You may be pleased to hear that in addition to the internet provided on the BUNAC computers, the BUNAC office now has free Wi-Fi internet access for you to use. Come on over and test it out!

If you fancy celebrating the start of the Year of the Ox and joining in on the Chinese New Years festivities, then there will be lots to entertain you in London. Lion and Dragon dances will take place in Chinatown and traditional Chinese arts will take place in Trafalgar Square from 12-6pm. Chinatown will host cultural stalls, food and lion dance displays and later on there will be a firework display from Leicester Square.

What better way to mark the start of Lent than by flipping pancakes! Pancake Day or Shrove Tuesday, is the traditional feast day before the start of Lent where all ingredients like eggs, milk and butter were not eaten again until Easter. So get some plain flour, eggs, milk and butter and start flipping!

If you wanted to see how your pancake flipping skills compare with others then why not enter ‘The Great Spitalfields Pancake Race’ starting at 12:30pm outside the Old Truman Brewery on Brick Lane (nearest tube is Shoreditch). Teams of four people run a relay race round a course whilst flipping batter. Supply your own pan and the pancakes are supplied for you, the prize is your very own engraved frying pan!

Rugby in the UK may not be as widely loved as football but it is an exciting game to watch and a must-see during your time here. The 6 Nations tournament consists of Europe’s six top rugby nations battling it out to win the prestigious championship and kicks off in February with matches throughout Europe. Big games to watch out for are:

More information about the tournament with full fixture lists can be found at www.rbs6nations.com. Tickets can be quite pricey so why not find a good pub on the day and join in with the supporters watching the match on TV. If you are in Scotland take a look further down the newsletter for more information.

St Patrick’s Day is a great opportunity to experience the “craic” the Irish way! The most authentic way to celebrate this is, of course, in Ireland itself and there are many different tour companies offering St Patrick’s Day trips. Try and book early as they get full very quickly! For more details try these websites: www.radicaltravel.com (15% discount available to BUNAC participants) and www.paddywagontours.com.

Don’t worry if you’re not able to make it over to the Emerald Isle itself as International Friends will be holding a St Patricks Day cruise on the river Thames, right here in London. Celebrate the day in style whilst taking in many of London’s sights along the way. There’s a bar on the boat and they’ll be a DJ to party the night away. It will depart from Swan Pier at 7.30pm. Tickets should be bought in advance and you can call them on 01223 244555, or you can take a look at their website at www.internationalfriends.co.uk.

There will be plenty of celebrations all over the UK during the whole weekend. The main St. Patrick’s day parade and festival in London will take place on Sunday 15th March. The celebrations will be centred around Trafalgar Square and Leicester Square. If you are in Edinburgh the whole city will be a street party! So you can choose which one of the many pubs to celebrate in. For those of you in other areas of the country there is bound to be a party in your local Irish pub!

An opportunity to see two of the most prestigious universities battle it out on the River Thames! Since 1829, Oxford and Cambridge have held an annual rowing race along a four mile stretch of the Thames. Go to www.theboatrace.org to view the map and where the best places are to watch it from. Over 250,000 supporters turn out on the river banks to cheer on either university so this is a big deal with huge rivalry between the two sides!

For those of you that well and truly have the travel bug and aren’t ready to head home, no fear you can still work and travel your way around the world, even after the Work in Britain programme. BUNAC has many other work and travel programmes. Americans can apply for the Work in Ireland and Work Australia programme from outside the US. This allows you to go directly to Ireland or Australia from Britain.

Work in Ireland
Don’t forget you can also take advantage of the Work in Ireland programme even if you have graduated. It’s a 4 month programme that will allow you to work anywhere in the Republic of Ireland. You can find out more information on the website at www.bunac.org/incoming, but you will need to have at least 6 weeks left on your Blue Card. The cost of the programme is £149.

Work Australia
The programme provides a 4-month or 12-month work permit and there is the opportunity to travel in Australia afterwards for up to 3 months. To qualify you just need to be an American citizen aged 18-30. You can find out more information on the website link above.

To see a full list of all the BUNAC programme available, including Work in France and Work in New Zealand check out www.bunac.org. If you have any questions on any BUNAC programmes just e-mail us at wib@bunac.org.uk or call us on 020 7251 3472.

