UEA International Student Ambassadors

Last week, I was invited by my friend to participate in a charity dodgeball tournament where each participant were to assemble a team of six. Each member of a team where to pay an entrance fee and the proceeds where to go to a charity which was involved in breast cancer, hence the theme of the event was "TEAM BOOBS." On Sunday, I assembled at the UEA Sport-spark with mixed feelings mostly because I had not played dodgeball before although I had seen it several times on TV but I am must say, my team members really put me at ease and helped me enjoy the event. Looking back now, I am glad I was invited and I enjoyed it to the fullest. I had a few hits, a few laughs and a few cries but all in all, it was enjoyable as I had not played dodgeball before.

One day, about a week after I got to Norwich, I was walking home from town when I saw a man walking towards me.  As he passed I smiled at him, and he looked back at me and said, "you alright?".  Confused, I replied that yes, I was fine, and continued on home.  The rest of my walk I wondered why he had asked me that, did I not look okay?  Did people not smile at each other here? It took me a few weeks of being asked, "you alright?" multiple times a day to figure out that it really just meant, "how are you?".   After that I felt pretty silly about how I had answered that man in my first week, but it got me thinking that even though I come from an English speaking country, there will still be times when things are lost in translation. So, thinking about that, here is my Top Five Differences Between Canada and Norwich that I have found so far.  1.) Obviously, greetings.  When someone says "you alright?" it's easiest to just say "ya, ...

Instant noodles, bread, cereal, milk, package food and takeaway! No, that is not what life of a university student, or specifically international student, should be . We are not in any American sitcom or any shows so why should we treat ourselves like that? Besides, overconsumption of food previously mentioned definitely damages your health! Please stop, my friends, if you solely live on them. Cooking is not that hard unless you want to become the next Jamie Oliver or Gordan Ramsay. Some of my friends boiled everything (yes, even bacon!!!) when they first came over here from Vietnam, now they can make beef stew or caramelised chicken ;). Also, my former Romanian roommate has recently amazed me of how delicious her curry is: I remembered seeing her having humus and carrot, bread with cheese day after day during the first few months of our first year. Uhm...that sounds nice. How about the fact that cooking is so time-consuming? Some healthy meals only require 30 minutes. With a...

💚It does not matter what people say, CHRISTMAS IS HERE!! I have always loved Christmas; setting up the tree with my family, singing the songs, opening presents and watching the classical movies, especially home alone 2. Who doesn't t? New York looks amazing with the snow, the decorations..  . The problem is that the movies never matched my reality, due to the fact that in Brazil, Christmas looks like this : Living in the UK I have finally had the opportunity to live Christmas like in the movies. My favourite thing is going to the holidays markets, where you can have food and buy some unique decorations. My favourite one is Winter Wonderland, which is as amazing as it sounds.  It is set up in Hyde Park, London, for 6 weeks from November 18th until January 2nd.It works everyday from 10 am till 10 pm and it is FREE entrance.The closest tube station is Hyde Park corner, but as it can be very busy I would advise you to leave at Green Park St...

The wait is almost over! Christmas's decorations are up, are you ready to celebrate?   This Christmas Norwich, the City of Stories - presents a stunning programme of new things to see and do, running f rom Thursday 17 th November 2016 19:30 to Thursday 5 th January 2017 17:00. 'Light' is the theme of the city with the UK’s first immersive ‘Tunnel of Light’.     Visitors will experience a wonderland display; 45-meters long, 4 meters high and 6 meters wide made from 50,000 pulsating LEDs. The sequenced lights will reflect the patterns and colours of the Northern Lights for visitors to experience a display of mesmeric dancing beams, the likes of which the city has never seen before.   In addition to this, three commissioned original film projections - each with a distinct Christmas story set to music - will be broadcasted nightly between 5pm and 9pm. The projections will appear onto two iconic city buildings: Art Deco City Hall and Norwic...

There are 5 airports in London; Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, Stansted and Southend.  Today, I am going to tell you how can you go from these airports to Norwich. By Bus   There are 2 very important coach companies for the UK which of them are  intercity coach operator providing services throughout England, Scotland and Wales . National Express and Megabus.  Before arriving London airports you can buy your bus ticket from their web sites; http://www.nationalexpress.com/home.aspx  and http://uk.megabus.com/  . If you use National Express, you can get on your coach directly in all airports except Southend Airport. However, If you use Megabus Coach Company firstly you should go to Victoria coach station in order to get on your coach. On the other hand I can say from my experiences Megabus is cheaper than National Express and there is not big difference about comfort. By Train I can say that it is the most comfortable w...

Along with the chilly November weather, the Christmas season has rolled in, looming over the heads of anxious shoppers all around. There are Christmas perks that have arrived early as well to the delight of excitable people such as myself. Mulled wine has been sprouting in all sorts of drinks-oriented establishments (pubs pubs pubs!) and Christmas lights dot the city centre. An assortment of seasonal Christmas drinks in their appropriately embellished cups (see exhibit one) proliferate, people-pleasers for all ages. Exhibit 1 It is the Christmas adverts, however, that warms my heart. John Lewis’ Christmas adverts are legendary, the stuff that melts hearts year after year (I mean, have you forgotten the sad old man on the moon?) and the others all seem to insufficient imitators. It is the John Lewis adverts that accompany us in the lead up to the 25 th , but I will controversially argue that this year John Lewis has been topped by another retailer in the Christmas advert scene. ...