Semester Abroad at UEA

[FelicisVioleta]

Hello everyone!

I am an Uruguayan undergraduate International Studies student, and I will spend a semester abroad at UEA in 2022 (the academic semester that starts next January).

No one from my University has ever studied there, so I have no clue as how the dinamics of the modules work (all my modules will be assesed by coursework, and from Law, International Development and Politics Schools).

I would also appreciate any turistic recommendations for places to visit, both within and outside Norfolk.

Thank you in advance to whoever reads this, and I hope you have a wonderful day.

Ely and Bury St Edmonds should be on your list to visit for a day. Trains should go to these places. I would also definitely add Cambridge to your tourist list but you need longer to sample all it has to offer.

Try and visit villages and towns on the north Norfolk coast such as Burnham Market, Wells Next The Sea, Holkham and Hunstanton. There is also the Norfolk Broads and Suffolk Broads. These are a network of navigable rivers and waterways. There are many boat operators for day trips.

I also suggest you look at the National Trust web site for historic houses and countryside walks. English Heritage might have local properties you could visit too. Many areas and towns will have their own tourist office web sites with lots of ideas. Norwich also has a Premier League football team. They are currently bottom of the league but you might be able to see some Premier League football locally.

Also: London! It’s great for a long weekend - or two! Trains go into Liverpool Street I believe. From there anything is possible!

My DD spent two semesters abroad. She made friends with like minded international students who wanted to see a bit more of the countries they were living in. So although Norwich is great, get out and about as much as possible. This is your chance. You might never have a better one!

@TizerorFizz Thank you so much for your recommendations, I will definitely give them a look.

I visited the UK a few years ago (London, Oxford, Cambridge, Edimburgh, Glasgow, Cardiff and Belfast), but of course I still have places to visit in the cities I have already been.

As you have said, this is my chance to get out, as I will start Law School in the US next September, so I will take advantage of my last months as a free UG student

You will hopefully get more recommendations, but these places would be my first thoughts. You might find a guidebook on Norfolk and Suffolk useful. Suffolk has some interesting places too on the coast and inland, especially if you like old villages and houses. Lavenham is wonderful if you can get there.

The beaches on the Norfolk coast are beautiful.

Wells next the Sea and Holkham is a huge sandy beach.

Hunstanton has the advantage of being on the west side so you will see beautiful sunsets, a quieter beach nearby is Snettisham.

If you enjoy nature there is so much to see in Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire with the seaside, Norfolk Broads, seal watching, bird and wildlife reserves.

Norwich has a bustling market with lots of food choices an plenty of shops.

National Trust properties as mentioned by PP is also a good idea.

I'm not native to East Anglia and it took me a while to get used to the flatness of the landscape but I can appreciate the beauty more now!

UEA is only a few miles from me - it's very easy to get onto the city centre from there and Norwich is a lovely City :)

I'd recommend visiting the Cathedral and Cloisters and also the Castle. There are regular ghost walks around the city which are a lot of fun (the Elm Hill one will take you through a very old part of the city). Betty's tearoom is good for a real English tea experience and you'll be spoiled for choice for places to eat!

Buses run frequently from the UEA to Riverside/the train station so travelling should be pretty simple for getting to other parts of the country.

I hope you really enjoy your time here!

You can't spend time in England without seeing a football match. Norwich City are in the Premiership, ie the top division, though likely to be relegated, so worth trying to get tickets.

Some matches are less popular and so easy to get hold of. Looking at Norwich's site you can buy a ticket for their upcoming match with Wolves. However for the more popular matches you need to have bought tickets previously and/or be quick when tickets are released. (From their website this applied to their next home matches against Manchester United and Arsenal.)

You can't spend time in England without seeing a football match.

I've managed for the last 20 years

But I get what you mean, I went to a baseball game while living in America for the same reason!

Someone from Latin America might well be interested in football. It’s worth some effort to get tickets even if it’s lowly Norwich!

@TizerorFizz

Someone from Latin America might well be interested in football. It’s worth some effort to get tickets even if it’s lowly Norwich!

Absolutely!

The Premiership is hardly lowly, and Norwich play against some of the very best teams in Europe. Televised matches will be seen by millions, not just in the UK, but Asia and elsewhere.

There is an odd urban socialist view that football fans are Neanderthal racists. One friend completely refused to go with me, actually to Man U, because she knew what to expect, and even though I was adamant that I have never heard anything racist at a match. (Even at Millwall last night!)

What matches do give you is an insight into the local community. The passion at Watford or Crystal Palace or Newcastle, or the sense, at Everton or Burnley that you are following a century of miners and mill workers. Norwich, on contrast is quite naice and provincial. The team, after all, is owned by Delia Smith.

Well worth going once, whether here for 3 months, or indeed 30 years.

What a bizarre post! I’m a season ticket holder at a Premier league club. I don’t need a lecture in football thanks. Not Norwich!

I don't know anything about UEA modules specifically but I can say that I think it would be a great (and very English-feeling) place for an international student to spend a semester. It's not a big city - you'll get to know it well (better than an overwhelming city like London or Manchester for an foreign visitor) but the people are very friendly and it has many amazing historic buildings. Good luck!

Thank you so much for all your recommendations, regarding tourism and football as well.

As a PP suggested, I am a big football fan (mainly of my national team), and definitely I will atend 1 or 2 football matchs while I stay at UEA.

I just hope Omicron will let me travel to the UK and that Uruguay isn´t on UK´s Red List by January.