UEA International Student Ambassadors

It's the last day of February, and pretty soon spring will be upon us! Following Elena's snow poetry post last year, and to help usher in the new season, I'm posting some spring poetry here. Let's start off with Gerard Manley Hopkins' acknowledgment of this season's beauty and transience. Spring Gerard Manley Hopkins Nothing is so beautiful as spring— When weeds, in wheels, shoot long and lovely and lush; Thrush’s eggs look little low heavens, and thrush Through the echoing timber does so rinse and wring The ear, it strikes like lightnings to hear him sing; The glassy peartree leaves and blooms, they brush The descending blue; that blue is all in a rush With richness; the racing lambs too have fair their fling. What is all this juice and all this joy? A strain of the earth’s sweet being in the beginning In Eden garden.—Have, get, before it cloy, Before it cloud, Christ, lord, and sour with sinning, Innocent mind and Mayday in girl and boy,...

Campus is buzzing with people looking to gain a place as a UEA Officers. Posters, flyers and those big sheets in the square with peoples slogans on them are just some of the things I'm sure you've all seen to do with these elections but the reality is a lot of the student body are unaware of the role these people will have in defining life for students at UEA and the things that they can achieve over the next year to help all students have a better experience at UEA. http://www.ueastudentelections.com/  is a great starting point to get to know whats going in the student elections, and voting in them is as easy as filling out an online form that you would have recieved by email. The website also has lists of the candidates in all categories along with what they aim to do should they win the vote of their fellow students. + There is also a guide on the website about how you can vote in the next few days (voting takes place between today and the 4th of March so make ...

Created in 2011-2012 academic year, the UEA Mauritian Society has been involved in some major events at UEA. Last year we showed to our fellow UEA students the cultures and traditions of our paradise island during the Go Global week. The Mauritian girl army ready for paintball This semester, a trip to have some fun with paintball was organised last week by the UEA Mauritian Society. That event created a lot of excitement among a lot of Mauritian Students present for the event because it was their first attempt in paintball. With everything booked in advance, we arrived at Thetford Forest Paintball and then immediately got in the action by dressing up like real army people. My friends were all excited and some became a little fearful at the sound of hearing gunshots while our Mauritian group was getting ready to get into action. That was a thrilling experience! The red army getting ready! On the field, all sorts of emotions were present. And they could be read easil...

From 17-19 February 2013, Norfolk County Council’s Integrated Education Advisory Services hosted a pilot enterprise programme focused on water and carbon reduction at Holt Hall. Twenty-nine (29) students from seven (7) Norfolk schools and colleges and six (6) students from Randaberg College in Norway attended...and so did American student ambassador Rebecca Farnum ! Th e programme included team building, leadership and mentoring approaches and specialist support to develop students’ expertise in water efficiency and carbon reduction. After attending the programme, the pupils are expected to run a short water-saving campaign at their high school/college, followed by a stronger campaign with 1-3 cluster primary/feeder schools in order to develop their skills as young consultants. Norfolk and Norwegian high school and college pupils were joined by Norfolk County Council (NCC) staff and consultants, University of East Anglia (UEA) faculty member Declan Conway, and UEA students for teac...

Last week I found myself missing the traditional food form my country, after talking with some of my mexican friends about all the delicious dishes that we are missing out, we decided to gather to cook something very special. One dish that is very famous in Mexico is "Tacos al pastor" (Shepards Stlye) which consists in tacos made of pork with a special sauce. We had never cooked this specific dish in our life, but we decided to give it a try.  The results were very successful, this is why I would like to share the recipe with you Ingredients: •1 Kg pork leg or loin meat, cut into strips •1 Cup white vinegar •5 Dried guajillo chii peppers •5 Dried pasilla chili pepper  •2 Dried ancho chili pepper •1 Medium tomato, toasted, peeled and seeds removed •2 Medium onions, finely chopped •1/2 Head of garlic peeled •1 Tablespoon cumin powder •5 Cloves •1 Cup pineapple juice •Salt to taste •2 Tablespoons vegeta...

