospect of something more interesting to watch than another am/pm routine. And a chance to analyse the 'best friends' interactions.
She’s posted a packing video on TikTok, she’s gone for four nights and is only taking a carry on (looks like just an under the seat bag). I’ve done this a few times and it’s totally doable with smart packing, so it’s really irrationally irritated me that she’s wasted half her bag space with two hardbacks, what looks like one paperback, and a notebook for four nights?? Then when she shows the outfits it looks like it’s just two bottoms, two t shirts, a sweater vest and a jumper?? Why does she always prioritise her ‘I’m a reader’ aesthetic over being practical 
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Shocking Cohenhagen vlog predictions:
Ruby will make Copenhagen look like the most boring place on Earth.
She will not allow Blakeney to speak.
"MOIY BASST FRAND BLAKENEEEEEY" will be uttered at least 4 times.
She'll mention that "OFFCWOARSE" she had to visit a bookshop, despite having almost no interest in actually reading books.
She'll make sure to shoehorn in a comment about the vegan food options in Copenhagen, despite her not being vegan.
She'll make sure to remind everyone that she was an AWKSFWUD STEEYUUUEDONNT.
It'll be topped with insufferable purple prose narration.
She'll assure us that "JANUINELY [insert lie here]".
Something will be described as "ACKSQUISITE".
The video will be VARRY KOINDLY SPWONSORED by a service that Ruby never uses.
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Bonus points if she makes Blakeney twirl with her again.
Will or won't she Rusplain the concept of 'hygge' in her Copenhagen video over a lingering shot of a cinnamon roll and coffee? Place your bets now. And extra points if she mispronounces it.
God help us all, she’s making an effort to share more of her ”poetry” on insta. Their chickens got got by foxes and they’ve left eggs to rot in the chicken coop, and also there are birds not chirping, but chipping away at something mysterious in the bushes, which will give birth to berries next month, because that’s how biology works.
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”HOOGA is Danish for kyozy macadamia, which is moiy prafarrd asthatick”
I'd contend the extra points should be if she gets the pronunciation right, which is highly unlikely.
A VEEEGAN cinnamon roll, OFCOARSE.
Just checked at what a palaver and it's funny to see how the parents aren't eating vegan or even vegetarian when they're on their own:
extract from their trip from France to Spain:
" For dinner, we knocked up tinned sardines, couscous and cauliflower rice on the camping stove, which was surprisingly tasty. "
And they said they ate some cheese and baguette in a small town. Later few mentions of seafoods, roasted chicken, more oysters, anchovies, tuna, prawns, dairy products, and it's not like a one time, she mentionned that eating prawns was a habit. And they also look surprisingly normal in that blog, maybe being away from the crazy helped.
Now, I'm can't say for all villages in France but you rarely find vegetal cheese in more rural places, people aren't fond of these fake stuff. And sardines... I'm pretty sure Alan, Lola and Clara were happy to be far away from their daughters.
extract from their trip from France to Spain:
" For dinner, we knocked up tinned sardines, couscous and cauliflower rice on the camping stove, which was surprisingly tasty. "
And they said they ate some cheese and baguette in a small town. Later few mentions of seafoods, roasted chicken, more oysters, anchovies, tuna, prawns, dairy products, and it's not like a one time, she mentionned that eating prawns was a habit. And they also look surprisingly normal in that blog, maybe being away from the crazy helped.
Now, I'm can't say for all villages in France but you rarely find vegetal cheese in more rural places, people aren't fond of these fake stuff. And sardines... I'm pretty sure Alan, Lola and Clara were happy to be far away from their daughters.
I live in the US and I don't know a single MA/Phd student who doesn't work. I am getting my MA while working as a judicial interpreter. Perhaps the UK is set up differently. If that is the case, that sounds amazing! I am glad your parents got to devote themselves entirely to their education.
How to write a Ruby poem:
- Mention an animal, a plant or a weather event that you see directly outside.
- List three nouns.
- Include a sound.
- Include a colour (bonus points if it's a colour that doesn't exist).
- Add dashes randomly to make it JOSST LOIKE AMMILEEE DICKINSONNNN.
- Have no understanding of nature or science.
- ADD PARPLE PRYOSE.
- End on a passage that sounds foreboding or cryptic.
While pronouncing it like hygiene sans the 'ne'.
Actually PhD students often work in the UK, often for the university doing Lecturing, student advisors, assistants etc. In humanities it’s rare to get funding that covers fees and living expenses. MA students will work unless they have family financial support.
In Italy you cannot work and do your PhD, because you get paid for your PhD by the university and you are not supposed to take up other conflicting activities.
You can only do it if the faculty council gives you permission and if it doesn't exceed a certain amount of hours.
Most PhD students can live off of their stipend.
For MAs it's a bit more common but still definitely not the norm. Here it's pretty hard to find work that pays a liveable wage if you are a university student, and it's also very hard to reconcile a job with university due to the way university is organized here. You can actually join university as a worker student but it is expected it will take you twice as long to finish it, so you pay half the tuition.
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