My One Month Experience in Sheffield (17 September- 17th October)

One morning you open your eyes, you wake up, u are in a different place, a different room in a different bed; not the same bed you have been bedding for more than 7 years.

Ohh My!!

You are alone, far from your home, far from the ones you love and from the ones who loved you, far from your family and friends. You are in a different room in a totally unknown country, All ALONE! All by yourself…

Scary?? Yes or No?

I can't say about you but for me, the thought used to scare me.

Yeah, I was scared at first. It’s normal to be scared (I guess). After all, my destination was an unfamiliar land for me. I was terrified from the moment I was informed about my scholarship. I was frightened to think that I had to live my life on my own. Go to an entirely different country, make new friends, live for 2 years in a different society with different people. And for a girl like me, who had never got out off her shell, it was not easy, and I knew that. I was prepared for the cultural shocks from EUROPE!

But here I am. And it’s already been a month. Exactly 30 days to be precise.

         I am crossing the streets myself (which is a bit different from how I used to do in Kathmandu), learning to follow the google map directions, looking at different streets for my classrooms (as I have to go to different lecture theaters even in a single day), roaming to Tesco, Wilco, Poundland, Primark and many more, trying to adapt with my mixed flat mates, getting acquainted with the MOLE and MUSE learning environment, trying to get used to with the Sheffield’s unpredictable climate, trying to learn and make a livable experience in a small world of mine. It’s been entirely a new experience for me.

In these 30 days of my life, I Thank God everyday! The people in the UK are not as miserable as I had heard of them or expected of them.

They say Sheffield is one of the friendliest cities in Europe. And yes, it is indeed.

When you walk with a grimed face in street, people ask you- “Are you okay?” When you are lost and ask for directions, they readily help you out. “It’s five pound, my dear”, the lady in the shopping center says. “We know you come from a country where English is not your first language”, say my professors. God!! They are so thoughtful and welcoming.

And on top of that I have flat mates who are the sweetest people I have ever met. I have a funny Chinese girl, a care free loving Georgian and a smiley Mexican (for now). They never let me miss my home (they may not have any idea they have helped me to be a home sick Nepali). And on top of that, I have made some good friends as well.

So to sum up my first month in Sheffield, I am enjoying my good days. My days of my freedom. My days when I don't have to think I am late to reach my home. My days of roaming around the streets at 10 or 11 or 1 am. My days of everything.

Though I miss my family sometimes (when I watch those stupid emotional videos in you-tube), I don’t miss them as I had expected.  J