now in the fourth tier of English football, but proudly owned by its fans. The university arguably completes this triad, although many would disagree.
However, not only my first positive impressions have been confirmed during these four months spent here so far, but also my rather critical intuitions regarding England. There is, I feel, a certain formality about human interaction that seems to keep going on quite for long even after several encounters. People connect easily, but not as euphorically as one would expect. It’s something I’m inclined to call ‘emotional minimalism’, and most people here tend to blame the weather for it. This minimalism is also reflected in a rather austere
aesthetic that characterises almost everything around, from the clothes people wear to the houses in which they live. (I know that WWII bombings forced authorities to rebuild the city fast and cheap, but sometimes the architectural uniformity may be depressing.)
But besides all that, as much as I’m playfully tempted to paraphrase Brecht – the famous German writer who, when asked what he liked most about his hometown Augsburg, replied caustically “the train to Munich” –, I will say that the best thing about Portsmouth is – despite the rumours – the university: it brings vitality and variety to a rather dull and disturbingly homogenous city. The university reinforces
Pompey’s place on the map, for, after all, every city worthy of its name has to have a university of its own, right? Moreover, it’s an increasingly successful one, ranked in the top 50 in the UK and top 400 in the world. Maybe that’s because, above all, things are genuinely focused on the student, from the lectures and seminars to the feedback you get from your teachers, which is not a mere formality like in other places. It really is about you here, as cheesy as it may sound (and it does). And probably this emphasis on the individual is the greatest thing about England in general, where the individual is understood not as an isolated self-sufficient subject, but, as Mill would say, as part of a community of free and equal individuals.
'' What strikes me mostly is the easiness with which strangers interact.''
9
Study International
Study International
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