UEA International Student Ambassadors

Naturally, one of the best things about being a student at the UEA is being in the UK and having new cultural experiences. That is a given. Norwich, UEA, they are all great. But sometimes you want to explore England a little further, venture into Wales, rail it up to Edinburgh or a small town in northern Scotland and even sail to Northern Ireland. It's an amazing adventure on this incredible island. It's also nice to venture further out into the world and explore the many diverse cities, tiny countries and islands situated within Europe. That ability is a huge plus to education outside one's home country, especially one as far away as the US (where I'm from). There are many ways to travel on the cheap as a student in the UK. There's Ryanair, EasyJet, Monarch and a plethora of country specific low cost airlines. Additionally, you can interrail throughout Europe and take advantage of the incredible public transportation system that some countries hardly offer. Th...

Hi everyone! Easter is in a few weeks, and I thought it would be interesting to share Russian Easter traditions with you, as they are quite different from those in Europe and other countries. Easter in Russia is one of the most important holidays, and also the richest in terms of cultural and historical traditions. The Russian Orthodox Church celebrates Easter according to the Orthodox calendar, and it can occur in April or May. This year it matches European Easter, and will be celebrate on Sunday 20 April. Easter is an important family holiday in Russia; often it is celebrated even by non-religious families. On the Easter Day we always say "Христос воскрес!" [khrisTOS vosKRES] – "Christ is risen!". When somebody says this phrase to you, it is considered polite to respond with "Воистину воскрес!" [voIStinu vosKRES] – "Indeed he is risen!" We always celebrate Easter with decorated eggs, special foods and customs. Russian Easter foods ...

7.00am Wakey wakey! It’s yet another beautiful   sunny morning in Norwich. The birds are singing, the trees are starting to bloom and you can smell the spring in the air! I make myself a smoothie and watch BBC news. 7.45am I like to start my day with going for a run or to the swimming pool.   Today is a pool day, so I get my stuff together, hop into my car and drive to UEA Sportspark.   I live 10 minutes away from campus in a quiet residential area of Norwich. Since Norwich is not awfully big, wherever you live is usually a convenient distance from both the city centre and the university, meaning you don’t have to waste a lot of time on going to places. Although I prefer to drive, there are many other alternatives, like taking a bus or cycling. Busses run frequently between the city and the university, and there are multiple bicycle routes throughout Norwich. 8.00am UEA Sportspark is not a regular university sport centre, it’s huge, has an Olympic ...

Easter in Spain is not usually called that, but 'Semana Santa' (Holy Week) instead. As a strongly Catholic country, these traditions have deep roots in Spanish culture; whether one is religious or not, we are all likely to have watched these 'parades' quite a few times every year.  A parade, or 'procesión' The 'parades', or processions, are held in each city or town every day from Palm Sunday until Easter Sunday, reenacting the relevant scenes each day (ie the Last Supper on the Thursday). The people walking in it are called 'papones', and their face is covered with an upside-down cone or piece of cloth. Papones Poignant, solemn music accompanies these processions so everyone is walking at the same pace... which is especially important if you're carrying a 'paso', a big sculpture propped on a wooden structure. Palm Sunday procession: everyone, especially little kids, carry palm leaves The most famous Semana Sant...