This day 2 years ago when I landed at the London Heathrow Airport I had no idea what adventures awaited me in the UK... I remember every second of my first few hours at the airport like it happened yesterday... In the Jet Airways flight when a fellow passenger's luggage almost fell on my head I knew this was not going to be a smooth ride. :P When at the immigration desk, out of my sheer luck, I got the nicer immigration officer, I knew something very bad is about to happen in some other way because you know the "lucky" stuff never happens to me. :D So when I could not find half of my luggage at the airport I was not surprised, I was upset yes but not surprised as THAT is the kind of stuff that normally I am used to. :P I casually went up to the Airport Customer Service and reported the missing luggage, they assured me that they would "look" into the "matter" but somehow I had a feeling that it aint gonna happen. Upon exiting the airport, in a real filmy way I took a deep breathe of the air on the chilly London morning only to realize that I had took in the smoke of the cigarette someone was smoking nearby.. The poor chap did apologize and put out his cigarette when I started coughing like crazy :P... Then came my journey from London to Leicester... 3 and half hours of sheer fun... I loved my first ever National Express ride mostly because of our Jamaican bus driver and my fellow passenger the Indian-American Evangelical priest...
I had no idea that on that day Leicester was shut down due to some sort of riots and to my luck it had to do something with "too-many-Asian-people in UK" ;) :P. When I finally reached Leicester there was not a single cab at the bus station. An Indian cab driver pulled in after around 15 minutes when I was about to have a panic attack. He briefed me about the situation in the city due to the riots, which I thought was exaggeration but recently when I watched the youtube video of that day I know now what he was talking about. It was happening about half a kilometer away from where the bus station was at the City Centre.
On reaching Grange Court and finally inside the safety of our flat I found Coolian my cute little roomie who was so generous to give me her duvet and pillow and offered me food on my first night at our hostel flat... I would be forever grateful to her as she was the one who introduced me to myself... Who made me realize my mistakes and who had a big heart to forgive and forget all of my carelessness and irresponsibility during our stay together...
At the University I made some amazing friends who also functioned as my support system.. Hrishikesh R Deodhar & Tajinder Singh my first ever friends in the UK.. I would always remember our long talks at the library's cafe... The hot chocolates and marshmallows and chocolate cakes... I would remember our Dinner get-togethers. And the all girls luncheon :P with Aakanksha, Pansy, Mohna and Meghna. And the night we all huddled up in my tiny room danced and laughed and watched Jab We Met. :P
Then there were numerous times I travelled to London alone... I cant believe how familiar that city was to me... I could walk for hours.. I remember my first time in London, I walked from Hyde Park to the Buckingham Palace through St. James Park to Trafalgar Square in my thick boots and around 3 layers of clothing... I was taking pictures of every single vehicle or bird or tree I saw... :P The whole place was covered either in snow or ice... It was extremely tiring yet so worth the pain... :D
People ask me if I regret going to the UK and studying... That too right after our wedding when I should have spent time with my new Husband... I tell them no... I don't regret any of it... It was all required for us to grow as individuals... Moreover I have an amazing husband... Who is also my bestest friend in the whole world!! Without whom I would have never been able to sustain myself in the UK in every sense possible... I remember when in my early days I would get cold feet about travelling, he would be with me on the phone continuously with his google maps open on his laptop following my route simultaneously, whether I am in a bus or on foot. I never felt alone even a bit. I remember the first time I had to travel alone to Germany, how the whole of UK was under Gridlock due to the blizzard and how helpless I felt for not being able to see him. Yet we made it. I did see him after 3 months of staying apart after our wedding. I was so extremely overwhelmed with happiness that I forgot that we were nowhere near Germany but stuck in a city named Liege in Belgium. I did not feel this happy even on our wedding day. :P :D
In all it was an enriching experience to have travelled to the UK. To have studied there.. Because I learnt not only my course subjects.. I also learnt about people, relationships, friendships and most importantly about myself... :) I would remember UK not just for the fact I went there to complete my Masters degree, but for the numerous adventures I had there. I will never forget a single second of my stay there in this lifetime. So I thank every single person I have known or seen or said "Hi" to in the UK... Because there my "Hi" even to a stranger was returned with a warm smile and a "Goodday" wish... :)
