Lillie Heise, Plus 3 United Kingdom Summer 2024
While studying in the United Kingdom we spent most of our time in the city of Birmingham. One of the questions from locals we got the most was, “You’re American? What are you doing in Birmingham?” Oftentimes the locals were very confused to see Americans in their city. This is because 42 per cent of the city’s population is ethnically diverse and more than 20 percent is from overseas. This makes Birmingham one of the most multicultural cities of the UK. So, when they see Americans, they are just shocked because they normally only see Americans in London or touristy areas of the UK, not Birmingham. Although the locals questioned why we were in their city, they all were very welcoming, and we loved learning about their lives. They also loved to poke fun at our accents. They said we are very loud and sound very enthusiastic about life, which is very true.
While studying at Birmingham City University we became close with two nursing students Gemma and Angel. These students are attending Pittsburgh to study abroad in the month of June and are doing placements in some of the UPMC hospitals. They were very interested to learn all about our healthcare system and our experiences at Pitt, just as we were about their experiences. They attended a few of the lectures with us and gave their input on the different topics. They also recommended many great places to eat and even met up with us one evening to explore the city. They both gave us their contact information and hopefully some of us can visit them when they come to Pittsburgh!
Our focus during our trip was comparing the education and healthcare systems in the USA vs the UK. We spent most of the weekdays in class or out in the community, interacting with all different kinds of professionals in the education and healthcare system. Being a nursing student, one of my favorite activities in the community was when we attended the Birmingham Children’s Hospital. Here we toured the hospital and interacted with all different kinds of nurses. It was so interesting to learn all about the National health service, which is the UK’s free healthcare system, and all they do for their countries health. The nurses were also very interested in learning about our healthcare system and how we provide care. It was truly amazing to see how passionate these nurses were about helping children and families. It was a great experience and I learned so much from all my interactions throughout my trip!
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