Transitional phases

At the university, I have a different set of companions for each course.  Some are common but each course has its own set of students.  One thing that I've noticed is that in most philosophy courses, half of the students are those who did their 3 years undergraduate studies here at Royal Holloway itself.  Though they know each other, they really don't seem to be very friendly with one another.  Perhaps their circle of friends are different.  The rest of the class, is quite an odd mixture: some who are from the UK itself, some from Europe, some from a totally non-philosophical background/studies, some from a particular philosophical background (like Islamic philosophical studies). And then there is me!

Sitting for the lectures, I sometimes realize what it must be for those children back in India who have to make that transition from a regional language medium school to an english medium school.  The difficulty of language, along with that of totally new companions, compounded by the whole cultural scenario of the school, the lingo and topics of discussion among the other students, their interests and dislikes ...