My name is Lien. I'm from Haiphong in the north of Vietnam. I came to Leeds in 2003 to study an MBA programme specialising in marketing.

Lien's has always wanted to be a teacher

After this programme Leeds Business School offered me a teaching assistantship, that means they offered me a Phd programme. In return I do some teaching and they train me to become a future lecturer.

I met an English guy

My original plan was to go back to Vietnam to continue my career there however, I just met an English guy in my class and ... you know ... things just went very well between us.

John, my current husband now, likes Vietnam very much and he was very happy to meet a Vietnamese girl.

After the programme we knew that there was something there and I couldn't go back.

We just went to Vietnam to introduce John to my family and then we got married.

Lien's family gave John a warm welcome but students at a local school thought John (left) was a giant.

We have a little boy now, called Tom, he's just over one year old. I think life is fantastic for us. We are very lucky to have each other.

Studying in Leeds

Studying in Leeds has been a completely different experience for me. The education system is so different.

In Vietnam we are used to listening to the lecturer and making notes. We have to be very creative here. We only learn a small amount from the lecturer.

You have to read much more and apply what you have learnt in your work experience to each subject.

Terrible weather and food

Regarding life here in the UK. Before I came here I was told I had to be aware of the weather, of the food and of the people.

Enjoying a walk in the park with baby Tom

I was told the weather would be terrible, the food would be terrible and the people would not be as friendly as you would think.

But when I came here everything was fine. The weather was not that bad and we have international supermarkets everwhere so I can still cook a lot of my favorite food.

Heavy accent

At first when people come to Leeds they should know though that the accent is difficult to understand. It's a bit heavier and not the same as you hear in Vietnam on the BBC. It takes a while to adjust (to this accent). Before I came here I made contact with the Vietnamese Society.

Lien and John both obtained MBA's with distinctions

I stayed with one family right away and they let me stay for the rest of the year - so I was lucky.

I did cry

When I first came here (to Leeds) everything was strange. It was the first time I had travelled abroad and I missed my family a lot. I felt like there would be some problems ahead so I did cry for the first few nights.

But after that things were new and exciting so I decided to enjoy myself.