UEA International Student Ambassadors

😉💚  Welcome to Japanese Night   On the 25th November some Japanese students have invited us (the UEA students) to World Café. They have introduced everything you need to know about Japan. Here is what we have done:        Before we have started to celebrate, UEA student from Japan has made a wonderful presentation about introducing its country. After her presentation, everyone felt free to try new things on that day: such as eating homemade Sushi, writing our names in Japanese and of course making new friends.   My new Japanese friends :)   One of my favourite food: Sushi and the best one was that it was homemade :)     One of our Japanese friend writes our name in her language.   Thank you for this lovely invitation. Everyone was having fun

On the 31st of October(yes Halloween, woo) the UEA International office hosted a welcome event for the Malaysian students, both new and returning and I'm so happy to say that it was a big success! Many students were introduced to fellow students and had a chance to mingle and get to know each other! The event kicked off around 6pm at the Arts hub where everyone arrived and signed in! The room was filled with music, snacks and about 60 students eagerly looking forward to the company and the food that was prepared specially for the event.   A few short speeches were given introducing everyone to the team. Craig went on to introduce himself, the team and the student union representative who also attended the event! The whole team constaly displaying the warm UEA welcoming spirit!   Different students from different courses had the opportunity to  mix around and meet fellow Malaysians and students from a few other countries interested in the...

Do you normally do throwbacks on Thursdays on your social media accounts? To be honest, as long as it’s a throwback, it doesn’t really matter when they’re posted! For me, I have another ♯ instead of ♯ tbt… It’s the ♯ TBM. Yeah! No typos! It stands for Throw Back March.  So what’s so special for me back in March? The UEA Award Ceremony! Just in case you don't know what the UEA Award is about, it is an award that recognises a range of activities, both academic and extra-curricular, undertaken during your time at UEA. It helps you develop the essential skills and attributes for life and employment when you finish your course. It’s been developed in conjunction with employers and culminates in a certificate from the University. This year, the ceremony was held on 16 March 2017, which involved sharing from employers, the Head of Careers, awarded students and an informal networking session after the ceremony. It was a pleasure for me to be the first NBS Student invited to ...

This year was undoubtedly the most international Thanksgiving celebration I've ever had. There was turkey and mashed potatoes and more pie than could ever be eaten in a single meal, but there were also mince pies, stir-fry, and stuffing balls. I chatted with Canadians and other MidWestern Americans about the mild weather and the British vocabulary that took a little adjusting, but then ate my meal with friends from China, Malaysia, and Brazil. I got to share a bit of America with them, seeing where we had similar traditions and what was entirely new to them. Gathering with other American and Canadian students was nice, an opportunity to learn that feeling a little homesick and nostalgic is not unusual at this time of year. As we sat around trying to fill in all the states or provinces of our home country and neighbouring country — most of us failing miserably — there was a shared sense of camaraderie, everyone taking turns to point to their hometown. Plus, for once no one ask...

On the 22nd November, International Office hosted its annual South Asian Welcome Event. Its a chance for UEA students from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and other South Asian countries to meet and eat pizza and get to know each other. It was an amazing evening with students from different backgrounds, at different levels of study all bonded on their cultural similarities and in some cases also friendly rivalry. Pizza and the delicious samosas weren't the only highlights of the evening. We were also graced with an impromptu salsa dance by a Srilankan Phd student and the Pakistani International Ambassador. As the students got to know each other chatting about languages, food, and politics a real sense of community developed. There was also a photo booth and a group photo to commemorate the evening. It was a perfect event to celebrate the new students who have just begun their journey at UEA and I truly hope they have a fantastic time here and grow to love UEA as much as me....

Coming from Karachi, Pakistan where winters are comparatively quite mild and pleasant, adapting to UK winters for me definitely was a challenging difference! Especially because I despise wearing layers and layers of clothing! BUT, despite the weather, I have started to love winter time in the UK. This post of mine will be generally talking about what I've been up to this year and what are some of the activities and places to look forward to! Amidst the third year work load and lengthy work application processes, I love indulging in winter festivities around Norwich and London! Hit the markets! My personal favourites are the Old Spitafields Market and Camden Market in London! The former has a huge collection of Vintage clothing and goods and is an indoor market. (If you're a cheese lover like me, you will love this lil shop and restaurant Androuet- their cheese fondues are too good!). Plus it's generally less crowded in comparison to Camden Market, in...

