UEA International Student Ambassadors

Having heard there was a Popular Science Education movie on earthquake by american director and producer, but at this year's Oscar Academy Award ceremony, i failed to see that movie in the live telecast. having been through great length to find that movie and watching it , i was shocked. while not much to surprise, the reason why chinese telecasting of the ceremony covers up that movie is because that movie becomes sort of a social documentary, rather than a Popular Science Education film. it, in some sense, reveals the truth that the chinese gov did not and does not want to concede. the movie started with dozens of parents whose children were dead from the collapes of the school building in the earthquake in 2008 of sichuan province, china, while the building around still standing up, which was definitely worth investigation. however, the local governor procrastinated or rejected the appeals in the first place, the irritated parents decided to parade to the provincial capital--che...

Millions and millions of people will be eating chocolate this Easter. But have we ever thought about its origin? In order to avoid revision I was watching panorama on BBC (can't remember which one but it's on i-player). The programme talked about how the major cocoa producers, namely Ivory Coast and Ghana. The fields are located in remote part of the countries and are maintained by people who live on much less than a £1 per day. Just to earn a bit of money from the chocolate industry worth billion of dollars, the people are ready to use child labour. Yes, child labour ( apparently in its worst form). The young children work in the cocoa fields climbing on trees and using blades. they do not go to school. It was mentioned that big brands like Nestle (kitkat's creator) is still using cocoa produced using child labour, even though they've started using the "fair trade logo" earlier this year. But isn't child labour considered in fair trade agreements? I foun...

Easter has come! Are you enjoying Easter Break? Some student has assignments, others can enjoy the Easter Holiday. I am the former.. anyway, today's topic is about Easter egg! The Easter Egg is very popular as a simbol of Easter. As everone know, this traditional culture is from long long ago, I will not introduce the history, but the "story" of Easter Egg! Boilled Easter egg has been used as a traditional one, however, the chocolate and jerry Easter Egg is more popular than that one nowadays. Also, there are traditional game for Easter, egg-jarping (same as egg-tapping, egg dumping) Have you done it? These games from North of England, so if you have time let's do it! Other story about Easter Egg, even though Easter Egg is usually boilled hard, there are fried chocolate Easter Egg in Scottland! I would like to try to eat it, if anyone is there during Easter Holiday, try to eat chocolate Easter Egg! Also, Easter Egg can be symbol of friendship and cooperation, so somet...

“Nauryz” means the “birth of spring”. Nauryz is the holiday of welcoming spring and the renewed life of the Earth. Its other name is “Ұлыс күні” (Ulys Kuni “The first day of the new year”) or “Ұлыстын ұлы күні” (Ulystyn Uly Kuni “The great day of the people”). It has been celebrated for over five thousand years by many cultures of the Middle and Central Asia. This holiday has been celebrated on 22 March, the day of the spring equinox. According to the ancient Oriental calendar it is the New Year, relatively speaking. By the way that's why the Kazakhs people call the month of March Nauryz . People believed that the generous celebration of the Nauryz holiday brings wealth and success in the coming year . That’s why people would clean their homes, pay back their debts and do other stuffs like that. If Nauryz entered the house, all diseases and failures would pass it by. :) The Kazakhs attached special importance to the number of seven during the Nauryz celebrations because it symbol...

There is something about being an International Student and being all the way away from home that often strikes a chord of nostalgia in me. Simply making that phone call home to catch up with family leaves me wishing for a bit of home food....especially Nyama Choma - Roast Meat in Kenya...However that said....I have to admit that every time I go back for a holiday, I am constantly talking about what I miss in UEA and Norwich. It's this paradox which I thought I ought to share with you today... You see once I pack my bags and move to a new city or country..I often find ways of settling in as soon as possible. For me the priority when I arrived in Norwich was to find a church which I could feel most welcomed and looked after..next was the hunt for food stores.. the library and a sports centre, all which I found within the first two days. However these are not the things that I miss the most whenever I travel away from Norwich...with time I have come to appreciate that I have a set r...

Finally, it is Easter Holiday ! And that meansI am not far away from my home- Hong Kong. Have been studying in UK for almost 3 years, but I missed Hong Kong every single minutes :) Everytime when Easter holiday comes, I feel excited. Not because we will have a month off, but after studying hard in the holiday, all the hard work will pay off and I can enjoy my summer holiday in Hong Kong !! I cannot wait to go to Space mountain in DisneyLand, see panadas and dolphins in Ocean Park or to go shopping!! Venus Hong Kong Ambassador

Hello! How are you doing? Are you enjoying your UEA life?? ...I know alomost you are busy because of your essay. Writing essay makes everyone irritated And IF you can not finish your assignment by the due date, you maybe want to copy some materials from Internet, from your friend's paper, from books you borrow your library, and from the lecture you took in this semester. However, if you do that, what will it happen? You will get "F" from the course. Because the copy some documents directly is "Plagiarism"!! Plagialism is the worst way of writing essay in academic field. Even if you do not know about Plagialism because you are from other countries, it does not care- Plagiarism is Plagiarism. What is Plagiarism? "Plagiarism is the unacknowledged use of another person's work. It can take the following forms." (UEA 2009) This term is from University of east Anglia web-site, so I use "Quatation" for quate and (blanket) for indicate the origina...

