Finding My Feet in London

Nice article, some of which I did not know about before coming to the UK myself. Particularly the bit about the `junta` city housing which are very small dwellings compared with `normal` houses in S.Asia. Something we do not know about the UK.

Wajahat,

I agree with the concept of parallel worlds for the immigrants. I do not think it is only applicable to first generation immigrants. Unfortunately, with time, you are not able to justify with both worlds since your utmost committment and involvement is where you are and not where you come from. Your ties, associations and memories do get divided as you move ahead in life. Also, you start building your own world where you reside. And often times, it is a combination of many worlds.

Zahra

Hilarious! I was about to let go a wild roar of laughter but the thought of my manager storming in the room to hear the joke kept me from doing so.

``There are lot of other issues on which I can write such as mobile phones, travelling, etc. but this would suffice for now. ``

O please do write about those issues aswell.... Judging from this article I am sure we would enjoy it alot.

Zahra

Let me attempt to answer the two questions you put forward.

1. What does a home mean to you?

A refuge in a literal sense of the word, some place where you enter and leave the world outside. But a home has to be more than the house you live in, it has to include the land you live in and for europe and england in specific it is still a hostile place where essentially after the BS is scraped off, I do not belong to. But then isnt it the catch 22 of the immigrant mentality that when you take step to move home, even temporarily, you have given up the right to belong to single place. Immigrants and specifically the first generation immigrants live in a parrallel world which is in contradiction with itself and therefore an immigrant and i refer exclusively to myself, does not belong anywhere except to a place in the past which does not exist.

2. What is that you would like to enjoy in the place called home?

To be safe and to be truly happy without any expectations.

#5 by Kitukat

the first time i attempted to draw cash from an ATM.. i observed atleast 3 guys doing it...failed and eventually asked on guy to help me!

i asked one of my friend to actually demonstrate how to use a vending machine!

Parking meters were like aliens and didn`t have slightest clue how to operate them so while i was taking my driving classess i made sure to learn how to operate them!!

Wajahat,

That was a very nice post. You have asked a very thought provoking question. I would like to take a stab at your question, since I went through that phase in the recent past. I think you have to ask yourself a few questions:

1. What does a home mean to you?
2. What is that you would like to enjoy in the place called home?

Once you are able to define your world for you, then it is easier to create your dream home wherever you are.

It is amazing how the reactions of people from a certain area, city or culture could be so different. Reading about your experiences sort of took me down memory lane and outlooks and initial observations are remarkably similar.

I came here a few years back much like yourself from Karachi, although I had just left school. My first reaction to the cold and dark city involved a lot of late night sobbing and breaking down everytime I heard my mother’s voice over the phone. It could have been Mars as far as I cared, it seemed like another world and absolute sense of loneliness enveloped everything. You will notice that the sadder you are the colder this city will feel. All those clean pavements, pebbled corners, windy bridges and that awful muddy thames river become almost hostile as you walk along them. I remember walking a lot, partially because college finished too early and the dorms were probably the saddest place I knew in the world. And so I walked till I got tired and then I remember rationalising the cost of food and found myself going on a diet that included a hell of a lot of milk, eggs and bread. As you would probably notice, eating omelletes two times a day does something to your dream pattern. I swear all my dreams involved Pakistani food, cooked by my mom in those days. And so I started to learn about my new abode, the city of many myths and a single truth, which I was yet to discover.

Things will move on, and this will truly test you and as a result you would get to know yourself a little better. You will be able to make friends which will make the whole experience worth the trouble. Although daunting at the start, I fell in love with London eventually. You will pride yourself on how well you know its corners and its pavements. My advice would only be to let things roll, take it a day at a time, and before you choose your final poison, give everything a try, some things you will hate and some you will know are made for you. Through the manic chaos of central London, there are still places of quiet contemplation.

The big question for me is how to make a city a home.

Ibrahim,

I could have written this article and it wouldn’t have been an ounce different. Coming here for the first time in September, I have made exactly the same observations albeit about Cambridge and not London. Typical desi reaction I must say. I bet the scale of automation also struck you at first. I couldn’t even operate the pay phone to call back home when I landed at Heathrow. Operating a vending machine is a whole story altogether. Makes you feel like Iqbal aka Bala in Dubai Chalo.

