Our first full day in Birmingham was a success! We started off our journey in BCU, listening to speakers and learning a lot of information about the Birmingham education system and healthcare system. I learned so much about the city of Birmingham! First of all, Birmingham is considered one of the youngest cities in Europe, meaning it has more people under the age of 25 living in it then most other countries. This fact made me really think about what I have seen as I’ve been walking around, and I have noticed a lot of younger aged people compared to those who are older. Today was the first day we tried out taking the bus. I had never been on a double decker bus before, so that was a cool experience. It was fun to sit on the top level at look at all the shops as we drove by. The public transportation here in the UK is drastically different than what I have experienced in the US. Here, the buses are always on time and always show up, while some places in the US it is hard to rely on the public transportation because there is no guarantee that it will show up at its designated time. Therefore, it can be difficult to get around in the US without a car. The UK also likes to think of their civilians and how they can better their lives and keep them safe. As we were walking around, I saw a bunch of defibrillators on the sidewalks that were accessible to anyone anytime. I think that is an awesome concept and that the US should implement it onto our sidewalks. Having an easy-access defibrillator like that could potentially save somebodies life.

Also, we talked a lot about the differences between education in the UK and US. In the UK, their “high school” ends at age 16. All citizens are expected to complete education up to that point, and then most go onto college, which is ages 17-18. There, most people complete their “A levels”, which decides if they go to university or not. In the US, we go straight from high school to college, if you decide to continue your education. Also, depending on the state, kids can drop out of high school at different ages. For Pennsylvania, the age used to be 16, but it got moved up to 18 a few years ago. University in Birmingham seems to be pretty similar to college in the US. The main difference is that the college in the US generally lasts for 4 years, while in the UK it is only for 3 years. Students in the UK have class all year round, which means they do not get a summer break. Personally, I would rather have a summer break. Also, Birmingham City University cut the cost of their cafeteria food by 40% for food and 25% for drinks, which makes eating meals super affordable. This was so students were more enticed to eat meals during the day and not starve because they can’t afford the food. We tried out the cafeteria today, and I got a Caesar salad with chicken on top, which was really good. We then finished off our lectures for the day before heading back to the hotel. Some of the other students and I decided to go to dinner, and we found a really cool F1 Arcade. They had racing simulators that you could race on, and the entire restaurant was just super cool to look at. We ended the night going bowling, and while I didn’t win, I was successful in not breaking a nail, so that’s a win in itself! I am excited to see the other BCU campus tomorrow, and to learn more about Birmingham!