Ok so this year, UEA turns 50!! So what better way to celebrate than to entice more students to come to our wonderful university! Which one of you are going to be party of the special 50?! Click here for more details: http://www.uea.ac.uk/international/fifty --Amay Indian Student Ambassador

One of the hardest thing to cope with when studying far away from home is to leave your boy/girlfriend behind. Distance makes it harder to keep that relationship healthy and makes it easier to become jealous and paranoid ( yes, I know this oh too well...). So for all our brave students who have decided to make it work no matter what, here are some tips to make your love life easier! .......................... http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Long-Distance-Relationship-Work Charline, Belgian Student Ambassador

Wow! This place is a secret gem in Norfolk. Of course they have locally sourced produce, cream teas and home-made cakes. The Flavour Palour is much more than that. Its a full on place to drink, eat and relax. It has recently been taken over by a creative bunch of performers, designers and artists. 2pm normally signals a free perfomance of some kind. If you fancy something a little bit different then check out The Flavour Palour at Alby Crafts. The website really doesn't do it justice... but at least you can locate it, defo worth a trip out. http://www.albycrafts.co.uk/The_Flavour_Parlour

Hi everyone :) Hope everyone is well ! Have you heard of or watched Harlem shake videos? It's kind of a big thing on Youtube now and there are tons of different versions going on Youtube now. As you might already know (hopefully), UEA is never behind the trends! My dear friend, Ben, made this Harlem shake UEA village version and I'm there too haha. (it will be really easy to find me as I am the only Asian there lol) It's really random and weird, but it's funny. So, some students are planning to make a UEA version this Wednesday. Already, a few hundreds of students said they'd be part of the video and I can imagine that i'ts going to be a huge and funny event! If you're interested in joining in, keep your eye on this facebook event page! http://www.facebook.com/search/results.php?q=iss%20uea&type=events&init=quick&tas=0.9427011546941428#!/events/429447113802027/ Saem - Korean Student Ambassador  ...

On February 6th Brazil played a rather clumsy game against England, which they lost by 2 x 1. However the event wasn't all bad. When our national team plays something interesting happens: the outliers (read non-sports fans) sink into the football-loving mass and everybody suddently becomes best friends, just like that, bonded by green, yellow and blue. So, those of us who didn't have the choice of going to Wimbledon for various reasons (coursework, ticket availability, etc.) had a fun time supporting our team at the Union's Blue Bar, and made more noise than all the surrounding England supportors together (I forgot to say we also get quite loud). Particularly bad game, but GO BRAZIL!!!

Brunei is slowly marking its mark as a tourist destination in Asia. It is a wonderful country, enabling you to rest and relax in amazing and comfortable hotels such as The Empire Hotel & Country Club, Brunei . Visitors to the country must use the opportunity to go on a food trip of different local delicacies that the country can offer. Dishes served in Brunei are similar to the food being offered in neighbouring countries such as Singapore and Malaysia. There is one particular local delicacy in Brunei that all visitors must be adventurous to try. It's called Ambuyat . (Credits to The Daily Brunei Resources ) Ambuyat is made from sago, a product from Rumbia trees. The making of it involves a measured amount of hot water and mixing it until it becomes fluffy. The taste of Ambuyat is tasteless but it is eaten with other condiments, such a special thick and hot sauce made from local fruits and fermented shrimps. There is usually an assortment of fishes served such as ...

The return to the reality has never been more painful. Only once before in my life had I strived to stay in the imaginary world and I definitely never thought that it could happen again. After two hours sitting on the verge of my chair, empathizing with the main character of Cirque Du Soleil show KOOZA I was carelessly thrown out into the cold grey London streets. And then I thought that my life will never be the same again.  I left Norwich early in the morning, expecting an interesting day in London: with long walks around parks, unique atmosphere of my beloved Covent Garden, new faces, flamboyant characters, all that is worth living for. Everything was as I expected: afternoon coffee with a friend, amazing street performances, a mixture of feelings and sounds of Covent Garden and an early evening in a cosy bar. Then it was a time for me to depart on a journey through the jungles of London’s tube towards the Unknown, towards a show that received so many favourable reviews th...

Common Pupose Frontrunner I just spent the end of last week in Liverpool attending the Frontrunner Leadership Course. Well, what a whirl wind, my mind was left full, I was both inspired and motivated. I met a diverse range of people from a variety of different backgrounds, all with something interesting to say, something that mattered. It was UEA, Dean of Students (DOS), who forewarded the information and application process to me. I am so glad I applied. Graduates of Common Purpose become part of a select, but not elitest group of people. If you have seen Ted Talks, well this is like living it! It you get the opportunity to apply do! Before the deadline closes, the next course runs in July 2013 in Nottingham, UK. What is Frontrunner? Frontrunner helps university students, who have a track record of leading change, to set their sights even higher as they look ahead beyond full-time education. On these unique 3-4 day courses, participants visit a wide r...

