UEA International Student Ambassadors

WOW!!! Congratulation UEA! Our campus is the top 3 among the UK universities for its student experience by the recent survey, which was conducted by timeshighereducation.co.uk. This is a very good news for the institution but more importantly for all of us, the international students who are looking for a great experience of studying for our higher education. We can be very happy because we are in the right place. With the high tuition fee that we all should endure, it is logical to get the best experiences in our period of study. We deserve to get not only a high standard of academic, but also social and environmental experience/ Apparently the place that we are studying at right now, is one of the best place in UK to get all these things. For further details: http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=415180&c=2 Once again congratulation UEA and its students of course! :-) Regards, Aidy - Indonesian Student Ambassador

Chinese New Year Celebration is coming to an end!! But fear not, more activities and events in UEA are coming up. One of them is the most famous UEA International Night, of which will be held on 9th March this year. All these years, the UEA International Night has been one of the most successful event of the year and this year will be the same!! During the International Night, you'd be able to taste all the different traditional home-cooked cuisines from different parts of the world, by all the different international societies including CSSA (Chinese Students Society), Taiwan Society, Afro-Carribean Society, Malaysia Society and not to forget, our very own Brunei Society! =D Then after tasting such wonderful and delicious traditional food, you'd just sit back and relax and enjoy different cultural performances, performed by different international societies, including Indian Society, Asian Society and so on. There are soo many things that you would not want to miss out! ...

In a couple of days, it will be the fifteenth and final day of Chinese New Year - Chap Goh Mei! It will mark the first full moon of the Lunar New Year so have a good look for Chang-E and her bunny. In Malaysia, it's seen sort of as Chinese Valentines Day. People eat lots of tong yuen (yum yum!) and in Penang, all the single ladies gather together to toss tangerines into the sea, hoping that prince charmings will pick it up. I've heard that some guys pick them up and the saying goes that if the tangerine is sweet, you'll meet your sweetheart and if it's sour... Anyway, since I have only one tangerine given with a blessing this year, I will eat it instead of throwing it into the Wensum. Maybe I can toss the peeled bits at passing wasted students outside my window? Que sera sera :) As most people were unable to go home for the Chinese New Year Reunion Dinner, UEA South-East Asian Society threw a Meet, Eat and Greet CNY party wherein about 70 or 80 people feasted o...

Have anyone heard about the International Student Awards- The competition for the Shine ! Instead of focusing on academic achievements, it is a celebration/award of the whole international student experience, and acknowledgement of the contribution that students from all over the world make to the UK. If you find yourself have, -Played an active role in the life in UK, -Get involved in your local community, -Developed new interests, overcame personal challenges or achieved any ambitions Then, International Student Awards is the right choice for you. You simply need to write a piece of letter named "Home" to people from your own town/countries , they can be your family, teachers, friends,etc. Although the application for the award has been closed for this year ( which is quite sad, because I want to apply myself as well! And just to tell everyone before my memory fade away), we can still apply in next year and which also mean we have plenty of time to prepare for ...

Hello guys, I have recently made a Chinese New Year Weekend trip to Dublin, Ireland for a very very short 2 nights stay in Dublin. A short weekend break to Dublin was a great way to spend my Chinese New Year weekend. And on top of that, money is still spent wisely. Dublin was only 50 minutes away from London. I flew on BMI and it costs me about 70 pounds return from Dublin. Dublin is the main capital city of Ireland. Dublin is situated at the south-east part of Ireland. I had such great fun in Dublin city centre that I did not have much time to go around Ireland itself. The countryside around Dublin like Wicklow, had such an amazing view. You can see real Irish people like in the movies actually living on the highlands area of the countryside. And, not to forget, Ireland is famous for their legendary tales on Leprechauns. In the heart of Dublin city centre, recently built Leprechaun Museum is one of the top attractions that you  must visit. It was only opened last year in ...

In mid-January, I went to Paris with twenty ish Museology and Cultural Heritage students and it was tres chic, ma petite! We went to the Maison de la culture du Japon to attend the very interesting "Jômon, patrimoine mondial?" symposium and were treated to a sushi and sake buffet (in order to rejuvenate our intellectual capabilities). After that, we went halfway up the Eiffel Tower to gaze at Paris' bejewelled belly, the top half being shut to the public for repainting. We also went to the Louvre, the Musee de la quai Branly, the Natural History Museum and a very small zoo. Next stop, the Eternal City! Cheers, UEA Malaysian Ambassador

This is going to be a short one, guys, but I just wanted to share a revelation! I'm turning 22 on the 23rd of February, and as an amazing birthday present, my mom will be coming over from California to spend the week with me! This is big news as it'll be the first time I've seen her since summer (since I went to Lithuania for Christmas rather than going home) and because my mom absolutely loves England so we'll be doing as many English things as possible. This includes, but is not limited to, fish and chips in Cromer, wandering the streets of Cambridge, going to church in Norwich Cathedral, visiting Sandringham, and seeing Keira Knightley in The Children's Hour at the Comedy Theater in London. What then, you ask, is my revelation? I'll tell you! It's realizing the fact that from where I LIVE, here in Norwich, I can do all of the above activities - ALL of them - without spending a stupid amount of money, because all of these amazing places and all of th...

You thought Norwich is a small city and the only thing you can do here is to study? You are wrong then! I was positively impressed by the fact that this year it will host a real Fashion Week. It is a particularly interesting event, for, even though striving to be as glamorous as London Fashion Week, it would have its own human face. Human face for me is a sense of reality, possibility to achieve the promoted level of fashion. Such feelings are vital for the world of 21 century with its 'dead' beauty, models who are rather models of a human. Haute couture is an art but  not a living one, at least sometimes. It is somewhere far away in an outer space, unachievable, daily-stress-free but with faked emotions. I strongly doubt that something that has little connection with the real world could really be of any value for people. The fact that it is a local Fashion Week gives hope that the event will be more down-to earth, hopefully, it won't...

+ Mauritius is the largest island in the Indian Ocean, and shares some similarities with Caribbean Island cultures, especially in the mix of cultural heritage from indigenous, European, and African peoples. + Older generations in Mauritius can be superstitious. Many people believe in white magic. This involves using prayers and incantations for healing purposes. + Faith healers use onions, candles, and needles to cure minor health ailments or injuries. Many educated Mauritians who scoff at such behavior will seek the services of guérisseurs (faith healers) if traditional medicine fails them. + With the various ethnic groups living on the island (Indo-Mauritian 68%, Creole 27%, Sino-Mauritian 3%, Franco-Mauritian 2%), there are a vast number of festivals each year. The most common other festivals are: • January – Thai Poosam Kavadee • February – Chinese New Year, Abolition of slavery • March – Holi • April – Ougadi • September – Ganesh Chaturthi,Eid Celebration • October –...

Its the time of the year again and everyone is on a festive mood, especially theChinese people all around the world. Although I grew up in Brunei, I still follow the traditional Chinese customs and one of them is celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year. Legend has it that, the Chinese people follow the 12 Animal Signs and every year the animal zodiacs rotate around. This year is the year of the rabbit. However, its traditions are too old to be traced! Basically the Chinese New Year celebrations lasts for 15 days, and usually, the most important days are the Chinese New Year eve, the first few days of Chinese New Year and not to forget, the 15th day i.e. last day of Chinese New Year Celebration. Today is the Chinese New Year Eve, where most chinese families and their relatives gather around and have a so called 'Renunion Dinner'. On this day, in my case, all my aunties and uncles and relatives gather at my grandparents house for a good and wonderful renunion dinner. At this p...