So far being in the United Kingdom has been the best experience. Coming on the trip I was very nervous because it was my first time ever being on a plane. My first experience at the airport was very hectic, but I got to learn the beginner ropes on how to handle stressful situations there and get useful tips from my peers that have flown before. The 6 hour plane ride from the New York airport to London Heathrow, was a very long and exhausting flight but it taught me that next time I fly I would not want to sit in the main cabin and would upgrade to be comfortable.
I would say the first culture shock we all experienced was that there was no actual customs service when coming into the country and we had no one questioning us about what we were doing in the country. When we were picked up from the airport I realized that instead of driving on the right side of the road, the British drive on the left side.
When we arrived at the hotel there was no reception desk to check in. Instead, their reception desk was on the third floor and the garage to the hotel was on the second floor. The first thing I noticed when going into the elevator is that there was a 13th floor. I know most hotels I stayed at when I was on vacation in the United States did not have a 13th floor. I would say our rooms were also quite different from the hotels back home. There is nowhere to unpack your belongings from the suitcase besides a little closet with about 4 hangers and two tiny drawers. The showers also had two handles, one for turning on the water and one for picking the temperature. I found that the UK is very resourceful when it comes to saving power, in order to turn on the lights you have to use your key card.
Since the time jumped 6 hours ahead of time on the plane we were severely jet lagged. It was extremely exhausting after we got off the plane and had to keep ourselves busy in order to keep us on UK time. We got to go to lunch as a group to this amazing place on the canal that served huge fish and chips. I got to see the canal that ran through Birmingham and people kayaking on it. When walking around I noticed that a lot of their buildings are graffitied and also have an almost run down look but look beautiful or well put together on the inside. I noticed how Birmingham City is much different than the cities I am used to in America.
Most of the foods here are not very salty or sugary. When I got a milkshake from five guys and tasted it, I was definitely shocked. I noticed it in almost every meal I’ve had here so far. Every coffee shop I’ve been to so far has not had any regular iced coffee drinks, they are just espresso drinks. I found this weird because I thought iced coffee was common worldwide.
Visiting Birmingham City University was the highlight of the trip so far. Being inside the building was completely different than any college I’ve ever been to. Most of the building was just windows, and let in natural lighting. While at BCU we got to explore how their education system was different from the system in the US. The most interesting fact relating to my major is that their school year is only three years for their Bachelors of Science in Nursing and ours is 4 years. Another is that they do not do minors so that the students are completely focused on their major only. In the three years that they are learning they only have a few weeks (4-6) off a year compared to the thanksgiving break, winter break, spring break and summer break that we have.
One thing that I have not realized before the trip is how interconnected the nursing and education systems are. When the teachers at BCU were introducing themselves, more than half of them had nursing backgrounds and moved to teaching! I think that was really fascinating because in the US once you are in a profession long enough, you basically just stay in that profession, from what I have experienced. The teachers have so much pride and drive for both professions and it was mind blowing to see.