When the plane landed, I knew it was going to be an exciting day! We arrived at the hotel in Birmingham to drop off our luggage and started exploring around. We first headed to lunch at Bistro Pierre Waterside House. We had an amazing time talking about all of the things we wanted to see and try! There were events and activities going on all around us which made us even more excited to keep exploring. After lunch, we started to walk around different parts of the city and Dr. Marks gave us information and some fun facts about different monuments and statues. 

My first impression of Birmingham was all of the activities and places to go surrounding us. There was music and people dancing that made the city very lively. Everyone was laughing with their friends and seemed to be having a great time. When we were walking around it was interesting to see the cars on the opposite side of the road. Also, in the states there are no roundabouts, therefore it was interesting to see how differently the roads are set up. I also noticed the canal when we were at lunch which looked beautiful. As we kept exploring and finding new things, I started to see the similarities and differences. 

One of the many similarities was the bridges in Birmingham. In Pittsburgh there are alot of bridges, therefore it was cool to see the amount of bridges they also have here. Walking around we would see food places that are in Pittsburgh which made it feel very similar. There was even a TK-Maxx, which we all found very interesting and similar to TJ-Maxx. As we were walking by these places I noticed walking up and down hills which reminded me of Pittsburgh. With these interesting similarities comes its differences. 

One of the differences is the amount of people. There seemed to be a lot more people walking around and active than in Pittsburgh. The city was very walkable and easy to navigate which is great! The buildings were big with a lot of places to shop and eat inside of them. The difference with this is that they seemed to be wider with less floors, while in Pittsburgh they seem to be thinner with more floors. Another difference that seemed to really stick out is the public transportation. There seems to be more options of transportation than Pittsburgh. There were many buses, trains, trolleys, and more. With everyone being so active in the city this seems to be very important in Birmingham to give everyone the opportunity to get around in different ways. 

I am looking forward to many things while in Birmingham. I cannot wait to try more food and walk around! I hope to shop for clothes and candy. I am also looking forward to visiting and studying at BCU. Meeting students and professors there will be very informative. Learning how the two countries compare and learning from the differences will be a priority to me. Walking around, exploring, and learning more about the city is very exciting and I am ready to get the next day started!