Today it is PANCAKE DAY!!! The best way to celebrate is to try this amazing recepie by Nigella Lawson!! Ingredients: 225 gram(s) Plain flour 1 tablespoon(s) baking powder 1 pinch of salt 1 teaspoon(s) white sugar 2 large egg(s) (beaten) 30 gram(s) butter (melted and cooled) 300 ml milk Method 1.The easiest way to make these is to put all the ingredients into a blender and blitz. But if you do mix up the batter by hand in a bowl, make a well in the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar, beat in the eggs, melted butter and milk, and transfer to a jug: it's much easier to pour the batter into the pan than to spoon it. 2.Heat a smooth griddle or pan on the stove. 3.When you cook the pancakes, all you need to remember is that when the upper side of the pancake is blistering and bubbling it's time to cook the second side, and this needs only about 1 minute, if that. 4.I get about 16 silver-dollar-sized pancakes out of this. Elena Vontzalidou: UEA ...

One of the joys of being at UEA and living in Norwich is how easy it is to get to other places in the UK. Saturday, I took a day trip to Oxford, traveling by train and coach (bus). I'm one of around seventy Marshall Scholars studying at universities around the UK. I chose the University of East Anglia because it has a really strong School of International Development and one of the world's leading research centres on climate change science and policy, but there are Marshall Scholars all over England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Several of the Marshall Scholars each year choose to study at Oxford. And there is a long and friendly rivalry with the Rhodes Scholars , all of whom are at the University of Oxford. So once a year, the Marshall and Rhodes Scholars gather to compete over American-style football instead of academics. It was muddy and cold, but a LOT of fun.  Oxford is pretty, but I honestly like Norwich as a city more! Want to know who won? Hav...

Good Morning! Hope everyone had a good weekend. I would like to wish our Chinese students at UEA a happy Chinese New Year and may the year ahead be more prosperous and more successful. Over the weekend, UEA Malaysian and South-East Asian Societies organised a Chinese New Year Dinner Celebration at Congregation Hall. The event was held on Saturday, 9th February 2013 at 7.00 pm. A couple of UEA International Student Ambassadors went to the dinner and the highlight of the dinner was the 8-course meal served by the committee members. It sort-of felt like we were in a restaurant! A group picture with the UEA International Student Ambassadors that attended the CNY Dinner. From L-R: Gabby (Indonesian Ambassador), Marissa (Hongkong Ambassador), Harlen (Mexican Ambassador), Amilin (Bruneian Ambassador) and CL (Malaysian Ambassador). Gong Xi Fa Chai, again! Till next time, Amilin Omar UEA International Student Ambassador - Brunei 

The University of East Anglia is celebrating its 50th Anniversary this year There are some very exciting events in the planning stages and some important announcements to be made in the next couple of weeks to help celebrate this important event. So watch this space...... In the mean time feel free to check out the following webpage http://www.uea.ac.uk/50years/  and have a look at a brief history of the UEA so far

 Totally Chocolately Weekend When it comes to chocolate, spending a couple of hours strolling across a hall full of stalls with eye-catching chocolates, hardly ever disappoints. And that was what happened last Sunday in Norwich at The Forum. It was a chocolate exposition day and at the delight of everyone, dozens of chocolate brands ambassadors proudly publicised their chocolate production. My friends and I attended the event because of our deep and strong interest in eating and trying new types of chocolate. We had a chance to taste a variety of different chocolate, from dark one to white, some filled with caramel, white cream or nuts and while others had fruits flavour added as a touch of novelty and this is very much overdue. In the end, I decided to buy some chocolate to bring home because they were so delicious and I immediately became fond of some of the new ones I tried during the expo. To conclude, that was one good way to end the c...

Hi everyone! I'm back, yay :D Today, I'm going to introduce you  a place called 'New Malden' which is a small town in south-west London. I'm pretty sure that most of the Korean students already know about New Malden. Quite a lot of Korean people live there so it is not hard to hear Korean in the high street in New Malden. You can see a lot of Korean restaurants, shops and signs there as soon as you get out of the New Malden train station. The price is reasonable, definitely cheaper than Korean restuarants or markets in any other places in the UK including the central London, and there is a wide range of choices. You can find Korean restaurants, Korean markets, Korean hairdressers, Korean karaoke, Korean bars, Korean travel agencies and so on. Most of the places hire Korean staff so you can speak in Korean there! Even if you're not Korean but wanna try something Korean, I highly recommend New Malden. It's not very hard to get there from Norwich. ...