Being British XII

[Kitty]

Whoops! There's the American in me again. In the States, you can study pre-law and then go to law school, but it's not that stringent. You can go to law school if you studied English, Business, Philosophy, Religion...it's not all that picky.

But I guess in Britain, you need to study law from the beginning?

Manchester, it is, then!

Sorry for resurrecting an old discussion: I'm at uni in Britain at the moment, so I know a bit about it (and have just been helping at an Open Day for kids who want to come here )

Hermione is an intelligent girl who has every reason to perform well at interviews, so in many ways if you want to send her to Oxford it's not unreasonable. What you'll need to consider is how she's going to explain what she's been doing while at Hogwarts and produce some exam results if she's going to university anywhere. Getting in to Oxford and Cambridge involves a certain amount of luck as well as intelligence and ability, so if you want to send Hermione there then you can, but equally she can go to Manchester and get on well there. Is Hermione actually going to university (or have gone?) or is she just telling her parents that because she can't explain what she has actually been doing? Because obviously if she didn't go to uni then you can get away with some mistakes because Hermione won't know what she's talking about....

[hogwartsbookworm]

Ok, I am writing a fic in the Trio's Era and I was wondering-
Was the phrase "Curiousity killed the cat" around in Britain then?

The main character in my fic is in Ravenclaw and I was thinking that, since Ravenclaws seem to like repeating their little mantra of "Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure," perhaps they have other sayings. I was going to have a character older than my OC encourage her to satisfy her curiousity because "while curiousity killed the cat... we're smarter than cats right?" Or something to that extent.

Also, if this phrase was around-
Do you think that wizards would have heard it?

Whether wizards were likely to have heard this phrase kinda decides whether the older character will be Muggleborn or Halfblood or whatever.

Thanks!

[Equinox Chick]

Hi there,

I've never heard the phrase you're thinking of (well not the added on bit), but one we used to say when I was at school was

'Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.'

I think that's supposed to mean that the satisfaction of knowledge brought them back to life ... I'm not a Claw, so not that knowledgeable

I'm a Brit and older than Trio era if that helps.

[AidaLuthien]

So this question is a bit odd... but what are the British stereotypes of the Chinese?

I feel that Americans tend to stereotype Chinese as quiet, while the Japanese consider the Chinese to be very loud. I'm curious what stereotypes a British person might have.

I don't mean to be offensive, I am honestly curious. A British wizard and a Chinese wizard may meet in my story, so I want to know what stereotypes they might be dealing with before they meet.

[Equinox Chick]

Inscrutable - that's the word that springs to mind.

It would depend whether you meant a Chinese person who lived in China, or a British Chinese person. Bear in mind this is my opinion only and it is only a stereotype which I realise is not the truth.

The former we'd see as mysterious, and either oppressed, poor and hard working or else a militant communist. The latter - hardworking, chatty, friendly and warm. Respectful as well to the older members of their family.


Carole

[AidaLuthien]

Ah, I meant a Chinese person from mainland China, not a Chinese-British person.

Thanks Carole for the stereotypes. ... that sounds very odd. But it is helpful with crafting how this meeting will go.

Edit: Thanks to Sarah as well.

[Sapphire at Dawn]

I've used 'curiosity killed the cat' phrase in one of my stories. It was used by a Muggle-born and my OC who is a pureblood doesn't think too much of it. I don't think too many wizards would know of it, but if your OC has exposure to Muggle culture, or has been taught it by Muggle-born friends then it would be okay.

I went to school with a lot of Chinese and Cantonese children and they were exactly as Carole said; hardworking (very good at Maths), chatty, quite fashion concious and generally nice people. They did tend to stay in groups of Chinese people during break and lunchtimes, but I think that'd be the case with anyone sent to school overseas. But I think typically (by people like my boyfriend's friends) they're seen as rather quiet and distant, inscrutable, like Carole says, and rather shy.

Sarah x

[ohviolet]

I have definitely heard 'curiosity killed the cat', and although I can't remember exactly when I heard it first, I do know I was very young. So I think it would have been used during the trio era, but that's just opinion based on my own experience.

And as for British stereotypes of Chinese people, I agree on the point that we think they're very good at maths. Partly because of an experience at uni recently - a maths class was in a lecture hall just before I was supposed to be and basically the whole class (bar about three! ) were Chinese.
And this is the stereotype we're more likely to be shown in tv programmes/cartoons etc as they're mostly American shows we watch and that's how they're portrayed.

[AidaLuthien]

Hmmm... would being good at maths translate to being good at arithmancy? Something to consider.

Thanks ohviolet!

[OliveOil_Med]

I have a question that I am hoping you can help me with.

I need to come up with a vacation destination that the Malfoys would go to, but I would still like it to be somewhaere in Europe. What could be some rather posh destinations for people to go to in the summers? Do you think wizards would vacation here too, or can you think of other places that might be more likely?