The celebration of Easter in England began well before the arrival of Christianity. In the Pre-Christian Era, the festival was observed in honor of the Anglo Saxon Goddess - Eostre. Today, in England, the festivities of Easter begin with Lent, which falls on Ash Wednesday, and lasts for 40 days. Easter celebration in England is a low-key affair, as people prefer religious observations as compared to joyous merriment. Easter is an occasion for sober worship and quiet family gatherings sans the extravagance that accompanies festivals like Christmas. Nevertheless, springtime celebrations are gleefully observed in rural hinterland of the country. Easter eggs, games, feasting and fun activities all are part of the festivities, even though the main celebrations are seen in churches of the country. If you are keen on learning about the traditions and celebrations of Easter in England, then go through the following lines. Palm Sunday The celebration of Easter in England commences a week before...

Every time I say the words "spring break" in front of my male housemates I instantly get a low-pitched, MTV impression SPRING BREAK!! in return. It's a bit silly, and definitely reminds me that while being American abroad is a fantastic experience, one does have some damage control to do when it comes to our often quite hilarious American stereo-types. That aside, spring break is FINALLY upon us! Four blissful weeks off from uni - not that uni is a bad thing, but after the amount of coursework I've been trudging through and the horrible, near-double-digit shifts I've been studying in the library for the past week, I am most definitely going to enjoy the spare time. Even better would be said spare time with fantastic weather, which is hopefully on the way! I'm not gonna lie - I am mostly excited because on April 15th I'll be heading to London to meet up with one of my best friends from California, who is currently studying abroad in Granada, Spain. There...

Pheeew!!! Finally a holiday :) Its one day left. As much as im gonna miss everyone just for a short while, I really need a holiday. The horrible thing is the exams that follow afterwards :( Well not exactly horrible but all the stress involved. I guess as much as I have to relax, I equally have to study. On the bright side, the weather has changed to something more comfortable :) even though its not summer yet. Just wanna wish everyone a happy easter holiday in advance :) Be good, relax, have fun, most importantly STUDY!!!...and dont forget to buy someone an easter egg :) I guess this is goodbye till the holiday is over sometime in April, well hopefully before then. Cheers! Adanna Nigerian Students Ambassador.

It's so bright and sunny today in Norwich - 17 degrees, would you believe it?! There are lots of students sitting in the Square, soaking up the sunshine and sipping pints, laughing and just enjoying themselves. I wish I could be in their shoes but dissertation research beckons with a whip. The Greenhouse is located on Bethel Street which runs sort of parallel to St Giles Street. It's a great place to read quietly with cake and a cup of tea, run by volunteers plus they have a secondhand book sale pretty much every Friday and Saturday. Recently, a new cafe opened on Wensum Street called the The Window. Quite possibly the smallest cafe in the fine city - http://tinyurl.com/windowcafenorwich , been meaning to check it out some day soon! It's so small that apparently only 5 people can sit in it at a time. And now I'm scooting off for lunch in the sun and then a seminar :) Cheers, UEA Malaysian Ambassador

Saint Patrick's Day has come to be associated with everything Irish: anything green and gold, shamrocks and luck. Most importantly, to those who celebrate its intended meaning, St. Patrick's Day is a traditional day for spiritual renewal and offering prayers for missionaries worldwide. So, why is it celebrated on March 17th? One theory is that that is the day that St. Patrick died. Since the holiday began in Ireland, it is believed that as the Irish spread out around the world, they took with them their history and celebrations. The biggest observance of all is, of course, in Ireland. With the exception of restaurants and pubs, almost all businesses close on March 17th. Being a religious holiday as well, many Irish attend mass, where March 17th is the traditional day for offering prayers for missionaries worldwide before the serious celebrating begins. In Amer...

