Staff at Embassy

International Students' Day at Embassy Brisbane

Anne Azano, the Student Activities Co-ordinator at Embassy Brisbane, writes:


Last Friday's International Student Day was a wonderful celebration of different nationalities and cultures. Students shared their cuisine, culture, dancing and information about their countries.

Some of the culinary highlights were: coffee and dates from Saudi Arabia, Turkish Delight, Brazilian Brigadeiros and Coxina, Venezulan desserts, Japanese sushi and traditional clothing, Korean kim chi and spicy octopus, delicacies from Thailand, Vietnam, Sri Lanka,Taiwan and China, Vegemite sandwiches and homemade American choc chip cookies! 

The displays were great, as were the performances. The entertainment consisted of Russian dancing, Turkish belly dancing, French love messages, guitar music from Colombia and a chop stick competition!

So many students participated and it was a huge success! To quote one student "It was awesome!"

See more photos from this event in our Embassy Brisbane Facebook photo gallery.

Beat Oxford traffic on your bike

Peter Madams, ICT teacher at Embassy Oxford, writes:

 

Oxford's traffic can get pretty congested, as you can see here on one of the main entry roads to the city. Despite having a very good public transport system (lots of buses), as yet there is no charging system for cars to enter the centre of town and so every morning there is a crawl to get through.

What does this mean for visiting students? Get on your bike to get to Embassy for your classes! You'll save money, get some exercise and be able to get to school on time.

Bikes are quite cheap here as lots of people come and go, buying and selling as they do. Make sure you get a helmet and a lock and lights, and a map to find the cycle routes around and through the city. There are some really pretty cycle routes, free of cars, which are a joy to use. 

Oxford prides itself on being bike-friendly - so come and join in.

Peter also provides a link to a really excellent photo blog post, showing some of the many people around Oxford who use bikes in their day-to-day life; it also gives a very good impression of what Oxford is like. Take a look - it might inspire you!

“About 20,000 cycle commuters steam into Oxford city centre each day, negotiating more than 36,000 cars, lorries and kamikaze buses, potholes, cobble stones and disoriented tourists en route.”

Staff report from Embassy Oxford's Venice Ball

Staff and students at Embassy Oxford recently joined with Bellerbys Oxford students to enjoy a fantastic Venice Ball at the Halkwell House Hotel.

Fabio da Silva Moore, the Social Programme and Extra Curricular Activities Organiser for Embassy and Bellerbys in Oxford was one of the main organisers of the event and writes: ‘Finally, after a lot of hard work and effort from myself and the members of the committee we managed to organize a fantastic event. There were beautiful decorations, posters of Venice, mask decorating activities and even a gondola!

The Venice Ball was a successful event and all the students and staff members enjoyed a great night dancing and singing. This event gives us more incentive to make next year’s Ball even better!’

Visit the Embassy Oxford Facebook gallery to see more photos of this fabulous event, or go to the Embassy Oxford activities and excursions page to find out more about the other activities available to our students after class.

 

Students and staff at Embassy Boston Merrimack enjoy annual International Tea.

Recently, Embassy students participated in a very special International Tea event. Linda D. Walsh, New England Embassy Manager, writes:'Embassy joined with the Merrimack College to host the college’s annual International Tea. Students brought desserts and tea from their country to share with other students and staff members. There were brigadeiros from Brazil, date and banana cake from Saudi Arabia and a variety of cookies and candies from other countries too. Those who attended also sampled Arabic   coffee, Japanese green tea, and Korean corn tea.  The International Tea event was a great opportunity for Embassy Boston students to interact with Merrimack students and practice English in a fun and enjoyable setting.'

To see more photos from the event, go to the Facebook gallery for the Embassy Boston Merrimack school, or for more information about the school, have a look at the courses offered here and read the local information page.

Embassy staff's favourite things to do in Oxford

Oxford is a beautiful historic English town with many great sights and attractions to see. Our staff all love living and working here, and two of our staff members have told us about their favourite places to go in Oxford...

Julia Southby, Principal of Embassy Oxford writes:

Want to see some live music? One of the places I go regularly is the O2 Academy on the Cowley Road: it's only a 20 minute walk from school!

This is a fantastic venue to see a range of live music: some unsigned local musicians get their start here, and big names also feature - Goldfrapp and We Are Scientists are coming to town in June! The venue has two stages and both offer a good safe environment to see some excellent music.

They will be showing the World Cup football matches too - with FREE entry! They also offer varied dance nights with regular features and visiting DJs. The O2 Academy is always a great venue to try if you fancy getting out of the town centre for a dance one weekend! So, whether you like hard rock, folk, pop or dance, check it out.