We hope that you are all aware that the Edinburgh closed on Friday 30th January. It was a sad day for BUNAC. The London office is still open and Caroline and Lou are more than happy to help with any queries or problems you may have. They can be contacted on 020 7251 3472 or wib@bunac.org.uk.

As the office is closed, BUNAC no longer offers a mail service in Edinburgh. We are therefore asking you to change your address with the bank/employers/family/friends etc. You are able to use the London address for any mail if you don’t have your own address. Your mail will then be held in London until you are able to provide an alternative address for it to be forwarded. BUNAC London will automatically forward all of your mail for free for the next few months. If you are planning on using our address indefinitely then you will need to pay the £5 mail forwarding fee. Parcels, however, cannot be forwarded.

Please make sure that you keep London up-to-date with your current address. You can call on 020 7251 3472, e-mail at wib@bunac.org.uk or update your contact details online at www.bunac.org/incoming. It will be up to you to contact the London office to check if you have any mail. Your bank mail already goes via London, therefore when any important bank mail (ATM cards and PIN’s) arrives, you will receive an email to notify you.

The mail baskets will be with Haggis for a further 2 months to allow you to collect any mail that is in Edinburgh before we close. HOWEVER NO NEW MAIL WILL BE ACCEPTED. Any uncollected mail still with Haggis after the end of March will automatically be forwarded to London and may then be returned to sender.

If anyone has any questions relating to mail, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

The 25th January was Burns Night. Robert Burns is Scotland’s most famous poet. His birthday is typically celebrated by eating Haggis and having a ceilidh (Scottish Dance). This year is his 250th anniversary. Therefore Scotland is having a years celebration called Homecoming 2009. There are hundreds of events going on throughout Scotland including Scotland’s largest Highland Games in Holyrood Park in July. To find events, visit www.homecomingscotland2009.com.

The Six Nations Rugby tournament is coming to Edinburgh. The three big matches taking place at Murrayfield Stadium are:

Sunday 8th February - Scotland vs. Wales
Saturday 28th February - Scotland vs. Italy and
Saturday 14th March - Scotland vs. Ireland.

Tickets are still available for the Wales and Italy matches, but the Ireland match is sold out. To buy tickets, go to www.scottishrugby.org. During all of the matches Edinburgh will be buzzing so head down to one of the bars on Rose Street where you’ll be able to watch the matches on TV.

Looking to try somewhere new to eat out? Until Thursday 28th February 2008, 30 of Edinburgh's best restaurants will be offering excellent value dining offers of 2 course lunches and dinners for £15. Visit www.eatscotland.com for more information.

Have any of you every heard of Strip The Willow or The Dashing White Sergeant?!! If so, then you already know a little bit about ceilidh dancing. It is traditional Scottish dancing where everybody can join in regardless of their ability!! It is usually done in pairs or groups of eight, and will probably be one of the best nights you will have whilst in Scotland. Go to www.edinburghceilidhs.com for more information. All of the ceilidhs have callers, so no previous experience needed!!

BUNAC have both ISIC and IYTC cards available for you to purchase at the office. The ISIC card is available to all US Blue Card holders. If you are a student but not from the USA, then you will need to show us proof of student status. If you are under 26 but not a student, then you can purchase an IYTC card. Both cost £9 and you’ll need a passport style photo. Hop over to the office to get the card or find the application form online here and mail it to us. ISIC cards offer you discounts all over the UK and world. Find out more on the ISIC website at www.isiccard.com.

Bank Mail

Remember that BUNAC can forward your bank mail to you for free, you just need to let us know your address and that you would like us to forward your bank mail. You can also sign up for our full mail forwarding service (for non-bank mail) for a one-off fee of £5. We have a lot of mail here at BUNAC, so if you do not want us to forward your mail, please come and check your mail on a regular basis.

Report Cards

Please remember that you need to fill out your report cards to keep BUNAC up to date with your details. Your 2nd report card needs to be completed once you have a job and a place to live and your 3rd report card needs to be filled out when you have finished on the programme. You can complete your report cards quickly and easily online at our website www.bunac.org/incoming.