Back home I thought I was an enlightened career oriented woman of the 21st century ready to explore and accept the world with open arms. Grudgingly I admit I am not as liberal as I thought I was. London/Cambridge makes you realize that you are quite conservative/desi after all.

I would like to see another article, this time on all the nice things that you have experienced. I have a suspicion that list would also be very similar to mine. Let me enlist the first item, the amount, variety and quality of confectionary. Honest writing.

oi oi...

London is not that bad, well you are a student!!! The houses aren`t all like that and often the weatherman gets it wrong thats why we all take our umbrellas anyways!

In the summer the days never end, and the sun sets at 10.30pm, its really nice except the tubes where you are crammed next to a million ppl not all as `pak` as ourselves!

London is a fab city you just need to get out and enjoy yourself, not everyone (even goras) drink alcohol and there is lots to do if you dont, so dont think you need to drink alcohol to have a good time here.

Yes London is not defence or Clifton, but if you had the money you could get a lot better. Also try Brick lane and the Asian (as we say, and not desi) areas for good food, nowadays there`s usually a semi decent Asian restaurant on every corner (curry being the national dish!)

Brick lane is cool (very Bengali) but central, you could go to Upton Park and find Green St, or you could catch the overground and go to Southall (very Punjabi) as you`re near the westend the restaurants at Edgware road are quite nice but mainly Arabic.

If you want something different and to buy more t-shirts that look like you`ve put them in the wash with colours try going to Camden. Also there are loads of Asian clubs and bars nowadays that cater to Asian ppl, there is also a really nice bar on Clerkenwell Road which doesn`t serve alcohol call Arhum, quite funky last time i went there (a while ago).

Hope you have a fab time and soon start to enjoy the city while keeping your fresh prespective on things.

Vereesh

He cant take a pic of himself catching the Heathrow express and then jump on to the Piccadilly line as Heathrow express goes from Paddington and Piccadily line (when it works) does not go to that station!!!

PS Ibrahim, Airblue are starting flights to London soon too, so you might be able to avoid Heathrow (and PIA/Emirates) altogether...

Ciao

A

very readable ibrahim! i really enjoyed it and remined me of the time when i went to london, back in 2000. I went in August, and the weather was better at that time of the year, and since we were there for only a few days, we used to deliberately not take umbrellas, and enjoy getting soaked up by the rain! And yes, i know exactly what you mean by the walls! I couldnt even put on loud music there, for fear of neighbours calling the police! lol, something that wud never happen in pak:) anyway, good luck, and enjoy it as long as it lasts! (and no, u better not become `one of those westernized desis who when returns after spending a few years abroad complains incessantly about lack of civic culture in Pakistan`..really, thy`re quite annoying! :) )

Excellent stuff, Ibrahim, thank you.

Now you must also do the following and put it up on the gallery for photos at chowk, please?

a) . . . yourself leaning indulgently against a super-car. Mercs and BMW will not work as well as, say, Aston Martins or similar.

b) . . . yourself walking towards the BA First Class Check-in Counter, yourself talking to the lady at the BA Heathrow-4 Clubhouse. Virgin Atlantic or PIA will not work.

c) . . . making sure that all visiting relatives and friends are sent to view the Changing of the Guard at B`Ham Palace. In fact you should tell them to go early by 9am for good places, and then you should land up 2 minutes before for the photograph.

d) . . . when leaving Heathrow, take a photo against the First Class coaches of the Paddington-Heathrow Express before boarding the Piccadilly Line Tube.

e) . . . take people to Garfunkel`s and convinve them to pose before it with a copy of ``Homeward Bound``.

Good luck. You are lucky the rental ads don`t say ``no mod-cons`` anymore.

Ibrahim,

Thank you for sharing your experiences from the land of doom and gloom :) I hate London`s weather. On one of my trips when I finally had a face to face with the sunshine, I checked my ticket to confirm my destination. Be very careful about the food (especially, the shawarmas). My friend`s sister ended up in a hospital after her first semester due to food related issues, causing her ulcers. Now, she is back in Pakistan getting the issues resolved.

Hope you have a good time.