Alright, Bab? (Or how I Became a Brummie)
Once I’d managed to secure my offer to study for a MA in Art History and Curating at the University of Birmingham, I thought the lectures would be the toughest challenge I’d face. And whilst it’s true that all my skills and experiences up to that point really put me to the test academically, I discovered that living on the other side of the world involves so much more than just learning the language.
Once you get past the first few days of adjusting to the accent and start to understand the cultural differences (I realised that ‘you alright’ isn’t a question inviting you to pour your heart out, but simply a ‘hello’), you begin to realise that, somehow, you fit in there: amongst your classmates, the people you live with, and the new friends you’re making.
Other challenges I face may seem minor from the outside, but they are not. I learnt that British politeness has its own codes and that sometimes you have to learn to read between the lines; that football is a sport experienced with a spirit very similar to that of Mexico; that the sea off Wales is freezing, but still enjoyable; that eating fish and chips in a pub is quite a ritual; and that day and night cannot be gauged simply by looking out of the window.
I didn’t just learn about UK culture. Some of my friends come from places as diverse as India, China, Kazakhstan, Korea, Thailand and Japan. I’ve had the chance to celebrate important occasions with them, try their traditional recipes and ask them every question imaginable about their lives and their countries. Comparing their experiences with mine has been one of the most enriching experiences of this year. I’ve learnt a great deal from them, but also about myself, and I’ve learnt to appreciate my own heritage in new ways.
There are many things I wish I’d known before arriving in Birmingham: that the rain isn’t torrential like it is in Aguascalientes, but falls almost imperceptibly, so that it feels as though you’re breathing it in whilst walking through the mist; that even though it gets dark at 3 o’clock in the afternoon, life doesn’t come to a standstill; and that in summer, an eye mask saves you from waking up at 4 in the morning; or that the secret to surviving the winter isn’t to wear the thickest jumper in the world, but to learn to dress in (multiple) layers and have a good waterproof jacket.
However, I realised that there are some things nobody can fully prepare you for. You have to discover them for yourself. I’ve struggled, I’m still learning and I’m still picking up new things, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I packed rather poorly for the British weather; I had no waterproof clothing, nor any shoes that wouldn’t get soaked, and to my surprise, I discovered that the British heat is so humid that 26 degrees can feel as intense as 36 degrees in Mexico (to the point where all the trains stop running!), but, fortunately, I came much better prepared for everything else than I’d imagined.
I arrived thinking mainly about everything I wanted to learn about art and museums; almost a year on, I realise that I’ve also learnt to live on my own in another country, to get by in cultures different from my own, and to trust much more in the education I’d brought with me from Mexico.
- Fernanda Lorena
