Willamette World News

When I was eighteen I moved from Finland to the UK. I was about to start my studies in Liverpool and I was so unbelievably excited and happy and excited, which left no room for the fear of the unknown. I arrived in Liverpool one September day and got instantly hit by a sweet and […]

Northern Irish law enforcement is a tricky topic and one that is very difficult to write about without presenting bias (something that can be very dangerous in my country), however I will try my best to contextualize my thoughts into a readable format for you guys (as well as hoping to poke fun at everything […]

You all know the nuclear family structure – Mum (not Mom), Dad and the 2.5 kids. Dad goes out to work and Mum stays at home and… I dunno, bakes a pie or something. You also probably know this model has become rarer and rarer and, luckily for us, society has not completely fallen apart.

The title above comes once or twice removed from one of my fellow internationals from the UK, who doesn’t drink. While that is definitely an option, it’s not one you come across too often. I wasn’t really sure how to define “holidays” as that back home just means when you have time off – Bank […]

Welcome to your cultural education lesson number 3 for Northern Ireland: my Nation’s Celebrations. Ireland has a few great traditions and given the drinking stereotype of my country, alcohol does play a role in many of them but of course not everything we celebrate has you reaching for the Guinness (although it may seem like […]

Welcome back, fans, to the second issue of the WWN; “The job market/economy and your country’s environmental efforts.” Obviously there is a lot more than just potatoes going on back home. Within this (what was intended to be short) piece I will dissect the economic branches of Northern Ireland, including a folktale, my sister’s predictable […]

Hi Willamette community! My name is Rita. You may know me already, or have seen me around campus as I studied at Willamette and graduated in May 2014 with a degree in Spanish and in Latin American Studies. I also worked as Spanish/German Liaison for the Language Learning Center (aka the lovely folks who organize […]

My name is Jordan Henderson (not to be confused with the other Jordon Henderson on campus who is incidentally in my Psychology class) and I am one of the editors for the WWN, as well as being an international student myself.

I’ll begin with a brief introduction. My name is Paulina Scapigliata Ludwig Torreblanca Reyes Rojas Re… And the list goes on. But to keep this short and sweet, I’ll resign to just Paulina for now. Although some of you probably know me as Candice from Iowa but that’s a whole other (drunken) story. I hail […]

I’m Molly and I’m from Manchester, in the North of England. Basically, any Mancunian will tell you that Manchester is the Best City in the World, but no-one can really explain why. I like to think it’s something to do with the music. The Smiths, Joy Division, The Happy Mondays, The Stone Roses, Oasis – […]

The UK’s history of immigration will forever be tarnished by our collective memory of colonialism’s oppressive tendencies and its innumerable atrocities. Due to this less than flattering element of our no-so-distant history I am sure many still view the United Kingdom as a fairly unwelcoming and ultimately intolerant society. If this short article does nothing […]

My name is Adam Cotton and I’m one of the mini-colony of Brits who have landed upon these fine shores. I hope that doesn’t seem offensive or provocative but it is one of the many ways I have been characterised since arriving. As soon as I opened my mouth and my dull and sterile accent […]

I think my favorite experiences while being in the US were on trips. I got to see whales which I wouldn’t normally have been able to see and I didn’t get really sea sick! I got to go stay with my roommate in Portland which was nice because she had such a lovely family and […]

The squirrels in Willamette seem to be well loved by everyone. They’re energetic and fun to watch as they chase each other around the trees. I’m always amazed how close they get to you. The squirrels back home are very different. They’re sort of lazy and much fatter!! Most British people don’t have the same […]

I have two favourite sports of the UK. One is rugby. It’s sort of like American football but they don’t use that much protection or have as many adverts. The rules are pretty much the same except I think there’s more fighting within rugby. People usually end up with broken noses and bloody faces. It’s […]

I really miss being home this week!! Yes, the British celebrate Valentine’s Day with almost as much enthusiasm as you do in the States. But this Valentine’s was pushed aside. Most of my friends back home were saying ‘Who cares about Valentine’s Day on the 14th?? It’s PANCAKE DAY on the 16th!!! Pancake Day! Yes. […]

Hello all, My name’s Rosie and I’m from the UK. I live near Birmingham in England (almost dead center) but I spend almost half of the year in my university town of Aberystwyth in Wales. I know it’s a mouthful. All Welsh words are. Just remember that Y is pronounced as I. I’m here in […]

This article is about even more proposed changes to the British education system. If you’re completely unfamiliar with recent debates about the english education system, namely that it is easier for students to pass exams nowadays and that we don’t do as much work as previous generations.

Ok. So you may think that underage drinking is nothing new. It happens in hundreds of countries all the time! So whats the big deal? Well there is a huge binge drinking problem amongst people who are legally allowed to drink which is bad enough but when children as young as 12 are being admitted […]

Hey everyone, I have chosen to give you the address to a fun website all about Guy Fawkes, the treason plot and bonfire night. Every year in England on the 5th November people set off fireworks, make bonfires, sometimes burn effigies of Guy Fawkes, eat toffee apples (kind of like caramel apples but better and […]

Hey all! Ok so for this edition of the World News I have chosen to look at the London 2012 Olympics. The first link is a news report about the fear of terrorists targeting the games.

Hey everybody, I’ve chosen the following article because I feel that the Manchester bomb was a major turning point in Manchester’s recent history. In my opinion it actually ended up doing the opposite of what the IRA intended, thankfully there were no casualties and it strengthened us as a city and greatly improved the city […]

Hey, I’m Tori Bell, I’m 19 years old and I am from Manchester in England, which is in the North of the country, about 5 hours drive away from London. I will be at Willamette for one semester and I am coming to you from Keele University which is a farily small university and is […]

Stamps honor Charles’ and Camilla’s wedding Even though David Letterman gave that news a decisive “Who cares?”-shrug, Europe is caring a lot for everything that is related to the marriage between Prince Charles and his long-time companion Camilla Parker-Bowles. But more interesting than just the article are the reactions of readers that mirror how divided […]

Three Blackwatch soldiers are killed in Iraq Last time I showed you an article about worried families of 850 Black Watch Regiment members, who had been just deployed from Basra to south of Baghdad. Now for three families their nightmares have come true. Their sons were killed in an attack. Eight more soldiers were injured. […]