I miss a lot of things from home — mostly how friendly people are. It’s uncommon for people to start conversations on the fly with you. Most people are reserved yet polite; they tend to stay in their bubble unless they are pretty extroverted.
The University of Birmingham has evident differences from San Francisco State University. The campus’s climate is less politically active, but I would say has a higher international student rate. This campus is very sports and science-oriented. I would also say that UoB’s campus has more activities and communities to be involved in, both inside and outside of the institution itself, which could be due to it not being a commuter campus. The campus itself is also much bigger as well as traditional — it genuinely reminds me of Monsters University, the way the buildings are red brick and Neo-Gothic.
The educational experience difference here at UoB compared to SFSU is even more of a sharp comparison than just the campus itself. Globally, UoB is ranked #94 and SFSU is ranked #1494 by US News & World Report. I have two different sections for each module that I am in — the lecture and seminar. The days, times and locations would remain the same for the lecture, which would always be in a big lecture hall of around 100+ students.
The seminars would be smaller groups scattered throughout the term, and this was a more intimate setting where you could ask more questions and test your knowledge on what you would be learning in the lectures.
There is no busywork within the curriculum here — I have two assessments that my grade is based on, often two essays or an essay and an exam; there are no other assignments that your grade is based on.
The grading is also incredibly tough out here, as 40% is passing, and if you receive an extremely high mark, it’s often said the work could be considered publishable. You are also commonly working with academic journals and articles in a way that is much more prominent than at SFSU. I like that I am being challenged academically, but I don’t like how my grade is weighted on one or two assignments. As much as I enjoy the academically rigorous setting, I do miss small class sizes back at SFSU.
When I leave, I know for a fact that I will miss the lake that I live by. My university accommodation is Mason within the Vale Village. In my kitchen, I have floor-to-ceiling window panels that show the greenery and the water that’s just a couple hundred feet away. It’s great to run around, hang out with friends, read next to, and even do yoga by — people even have barbecues.
A few SFSU students and my flatmates made bingo cards on Jan. 15, 2025, of what we want to do while we are abroad.
My friend Chelsea’s birthday party at the Canadians’ flat on Jan. 17, 2025. None of us exchange students knew each other, but all of us were meeting everyone from everywhere. We all sang her “Happy Birthday” even though when the name part came up, it sounded mumbled as most of us didn’t know her name yet.
“The Church at Varengeville” by Claude Monet on display on Jan. 21, 2025. The Barber Institute of Fine Arts is right on campus with stunning works by artists like Monet.
Stratford-upon-Avon was where I went for my first day trip in England, just about an hour out of Brum. This is Shakespeare’s hometown on Jan. 25, 2025. Editor’s note: Brum is an informal name for Birmingham.
Old Joe is the infamous clock tower on UoB’s campus; here it is lit up on Feb. 3, 2025, next to the moon, for the 125th anniversary of UoB and, most importantly, lit up in a rainbow for Pride!
The horrors and thrills of Wednesday nights during the term — I would describe this weekly event put on by the Guild of Students as a Halloween-fever-dream club situation. This foggy window with empty alcohol bottles was from the top-level silent disco room on Feb. 13, 2025.
Homes in Selly Oak on Feb. 13, 2025. Heavily populated by students, this bustling shopping and residential area next to campus has some character and a lot of trash due to the bin strike.
Editor’s note: Since January, unionized garbage collection workers in Birmingham have participated in actions against pay cuts and job eliminations. This escalated in March when they went on strike.
This candid photo was taken on Feb. 17, 2025, at my favorite coffee shop in the world, grounded. They have board games, books, yoga classes, and even offer counseling to students and young adults. I love meeting people here, doing my coursework and hanging out on the grass in the back patio when the weather is good.
A friend and I visited a farm in Redditch on Feb. 18, 2025, to get milk, butter, honey and veggies.
This is one of my favorite streets to look at in Birmingham’s City Centre, just near the Bull Ring on Feb. 22, 2025.
A woman working the butterfly show at the Birmingham Light Festival interacts with kids with the Peace Poem exhibition behind them on Feb. 22, 2025.
My friends and I smiling at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, on March 16, 2025. We did a 20-hour day trip for St. Patrick’s weekend with a total of 30,000 steps.
This photo booth moment on March 18, 2025 was at a bowling alley and gig venue in Bristol where we went to watch Tempesst, an Australian band based in London.
Ironically, a typical meal that I eat with my friends here are homemade cheeseburgers and fries, seen here on March 20, 2025.
The Give Me a Word, Get A Poem event on April 1, 2025. Every first Tuesday of the month, the Artisan Market is in the quad with a variety of vendors. At this poetry booth, the word I gave the poet was “California.”
Since being in England, I have written a lot of poetry, so you can imagine my delight when I stumbled across the UK National University Poetry Slam final rounds and got to hear some moving pieces on April 13, 2025.
Winterbourne Gardens on April 24, 2025. I come here often to read, write and walk around the gorgeous seven acres of garden grounds.
An artificial lake at The Vale, a student housing village, on May 1, 2025. My little slice of heaven.
The University of Birmingham’s main library on May 6, 2025. Although it’s open 24 hours, golden hour for the vibes, or midnight to 3 a.m. for the lack of people, are my favorite times to do work here. You can also skip doing work in the library entirely and hang out on the grass, as you can see people doing here.
Tesco Express near UoB on May 7, 2025. This corner store is a go-to for quick grocery runs and late-night sweet treats; here we can see the last bit of the sun setting at 9:25 p.m. with the university’s silhouette.
Click here to see and read about an exchange student who’s at SFSU this semester.
