Being a University of Birmingham student definitely doesn’t end with studying. Here are three of my favourite side quests to pursue.
Like many linguistics students, I have a passion for language that goes beyond English. I have tried my hand at studying Mandarin Chinese, Spanish and a few other languages. Recently I’ve been trying to put real effort into becoming fluent in another language. Luckily, the Modern Foreign Language Society hosts language cafes where you can practice different languages in a friendly environment. The people there were very patient with my GCSE Spanish. Furthermore, Birmingham also has many hidden gems such as the Columbia Picada Mix cafe in Bearwood, where I go to practice Spanish in my free time (definitely not just to eat arepas con queso and drink Colombian hot chocolate).
If there’s one thing that Birmingham does well, it is food. If you walk anywhere in Birmingham, there is a 70% chance that you will smell something that piques your interest and makes you want to forget that you have food at home. Even before I started university, I hadn’t finished exploring all the nice food places in Birmingham – and I grew up here – so imagine my surprise when I found out that there are even more amazing food spots in Selly Oak. From Chinese food to falafel, burgers to KBBQ, there truly is something for everyone. My goal is to try out more than half of the restaurants from campus to Selly Oak before I graduate (a very ambitious goal, I know). My favourite Selly Oak restaurant right now is Kimchi, and my campus favourites are Kimiko and the Amazing Grace Jamaican Food Stall.
As a commuter student, I thought I would find meeting new people the most difficult. However, that wasn't true at all - I have met so many amazing people already, both from my course and from totally different courses. Many societies are sympathetic to those who have to commute and will have some daytime events. There is even a commuter society dedicated to making sure that commuters who cannot do late nights still feel connected. I still decided to attend some later events, including a Bread and Belief event where people bake bread and read motivational and Biblical texts. On my way home, I feel safe walking around Selly Oak. The area is undoubtedly a student village, with many other students out enjoying their evenings, so I felt just like any other student.
Excellence is a first year undergraduate studying English Language and Linguistics.
