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Showing posts from November, 2012

End of Semester Approaching

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As the end of the first semester in my first year in Post-Graduate Reasearch program is drawing to a close, I am reflecting on these past few months and relishing the festivity period approaching soon. "Feeling the Christmassy period already!" I have really enjoyed what I have learnt. I was worried that I wouldn’t enjoy the program as much as I wanted to. I felt that I had talked the program up to myself and then it wouldn’t be as great, but it is. It has its issues because it is a new type of post-graduate study. It is challenging but, I still really enjoy every bits in it. DISCOVERIES What is funny is that for most of the students here, this first semester is ending as if more discoveries are being made. Even when packing for home, you discover stuffs that you brought for home and yet did not know they were in your bag somewhere! :P From the beginning of September to now, I feel like I have gained new perspective, experience and more motivation. I am looking f

WINTER IS HERE!

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Greetings Everyone! "Selamat Datang" - It means Welcome in Malay Language (Bahasa Melayu). Reading a few news articles and the Met Office (Official Weather Forecast of the UK) reports online, it is likely that UK will be suffering from severe cold weather across most parts! With temperatures expected to plummet this weekend, do make sure everyone covers up properly as low temperatures can be dangerous, especially for the young children. Further information can be found in this online news article: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/408995/20121127/weather-flood-freezing-temperatures-plummet-ice-severe.html However, set that aside, one main factor to look forward is the fall of SNOW! Snow is probably one of the things that I look forward to. It's the time for you to play around with your friends and having a friendly competition of building up snowmen. This picture above was taken hours after the heavy snowfall in February earlier this year, behind UEA&#

Theatre at UEA

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UEA's Drama Studio is a popular destination for all theatre goers. Opened by Harold Pinter himself, the studio is host to plays ranging from classic thought provoking dramas to one act shows written by students themselves! Each week there is a new play and the shows are on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. They are great value too: only £3.50 for students! So why miss the chance to watch some of the greatest plays of all time right on your doorstep? This semester alone, the studio has hosted "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller, "One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest" based on the novel by Ken Kesey, "The Taming of the Shrew" by William Shakespeare as well as a one act play called "Wagstaff" written by our very own creative writing students. We are now all anticipating the epic production of "Jane Eyre" that will be put on next week by third year drama students. Word on the street is that it will be amazing, and tickets for the Saturday perfor

Thanksgiving in Norwich

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This year, I celebrated my first Thanksgiving abroad.  It was also my first Thanksgiving without access to my female relatives' turkey-cooking abilities. As you can see from the pictures below, it didn't turn out to be a problem! I and several American friends teamed up to put on a traditional Thanksgiving dinner for our international friends on Thursday night.  We hosted several British mates, as well as folks from Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, and Thailand.  I also took pumpkin pie to my classes and introduced people from many other nationalities to the bliss that is cinnamon, pumpkin, and whipped cream! We served: A full local bird.  Norfolk County, where UEA is located, is actually the UK's "Turkey Capital."  We got a huge bird, and my flatmate stuffed it with apples, cinnamon, and cinnamon, as well as buttering under the skin.  It was delicious and oh-so-juicy. Mashed potatoes.  Those are pretty easy, no matter where you are! Mac and cheese.  Good old comf

House Hunting in Norwich

House hunting at the end of the year is never a good idea. But I'm being stubborn and resolute, and so far things are looking up. Here are some links to help whoever might need it! http://www.accommodationforstudents.com/ http://www.rightmove.co.uk/ http://www.homes24.co.uk http://www.zoopla.co.uk http://www.homesforstudents.co.uk http://www.homerunstudentpad.co.uk/Home And of course there's UEA Home Run, http://www.ueastudent.com/housing . Good luck to all of us! Michelle Student Ambassador for the Philippines filipinostudents@uea.ac.uk http://www.facebook.com/ueaphilippines

And Life Goes On

Ah, the trees are now losing their leaves, And the morning grass, is tasting the frost, If only, if only, Autumn were longer, And the waning leaves, could be a little bit stronger. --------------------------------------------------------- Right. So, after that failed attempt at being vaguely poetic, hello everybody! It's all back to work at UEA! My second year started with a sense of purpose, with assigments here and submissions there. Within a few weeks my brain just resorted to making a buzzing noise; it sounded like ''bzzformativesummativebzzassessment''. Oh well. After 6 weeks of a gruelling work schedule I finally have some time off to shift down from overdrive. But I rather liked the intense work period. I like my capacities being stretched, my intellect being worked, my resolve tested. It's what I came to university for. I always find it amazing how we all shift worlds from home to university and back. Effortlessly, it seems, we slip into our