Andrea Paschoal, English Language Co-ordinator at Embassy Oxford writes:

Iffley lock walk is very near where I live, which is only 20 minutes from the city centre. Iffley village is a lovely little place, with an ancient church and thatched cottages. The lock itself is very well kept with a beautiful lock keeper’s cottage and a popular pub. You can walk down a narrow fenced path to the lock where you’ll see a couple of little bridges and some ducks to feed. When the river is high, the water rushing through the weir (a dam used to regulate the water flow) is a nice sight.

After this, you can go on a short walk through some meadows and over a bridge to the famous boat  houses of Oxford University. This is a delightful spot to sit by the river and watch the boats go past.
I don’t always have time to stop and have a cup of coffee, but whenever I can I stop at Prêt a Manger. It is probably the best place to head for coffee here in the city centre. They sell sandwiches, sushi, cakes and juices. Their food is of very good quality, everything is freshly made on the day and is also free of nasty GM ingredients.

To find out more about Oxford you can read our local information page or take a look at the Oxford   photos on the Embassy website.

Auckland rugby trip

Carter Voyce, teacher from Embassy Auckland, writes:

On Easter Saturday, 30 Taylors and Embassy students went to a Super 14 rugby match at Eden Park. The mighty Auckland Blues were up against the previously unbeaten (and seemingly unbeatable) Pretoria Bulls.

For most, this was their first rugby game and, complete with blue and white face paint and strong lungs, they quickly got in behind the local lads.

As the sun went down and the stadium lights came on during the second half, it was clear our boys were playing well and holding the upper-hand.

Thanks mainly to the tremendous support shown by Taylors and Embassy students, the Blues went on to win 32 – 17. A great day was had by all!

See more photos from the event on our Embassy Auckland Facebook photo gallery.

Oxford English schools go head to head

Peter Madams, ICT teacher at Embassy Oxford, writes:

Embassy Oxford recently joined together with sister school Bellerbys to form a cracking team and played a football match against another local school in Oxford - EF, English First. We are pleased to announce a convincing 6-2 victory, and members of both teams are pictured after the match.

A rematch will soon be announced to see if it was just a 'one-off' or whether EF can get their revenge.

News from Embassy Oxford

Peter Madams, ICT teacher at Embassy Oxford, provides a few updates of recent school activities:

Traffic lights!

Accomodation Officer at Oxford, Agnieska Kaleka, (perhaps our most active fund-raiser, pictured in yellow) would like to say a big 'thank you' to all of you who took part in the last Traffic Light Day at Embassy Oxford. The idea is simple - wear red, green or orange/yellow clothes for a day around college, and try to collect donations for the charity.

As usual we took some funny pictures and raised £42.83 which will be doubled by Study Group so the final amount is: £85.66. Congratulations everyone!!! This money will go our chosen charity 'Building Futures'.

Games Night

Embassy Oxford is now open late on Tuesdays for a games night in the common room. Fabio, our social activities organiser, will be running the evening. Students can stay in the building until 8.30pm and play chess, Texas Poker, dominoes, or other board games.

The first night was a great success - lots of people came. It's a great way to relax, meet new people, and learn new games after a hard days studying.

Snow sweeps the UK

The whole of the UK is experiencing an unusual degree of snow at the moment: while we often have snow for a day or two in the winter, it is very rare that it lasts any longer. If you like sledging and snowman-building, you're in luck, but those travelling to Britain in the next few days should be warned that our public transport is experiencing some delays, pavements are somewhat slippery, and you really, really must bring warm clothes!

A Brighton side-street (most main roads remain passable).

Ah well, we'd better enjoy it while we can - soon enough, we'll be back to normal, and missing those pretty landscapes where everything is covered in white.

Peter Madams, Social Activities Organiser at Embassy Oxford, reports from that historic town:

The UK is in the grip of its longest cold snap for almost 30 years, and severe weather warnings are still in place across parts of the UK for both snow and ice. Oxford students have returned this week to find the city covered in snow, and getting around is difficult. The college remains open for classes though, and we hope to give you a warm welcome.

This is Broad Street, one of Oxford's main shopping streets, seen from our school's window. See what we mean about pretty?

Embassy's UK schools remain open wherever possible; students are given a number to call to receive the latest updates on a day-by-day basis. If you are due to arrive in the next few days, be assured that we do not expect this extreme weather to last much longer. However, if you are concerned about your travel arrangements, you should contact your enrolment advisor or agent for further advice.

A Thanksgiving potluck

Benjamin Downey, Social Services Manager at Embassy Boston Merrimack, writes:

  Embassy Boston Merrimack students gather for a group photo after the feast

Merrimack staff and students enjoyed a Thanksgiving 'potluck' feast - everyone brought a dish, and the result was a huge spread of many different flavours, colours and cultures! See all the photos from this event on our Boston Merrimack Facebook photo gallery.