Yesterday, we got into Birmingham after a long day of travels. Once we got into Heathrow, the airport in London, it was the quickest process to get into the country. We essentially scanned our passports, scanned our faces, and we went on our merry way into the country! This was then followed by a two house train ride into the city of Birmingham. The street we are staying on is currently under construction, so we had to get out and walk a little less than a block to our Hotel. Not all of our rooms weren’t ready so when we found a few rooms to set all of our stuff in and freshen up, we took a walk around the city! At first, we started walking along the canals because we needed to buy our tickets for our boat tour on Thursday. We walked to a Costa Coffee, which I find to be as popular, if not more popular, than Starbucks around these parts! Because me and a few other members of our group didn’t want to drink coffee so late into the day, we walked a bit further along the canal, where we saw the Lego Land and got pictures with a Giraffe made of Legos! After the other members got their coffee, we went to a pub called Malt House. According to the workers there, the pub building dated back to the fifteen hundreds! I didn’t recognize that Britain is such an old country, and that plenty of their buildings predate ours! We sat at our tables and something I hadn’t realized was that waiters don’t ask you your order, you must walk to the bar and order and give your table number. Something I’ve never seen in the States! Most of my group ordered FIsh and Chips, which I’ve personally had before my first time I came to England. I had heard from my instructor that there was a vegetarian meal called Halloumi, which is a type of Cheese that is used as a meat substitute here. As a person who loves dairy and is also a vegetarian, this intrigued me greatly. I personally think that Halloumi tastes like a thicker version of a mozzarella cheese stick. To say the least, I enjoyed it thoroughly! After our meal, I was dog tired; However, I had no time to sleep. We decided in order to prevent us from falling asleep too early for the timezone, we went on a looooooong walk around the city. We walked along the canals, under the roundabouts, and we eventually found our way to Digbeth. I noticed while we were walking that there was a lot of litter within the street, which is something I didn’t expect. There were also many areas of construction that shocked me. The most surprising thing of all was in fact the sheer amount of graffiti within the city. Some of the graffiti are beautiful works of art, others are just tags and word art along the outside of shops. After a long day of walking, I took a thirty minute nap and then went with a group to get some dinner. I personally just wanted a milkshake from Five Guys, but we went with the group to grab food for the other members. The workers at the food truck we stopped at were very interested in the States. One remarked how he wanted to go to the states for “dirt devils and guns,”

 which is an enlightening insight into what the people here think about the States. After a day of Jet Lag, and a good night’s rest, the group finally made it to our first class! Today I was very excited to go to Birmingham City University! On our walk to the college, we walked past plenty of beautiful architecture and interesting looking buildings. They are much prettier than most of the buildings we have in the States. When we got on campus, I couldn’t help but notice the brightness and greenery around campus. The building was incredibly pleasing to be in! I think that Pitt might need to take some notes! In the classroom we met our instructors for both nursing and education/social work. They were so kind and very experienced. During our first class, we learned about the structure of the College. Their main mission is to create opportunity, think differently, and build community. All things I can get behind! We are studying in the department of H.E.L.S., also known as Health, Education, and Life Sciences in the Seacole Building. H.E.L.S., holds three main Schools, these being the School of Nursing and Midwifery, the School of Health Sciences, and the School of Education and Social Work. We also got an insight into their demographics as a school and the structure of their schooling times. One amazing fact I’ve learned already is that undergrad degrees actually only take three years here, because they take much shorter breaks within their school year. I also was told that there is an incredible amount of field time required for degrees. Learning by experience is incredibly important here! After our class time and mingling with the teachers, we had to be on our merry way to the Art Museum and walking tour. Both were very interesting and informative. We got to see and hear about much of the history of the city. My friend and I then went out for some time at the pubs! We went to a pub called Slug and Lettuce. I ended up getting into a conversation with a local! He told me about his time in the States, specifically Manhattan. I told him about my recent perceptions of the city. It was a pleasant conversation! I hope to speak with more of the locals and I cannot wait to go to more classes!