I would caution against too much class consciousness.
My parents came to the west in a boat, much like the ones that are sinking every day in the med. They scraped together a living and tuition fees running Chinese food joints.
When I arrived in Oxford, I did realise there were some interesting characters around. One guy with a posh accent stuck waved his chequebook outside his room during a tuition fee demonstration, offering to pay for everyone's tuition if he could just be allowed some peace. There are dudes walking the street in top hats. There are kids with sports cars.
But why should you feel alienated from them? You can be friends with the ones who want to be. They are just as curious about you. Some of them actually feel a bit guilty about having ridden into a top uni on their fathers' coattails. There's also people who've had it worse than you. One friend actually fled from shelling, and was lucky to miss a boat that got sunk by helicopters.
When you meet people, start with what you have in common. You're all young, and academically gifted. You're in the same place, you speak the same language.
My parents came to the west in a boat, much like the ones that are sinking every day in the med. They scraped together a living and tuition fees running Chinese food joints.
When I arrived in Oxford, I did realise there were some interesting characters around. One guy with a posh accent stuck waved his chequebook outside his room during a tuition fee demonstration, offering to pay for everyone's tuition if he could just be allowed some peace. There are dudes walking the street in top hats. There are kids with sports cars.
But why should you feel alienated from them? You can be friends with the ones who want to be. They are just as curious about you. Some of them actually feel a bit guilty about having ridden into a top uni on their fathers' coattails. There's also people who've had it worse than you. One friend actually fled from shelling, and was lucky to miss a boat that got sunk by helicopters.
When you meet people, start with what you have in common. You're all young, and academically gifted. You're in the same place, you speak the same language.