Heya guys.. Today, on the 17th March 2010, the Islamic Society ISOC presents to you the ISLAMIC AWARENESS DAY.. Today is the day that you can get to know more about the religion Islam and if you don't know the religion, it's a good chance for you to get over and build up your general knowledge! More and more people across the globe are engaging into Islam. Why is this? Although I am not Islam myself but form where I come from, Islam plays a major part in our lives as it is the national religion of my country, Brunei. We had to learn all the pillars of Islam and other basic knowledge of the religion. The main purpose of the Islamic Awareness Day is to: To inform, promote, and increase awareness of the message of Islam to Muslims and non-Muslim alike To promote brotherhood/sisterhood and unity amongst all Muslims in the university and college sphere To promote equality, justice, religious freedom, and encourage universities and college administrations in realising these universal...

There will be a one-day-only free event of Thai Festival at the Forum on a bank holiday, Monday 3rd May 2010. Thai culture, food, performances and life styles will be given to everyone in Norwich. There will be live performances from Thai students and Thais in community. A variety of activities will be offered for your family and children including attractive traditional Thai games. Cooking stalls from Thai restaurants around Norwich will bring to you the most exquisite food with the sensational aromatic Thai herb smells. The travelling information will be provided by the Tourism Authority of Thailand. It will definitely be a fantastic day in Norwich where you will get to learn all about the Thai lifestyle. The first ever Thai Festival in Norwich is something you and your family will not want to miss! For more details please visit the official websit. http://www.thaifestivalnorwich.com/ UEA Thai Ambassador

Eleven-thirty this morning found me giving a tour of the UEA campus to two visiting members of staff from the University of Minnesota. As we walked past Norfolk Terrace (the BEST on-campus housing ever, from your totally unbiased ex Block D5-er) and across the Star Wars-esque bridge thing towards the Sainsbury Centre, I realized a ridiculous thing. It would seem that the Anderson Collection of Art Nouveau has been on display since February 9th and I - an utterly adoring fan of all things Art Nouveau - have not yet been to see it! If you're not sure what the Anderson Collection of Art Nouveau is, here's a quick primer straight from the Sainsbury Centre website : The Collection, which was given to the University of East Anglia in 1978 by Sir Colin and Lady Anderson, is remarkably representative of the breadth of Art Nouveau design and is considered one of the most exquisite privately assembled collections in the country. On display you will find jewellery, furniture, glasswork a...

Well lovers' day has passed, guess it was good for some people :) However the best is yet to come... MOTHER'S DAY!!! There is no excuse to forget to wish your mother a happy mother's day. Some of us will understand the pain mother's go through to conceive a child, if not by experience, by the oppurtunity to learn that at School. In that case, we should all show appreciation to that lovely woman who brought us into this world :) Wishing my mum and all the great women of this world a HAPPY MOTHERS DAY in advance. Lots of love, hugs and Kisses :) xxxxxx Have fun! Adanna Nigerian Students Ambassador.

I love spending my weekends wandering about the lanes in Norwich! Last Saturday, I went to a vintage fair in Dragon Hall and bought a silk sari for 4 quid, not sure what to do with it yet (hang it up, drape it across the lounge couch, wear it etc) but I love the fabric to bits. There was also a Craft Fair at St Andrew's and Blackfriars Hall (for upcoming events, see http://www.sparklesevents.co.uk/SparkleCraftEventsNorwich.html ) and the weekend before that, there was the Clutter City Market at the Arts Centre on St. Benedict's Street. If you're wondering what to do this weekend, the photographer Rod Penn has an exhibition at Stew Gallery along Fishergate (just off Fye Bridge Street) and there's also the Art of Norwich exhibition in St Margaret's. St. Patrick's Day is coming up next week so there will be plenty to drink to! Cheers, UEA Malaysian Ambassador

The life in the UEA is full of exiting events rather than just studying. University, societies and students union provide a lot of different events. Like, student union represents concerts of the famous music and bands in LCR and in the Waterfront. You can easily get cheap tickets (approximately 15 £) from UEA Box Office. In the last year we had the opportunity to attend Jay Sean concert in the LCR. It was amazing and remarkable! We was so lucky to see him in real life :) As well, this year UEA students could see no less famous artist like Busshunter, Calvin Harris, Frankmusik, Lisa Haningham, etc. However the most fascinating event which student union represents is International Party. Every year it starts in start of spring, where all international students introduce their traditional food and performance. In this year it was on 3 of March. The evening started with introducing different countries food and our Kazakh food as well. A lot of people, a lot of questions about Kazakhstan...

