We finally made it to Birmingham today and I am so excited ! We first checked into the hotel and then made our way to lunch/dinner. We ate at a restaurant called Bistro Pierre Waterside House and it was right on the canal. We were able to see all the activities going on around us which made the experience even better. We then were able to tour around the city, while Professor Marks gave us information at each stop.
My initial impression of Birmingham was it’s similarity to the United States. While we were still on the bus upon arriving I kept thinking to myself that it didn’t look much different. As we started to tour the streets of Birmingham I started to notice the subtle but major differences. There is the obvious differences like which side of the road you drive on and where the drivers seat is, but in order to see further differences we walked the streets.
Birmingham has a lot of canals, but not as many bridges that go over them. The bridges are spread far apart and don’t appear as often. Another observation I made was that people tend to dress nicer for a casual stroll then the average american would. I feel like in America we started to normalize down dressing for things, but as I was walking around the streets I felt slightly underdressed. I began to notice the detail to architecture that was displayed through the many buildings. Towards the end of our walk around the city today we made it to the Library of Birmingham. I noticed the many different metal rings that make up this landmark and also how there is a rooftop garden on one of the floors. Professor Marks also told us about the many brick buildings along the sides of the canals. The buildings along these canals used to be factories before being turned into something else.
One major difference that intrigued me the most was the defibrillator station on the sidewalks. In America most AEDs are hard to find and only really seen in buildings. The easy access of this defibrillator shows the difference in health care advocacy and all having health as a human right. In America it is known and supposedly shown that all people have equal access to health care, but the difference in the United Kingdom is that they actually show this right and make equipment easily accessible.
Some similarities that I saw when first taking in Birmingham was how close in proximity everything is. For example, the mall was very popular and had many different stores to offer a variety of things. I also feel like America has influenced some of the food choices that Birmingham had to offer fast food wise. There might be different versions of some of the places, but in general they are all similar. Another observation I made was the blending of many cultures. Birmingham had many different options when it came to food, like Greek, Italian, and many more. I don’t know what I was expecting to see when it came to the options but this came as a surprise
For the future days in Birmingham, I am excited to keep exploring and comparing these two countries. However, I most excited to hear the lectures and classes we get to sit through when we go to BCU. I want to learn more about how they are taught and the differences in our systems.
