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Showing posts from January, 2020

Travelling by train in the UK

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I love travelling by trains. They’re much faster, more comfortable and you can do more things while sitting on a train, like reading a book or chatting with your travel partners.  I used to travel a lot by train during my A-level days, as I used to live in the South of England and train tickets are a lot cheaper there. However, trains in East Anglia can be bit pricey sometimes since they are operated by a different company, but that shouldn't stop you from using the trains at all! Here are some tips on how you can get cheap train tickets. 1)     Buy in advance of the journey: Don’t wait until the moment you get to the train station and buy your ticket there, last-minute tickets will surely be pricey. Instead, search for deals on the official rail ticketing platform, Trainline! Ideally, it is advised that you should book 12 weeks in advance in order to grab the most ideal tickets for your journey! Deals can be very good sometimes, only £10 for return tickets to/from

An international student’s guide to keeping in touch with friends and family

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Studying abroad is really freaking cool! You experience a ton of new things, you get to be independent, meet new people, learn a lot – but there’s no hiding it can be difficult. One of the challenges is keeping in touch with friends and family from home. And, if you’re lucky enough to go home during holidays, keeping in touch with uni friends from home. Here are some of my best tips and tricks in order to not forget to talk to your parents for three weeks straight when you first arrive (I’m sorry parents)!   1)      Have a private story on Snapchat or Instagram Listen, I know we all use social media, but we all use it differently. I’m a kind of private person so my social media feeds are carefully curated, consisting only of my very favourite pictures and exciting things I do (such as drunkenly singing along in the LCR). However, I created a private Snapchat story to post a single stupid joke, and now I just post all kinds of weird stuff on there. And every time I think “this is s

Best spots for a warm cuppa in Norwich!

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Moving here from India, I am not the biggest fan of winter. Its frosty, the sun is an apology of its great Summer self, and I constantly feel like nose is going to freeze and fall off (when will someone invent a nose warmer???).  But one thing that does make me feel better in the winter is a warm cup of just about anything - tea, coffee, hot chocolate, or even a hot toddie. So I thought I may as well tell you all about my favourite spots in Norwich for a good cuppa of just about anything! (in no particular order).    Fig Bar Address:  23 St John Maddermarket, Norwich NR2 1DN.  This is a beautiful desert & wine bar, nestled in the Norwich Lanes. Their luxury hot chocolate is honestly a long cuddle in a mug! They have a new desert menu every few weeks, and fresh cakes and bakes everyday. This is definitely my place to go when I want to treat myself!  Strangers Coffee Address:  21 Pottergate, Norwich NR2 1EX A famous Norwich gem - Strangers coffee is a unique coffee

How I spent my first term at UEA?

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Hello there!   I am Zarif and I am here to take you on my journey at the University of East Anglia and Norwich - presenting you with the highlights of the first term.  1. The first selfie was taken on the day I moved into our University Village, unpacked all of my stuff and took this picture to reassure all my family and friends that I am okay haha. 2. Set up my desk ! I am a very OCD girl, I had to make sure my desk not only was organised, but also looked cute. 3. Explored our campus . Check it out, home of the wonderful indeed!⇢  <3 home="" indeed="" nbsp="" of="" p="" the="" wonderful="">        4. Had a lot of delicious food ! 5. Finally, explored Norwich . Pottergate Apartments - Norwich, UK Norwich Markets - Norwich, UK Norwich Cathedral - Norwich, UK Norwich Cathedral - Norwich, UK More posts to come - stay tuned in. Meanwhile, che
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So, here I am at the start of the exciting second term of the first year as a student at UEA! Since I am the Drama and English Literature student, I am honoured to announce that I will be performing in the annual Cabaret show as a dancer in February with my folks from the Drama course. Yesterday we had our first rehearsal and I will not be able to describe it in words about how excited I am for the whole preparation of the show and the performing itself.  The whole experience of being a Drama student has been wonderful to me so far. I had to participate in so many events already, practiced different kind of acting skills, all the drama games, and I won't even be able to count the amount of books I got to read, both for drama and literature subjects! So, as you can tell, I am excited for the 2020 term. And, for now, here is the picture of us at our first rehearsal with oranges in our mouths. Why oranges? Well, because Drama people are very fun people. Hope you are ha