BRISTOL

A small(not so small but yeah compared to Delhi, very small) city in UK is my new home now. I loved it the very first day I stepped into the city. Its busy yet quite, its tidy yet not inhumanly clean, its pretty..that too naturally, it has no huge concrete buildings, lined up with cafes and pubs, beautiful churches and parks, small kebab shops, yummy looking supermarkets(am a fan of Sainsburrys now), yummmy milk and yogurts and of course The Wills Memorial..every time you see it(I see it everyday..at least twice), it seems prettier and grander..especially against the sky..it looks marvelous and you'd be lucky to see it with the moon in the background. Bristol has started my new love affair with the sky and the moon(which I hardly get to see these days because of the clouds). They look beautiful here..theres just something about it..the moon sparkles here and I have the best view of it from my room window and I miss no opportunity to flaunt it. ;)

This is just the place I wanted to be in..just the kinda city I dreamt of..I always named my dream city to be London but I know now..it always was Bristol...I love the place..totally.:) Its just the place where you can live forever because its a perfect blend of city life and the silent village life you would want.

My first day here and I was shocked..all the shops shut at 5.. thats when we stepped out to shop in Delhi but it was different here.very different.. everyone respects the fact that everyone else has a family and the importance of spending time with them. Its beautiful how people love people here..they respect mankind..they respect life and they enjoy and relish every day of their lives. Everyone smiles at everyone else on the streets, people exchange 'hellos' and 'what a beautiful day it is' with absolute strangers...just the way I always wanted to(they would think I'm mad if I did this in Delhi), if you are not having a good day..you'll suddenly come across a beautiful old lady walking on Park Street(which is tremendously uphill..esp when you are late for class!!) with a smile and she'll suddenly give you the best and the brightest smile and brighten your day up..even better..you'll be suddenly stopped by a man whos won some contest on the mobile just because he wants to share how ecstatic he is about it with you..just like it happens in Wonderland. :) Everyone is treated equally here,with equal love and respect..rich-poor, old-young, pretty-not so pretty..everyone. Its a lovely place and I love it. :)

People are so honest and true to what they do..its amazing. There is genuine trust between people..between buyers and sellers, between teachers and students, between people in general. I was once charged extra at Sainsburrys for some items which I hadn't actually bought and on checking the invoice I realised the goof up and thought I had lost my 2.50 pounds(its not as small as it seems..heheheheh)..yet I decided to take chance and went to Sainsburrys(I ran on Park Street..the uphill street..because it was a Sunday and it closes at 6 pm and I realised only at 5:45..late as always)..all I had to do was tell the customer care official and the amount was debited back to my card(by the way I have my own card now..debit..but still..my first card!!). All the arguments and counter arguments I had prepared in my head to get my money back went to waste..but believe me I wasn't complaining.. I was amazed and being a Delhite the first thing that struck me was..whoopp..I should have said there were more items in invoice which were billed incorrectly and got extra money back[;)] but thats when I realised the mutual trust that people here share.

Another funny incident I remember is when we went shopping to ASDA and our cashier asked us if we were Indians(Neha, Pranay and me) and we said yeah we are with a huge smile on our faces..we asked where he was from and he said Lahore and I was sooo happy to hear that..I always wanted to go to Lahore and eat there on their food street..lottts of yummmy food in the middle of the night(eventhough I have again given up non veg for now and am quite happy about it) and I told him that..to which he replied..do you guys understand punjabi..we said yeahhh and he said "Jeene Lahore nahi vekheya te oone ki vekhya" and for some reason I was so happy after hearing that..that made my day and I instantly wanted to call dad and tell him because of the enthusiasm we both share about going to Lahore and eating there and I did that the following morning. :))))

I always knew and I believed that I would never miss home or anyone back home ever and to some extent that really is the case..I haven't been homesick even once since I've come here and thats also because of the way our parents have brought us up..with the attachment with detachment method(not sure what that actually means) but there are weak sundays that we all have when we think Oh the paranthas I could have had if I was home..there are those moments when on skype(without sounding all dramatic) you see your own bed all empty (and clean!!!) and you just wish you could sit their again...there are times when you remember that one peculiar road you travelled on..some place as insignificant as Naraina or anywhere..the house in Panchsheel you crossed every time you had to go to nani's house, the uncle at The Mother Dairy booth, your neighbour who you never really liked...I miss no one in particular(?almost no one) but at times you just miss the life you led for 22 years and of course the yummmyy food you ate..the comfort of staying at home but I love it here..I love being on my own, cooking my own food, buying my own grocery, cleaning my own room, doing my laundry(not so much), making my own choices.. I love my space here .

I love this place and I love my life here.:)