Posts

Confusing things about British Culture

By -
  I feel like I do pretty well with this stuff, I stay up to date on politics and media and all of that as best as I can. Regardless, there are some things I just don’t understand about British culture.     1)      Who is Gemma Collins? She seems to be everywhere and nowhere at once. Does she even actually exist? I’ve heard her name a million times, but I’ve never seen proof that she’s a real person.  2)      Why do politicians boo each other? Even school children know not to do that! Watching any video from the houses of Parliament just shocks me every time. I get being angry about politics but just wait your turn.  3)      Being incredibly polite. This one is really lovely, so I guess it’s less confusing, but this still doesn’t come quite naturally to me. Waving at cars when they stop at zebra crossings, thanking the bus driver, calling people “hun” – all very sweet things, all still a bit strange.   4)      Ending texts with x. Why all the kisses! This still throws me off, especiall
Post a Comment
Read more

Tips for studying in Lockdown

By -
Image
Everyone is different, and everyone works differently. After all this time of online university, I’ve learned some tricks that work for me – maybe at least one of them will help, maybe not! If anyone else has tips, feel free to leave them in the comment section.   Image from Unsplash 1.       Time is an illusion  There’s this idea that you’re only “productive” if you go to bed early, wake up early, and start work early. If you have a lot of early morning lectures and seminars, you’re unfortunately stuck with that, but if you don’t, try to get out of that mindset!         We all have our own internal rhythms, and there’s no point in trying to stick to everyone else’s. If you’re a night owl and you’re able to, don’t feel bad if you wake up at midday and start uni work at 6pm! Do whatever is easiest for you.    2.       Make studying fun I know, this isn’t always easy. Just see if there’s something you can do that will make you want to study. Sometimes the content is exciting, but sometim
Post a Comment
Read more

Things I miss when I'm stuck in Norway

By -
Image
I'm stuck at home for a while longer (thanks, pandemic!) and I’m realising that there’s a lot of UK, Norwich and UEA-specific things I miss. Here’s a random and non-conclusive list, in no particular order!   1)      The free online streaming services! I miss the selection of tv series.   2)      Online shopping. Yes, there is online shopping in Norway, but it’s not at all the same. There’s something great about knowing that you could have basically  anything  delivered to your door in less than 24 hours.  3)      The supermarkets. The giant bags of pasta, the sweets offers, the near-constant sales on Ben and Jerry’s… No Norwegian grocery store can so cheaply accommodate the student diet.  4)      Everything about my house and housemates and friends  5)      The UEA campus!  Even in a pandemic, it’s so lovely to walk around the lake and see all the dogs, or sit in the library with the big windows, especially at night with all the lights when it’s all quiet.  6)      The cute little
Post a Comment
Read more

Film and TV recommendations for lockdown 2.0

By -
Image
  As we’ve entered into a second lockdown, there’s (even) less to do these days. That leaves more time to watch films and tv series! Here’s some of the things I’ve been watching in case you need some recommendations. I also study film and TV so surely that gives me some extra credibility? No? Oh well.  Gilmore Girls   See, I don’t think this is the kind of thing most people expect from film and TV students, but I’m not snobby with this stuff. Gilmore Girls is the holy grail of re-watching, and if you haven’t seen it before, then this is the time. It’s as autumnal as it gets, so snuggle up under a blanket with a cup of coffee and prepare for some wholesome viewing. As soon as I hear the intro song to this show I just feel fluffy and soft. It’s like a mental warm blanket. As for plot it’s following the lives of a single mum and her teenage daughter, the quirky little town they live in and the many fascinating characters they’re surrounded by. This show takes me from cry-laughing to fully
Post a Comment
Read more

We are all on quarantine at the moment, but how actually different are the measures in other countries?

By -
Image
Hello! My name is Ekaterina and I am an international student ambassador for Russia at UEA. At the moment due to quarantine measures I am staying at home with my family in Yekaterinburg in Russia. Since we are all sitting in our houses most of the time now, I thought it might be interesting to share how the lockdown measures are held in Russia. At the moment we are the second country in the world for the amount of confirmed cases, however, recently it was announced by our main Health Ministry and government that we have reached the plato. And this is such a great news! For the past few weeks we were blessed with a beautiful sunny weather, which is why many people went out to the parks to breathe some fresh air and sunbathe. Everyone was keeping social distancing which makes me feel very proud, because, despite the amount of people on the streets, the rates in our region haven't grown drastically! In general, for almost two months now we are having "non-working days&qu
Post a Comment
Read more

International student gives back to ‘welcoming community’

By -
An international student from the University of East Anglia (UEA) has been distributing face masks to the elderly after he felt so welcomed by the community while studying in Norwich.    Student Songze Chang who is from Shanxi in China began to distribute face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic, after he was stopped while wearing one in the supermarket by an elderly man who had been looking to buy them in shops.   He said: “In that moment I felt that I really needed to help him” said Songze. “Later on, I bought 100 face masks from China online and packed them up including some positive messages and an image of my national flag.” “My friends and I started to give them out in Norwich, many of whom told us they didn’t have access to the internet to buy them. People were surprised and receptive to our offer and thanked us, many putting them on straight away as they entered supermarkets.” The student who is 24 years old, posted his efforts on social media site TikTok and pe
1 comment
Read more

How I avoid boredom during quarantine :D

By -
Image
Hellooo, No matter where you are in the world at the moment, there’s definitely something we all share: BOREDOM!  Though I have occasionally felt bored during this period of time, I’m super grateful to have the time to do all the things I’ve been wanting to do for soooo long. It’s so sad to thing that it takes me a whole pandemic to actually start doing these things. Here’s a list of activities I’ve been doing for the past few weeks and hope it’ll give you an idea on what to do next :D 1)     Reconnect with old friends: It was so fun talking to friends that I haven’t met in years. Learning about someone’s new life is always fascinating and it’s good to have another friend to talk to  J 2)     Practice English: I’ve been helping some friends to practice their English (and mine too of course). Even if you’re confident in your English, practice still makes perfect you know. 3)     Work on my Instagram: Since everyone got so much free time, there are so many cool IG story te
Post a Comment
Read more