Hey guys.. The International Party 2010 was a success! We had a splendid performance and guess what- Our food stall only lasted for 15 minutes!! We made traditional cakes and delicacies and it was yummy!! It was such an amazing night and our 6-minute performance rocked the night! However, something must have definitely went wrong. Yes, earlier on, our CD apparently didn't have the song that we were supposed to play for our performance and we were in the midst of a rush but luckily, we had a back-up CD and thus our performance wasn't cancelled! We were saved! :) Hopefully, you guys felt the splendid performance and food from that night! :) The video is a recorded video of our performance that night. Check it out! :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwgPaHeyVdA Till next time! =D Samantha International Ambassador Brunei

Winter in England is nearly gone. Soon we will be in spring. This change in temperature here at UEA is noticeable and the sunny and "longer" days are also the sign of this coming spring.:) Only a few weeks to go before this semester ends. We can really feel how quickly this academic year is going by. In a few days it will be the Easter Holidays and after happily eating lots of chocolates, we will enter the exams period and finish another year at University! Best wishes, Suri Mauritian Students Ambassador

There is not any "new" information about Norwich, so I will introcuce you to "Norwich Terrier"- the famous dog is from Norwich. Do you know this kind of dogs? To be honest, he/she is not very "popular" and "famous" in other countries. So, if you are intenrational students, probably, you have never listen to this name. Norwich Terrier is categolised one of the smallest Terriers with prick ears and a double coat (red / tan / wheaten / black / grizzle). This doga has great ability to capture other animals- especially mouse and foxes. So, if he/she was in UEA, the fox in UEA would be in danger!! And our rabbits are also afraid of him/her!! However, he/she is really cute! We can be proud of Norwich Terrier as a Norwich landmark, and if anyone keep him/her, please let me know! University of East Anglia needs a clud for Norwich Terrier!! If you are interesting him/her, please visit this site! The Norwich Terrier Club , and we will love our town more and...

Continuing my post from last time, the stress for Indian Society continued till 2 minutes before we were up on the stage to perform! The USB with the music tracks was misplaced before the performance and was found just in time!! We got on stage with big smiles on our faces and had an ammaazzingg time performing! It all ended so so quickly we didn't even realise we were done! Hard work did pay off!! People were busy cheering, taking lots of photos and videos! Was a great treat! I'd like to congratulate all those who contributed. Looking forward to next year's International Party! :)

Much like fish and chips shops, pubs exist aplenty in my neighborhood in the Golden Triangle. As such, I've become well familiar with the term "local". I can think of three off the top of my head - The Unthank Arms, The York Tavern, and The Eaton Cottage. (You have no idea how English that makes me feel! =]) There are bars in America, and though having just turned 21 I can't quite attest to what they're like, I have never gotten the feeling that American bars are on the same level as English pubs. First of all, you're less than likely going to find three or four local bars in your neighborhood anywhere in America, unless you live in a very urban place. Not only that, but I'm pretty sure they have an entirely different vibe than most pubs. Pubs do roast dinners on a Sunday, for one - I know that's been covered on this blog before, but it's definitely worth re-mentioning. I can't think of a bar anywhere near my hometown in California that would s...

SPRINGTIME! And some news. The Dogu exhibition that was in the British Museum last year is coming to our very own Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts this summer, can't wait, can't wait! Snowdrops and daffodils are coming up all over campus and pretty soon, I'm sure there will be baby rabbits hopping around :) NNF10 sooooon! 7th-22nd May and it looks even bigger and better this year, check out what the festival has at http://www.nnfestival.org.uk/NNF10.ice Also, Norwich has been shortlisted to become the UK's first ever City of Culture! http://tinyurl.com/y9l66t5 so now we just need to show why we deserve it more than Birmingham, Sheffield and Derry/Londonderry! Cheers, UEA Malaysian Ambassador

On March 6, 1957, the people of Ghana celebrated the end of colonial rule in their country and this Saturday the 6th of March 2010 Ghanaians all over the world will celebrate 53 years Independence. Many workers in Ghana have been given the day off to recognize celebrate and honor the heroes of our country especially Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the founder of Ghana. Ever since my childhood days, I have always adored and appreciated what Ghana’s Independence Day stands for. It has also always been one of my best holidays of the year. I remember a time when many different schools will come together to participate in marching competitions. Each school’s best groups marched in a large circle and the bystanders and supporters watched from the outside of this circle. It was a festive and very joyous occasion with people selling food (plantains, eggs), drinks, and frozen treats. When the students got ready to march, they became very serious, and extremely enthusiastic about winning the competition. The...

First warm sunlight flooded the room bringing life to the withered colours of the interior. The first day of spring brought a strange yet exciting feeling of a new life knocking on the door. Heavy showers, cold wind and cheerless sky, winter melancholy on the border with sadness: all are left in the yesterday. This day is completely different: bright, refreshingly chilly, transparently clean and just wonderful!The whole world released from the prison of snow and frost is smiling, and it is impossible not to smile back, making the sunlight even brighter. It’s sheer happiness, a piece if which is worth to keep in the heart. Even though the third day of spring is more in grey colours again, there is still a way to make it more lively. The only thing one should do is to swithch on a personal suchine - a smile and the life will become more flamboyant!