                                                   Stir-fried tomato and scrambled eggs Today I am going to teach you how to cook stir-fried tomato and scrambled eggs. It look easy, but it require high cooking skill within. Timing in this dish is the key point to success. keep watching your time!!! Ingredients 6 eggs 1 teaspoon salt 2 medium-sized tomatoes or 1 beef tomatoes, roughly chopped 2 tablespoons ketchup 1/4 teaspoon sugar 1 spring onion Directions 1. In a small bowl, stir cornstarch with 2 tablespoons water. Set aside. In a medium mixing bowl, beat eggs well with salt. 2. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a wok over high heat until shimmering. Add the scallions and stir-fry until the oil is fragrant and the scallions have softened but not browned, about 20 seconds . Add the eggs and stir-fry rapidly, turning the eggs aro...

Animals around Norwich As you all know, Norwich is a more countryside kind of place and naturally, there would be lots of wildlife around. They can be really friendly and they might just make your day. Cats (Meow!) I’m not completely sure about your individual areas but there are many of these feline buddies around my area. Some of them gets really affectionate and comes over for a quick pat but there are a few which are really timid and would bolt once you enter their personal space. That is completely normal, it does NOT mean that you are not lovable. If you do have a cat that comes to you frequently, check if they are owned before feeding them because you might not be helping if you are feeding them the wrong food. If they aren’t owned, you can start by laying out a bowl of water and some dry kibble separately (Cats do not like it if you place their food and water together, it would appear like an ambush to them and they won’t consume it) and gradually you would find ...

My experience about getting National Insurance number in the UK. Working part-time job in the UK: conditions          Many international students find it really important to get some part-time work experience while being in the UK. It gives us a chance to explore what it is like to work in the British work environment as well as to improve our CV. There are a few conditions that we have to follow as international students in order to start working part-time in the UK.   The conditions depend on where you come from but generally speaking   they are quite similar for all international students. First of all, on your visa it should be indicated how many hours you’re allowed to work while you are studying in the UK.  This rule is very strict and you have to follow it so that there will be no problems regarding your employment as well as your monthly pay  in the future. In my case it is    up to 20 hours a week. No...

How to travel around Europe without spending much One thing that I know for sure about myself is that I LOVE travelling. I plan my whole life around it and one of the biggest advantage of studying/living in the UK is the convenience of being able to go anywhere in Europe quickly and without having to spend much. If you are like me, I have some tips for you: Where to go Of course this is very personal but I have my favourites. If you’re interested in: Food: ITALY, ITALY, ITALY!! Who doesn’t like good pasta and pizza? Match that with amazing gelato for desert and you’re in food heaven. Museums: Almost every country has amazing museums, but my favourite has to be GERMANY , especially if you’re interested in learning more about the World wars. You can visit old bunkers, concentration camps and classic art museums. Cultural immersion : Poland , because is not an extremely popular touristic destination you can wonde...

Guide to packing for Kazakhstani students. Dear students, I  had an idea to write a guide on what to pack to embrace the British weather but I actually decided to write a general guide on packing which  hopefully  will not only help you to  stay warm while being in the UK but also to  overcome the  homesickness and to neglect  overweight fee in the airports.  Alright, It’s a few days left till  your departure to the UK for the first time.  There is already enough to worry  about but here comes another problem : luggage organization. First and foremost, sit down, pour  a  cup of tea and take a piece of paper and pen.  Divide the  piece of paper into two columns. On top of the first one write ‘ urgent’, and on the second one write ‘important’. Meanwhile, I am going to provide you with the    examples of the things which  usually  are useful  for people that go to study ab...

I will be very honest with you and admit the fact that I didn't know there is such a thing as "British traditional cuisine" when I first came to the UK. United Kingdom is very multicultural and if we open Wikipedia and read a little bit about British history and colonisation in particular, it becomes clear why you can come across to such a variety of food from different parts of the world . There is a huge number of Turkish, Kurdish and Middle-Eastern restaurants in the UK with my favourite dishes as well, therefore I didn't even put an effort into finding out more about British cuisine until the last year. Well, this is something that I regret not doing as soon as I came to the UK as I lost the WHOLE YEAR of enjoying some bits of the British cuisine that I fell in love with! As I am the real FOODIE, I spend as much time as I can, exploring Norwich cafes and restaurants. Prepare yourself for some juicy photos and recommendations: 1. Afternoon Tea.  Afte...