Ode to My Tainted Dreams

There are times I love London and there are times, like any normal person, I hate it. Today was one of those days where I found myself in the very middle, which both extremes pulling me towards them. Well, first of all, I have to say that this day was actually promising. Today’s the last lecture for the term. Yeah, we geography students have it hard, getting holidays before everyone. If you managed to catch the sarcasm in here, it means I finally got it right.

First stop, the library. Yeah, I know, I’m a bore but what to say, I love libraries, especially Maughan. Well, not when I’m getting lost in the whole labyrinth of the building or when I’m trying to get the photocopies which are supposedly user-friendly to work, which I haven’t yet managed to, but overall I love it. Though I have been spending more time at LSE’s library than Maughan. Turning towards the enemy; it’s the call of knowledge attracting me there… and their photocopiers. Okay, maybe it’s more the archives than the photocopiers but today, the latter were actually the reason why I went there. Continue reading →

There are some moments in life that seem so far away, you doubt that they will ever arrive. As a young child in primary school, I can remember watching the older kids all going to various upper schools across town and thinking that I would never ever be that old, and would never ever leave my school behind. But life has a habit of creeping up on you; in what seems in retrospect to be a very short few years, I’ve completely finished school and am now looking into different universities. I mention this because the amazing meeting of last week, when I finally met the amazing Nussaïbah, was one of those events that initially seemed so far away that the notion of it actually happening became something of a fantastical concept.

Many, many moons ago, I was in the middle of tearing my hair out before a major geography exam. Despite desperately seeking to gain the best grade possible, I was spending way too much time online; on that night, anything could distract me away from conservation strategies in the Galapagos Islands, which despite being a fascinating subject, loses its appeal very quickly when you have to write about it under exam conditions. One of the messages posted on the Internet that night was a wish of good luck from a friend to a classmate and me ahead of the test the next day; a message that would lead to a new friendship being built with someone from across the globe.

After several hours of writing my heart out in a series of unending essays, I was feeling over the Moon, enjoying that feeling of raw happiness one gets after finishing a complex piece of work. Checking back over the Internet that evening, I was charmed to discover that someone else had also joined my friend on the topic of wishing us well, and upon investigating this person’s profile, was amazed to discover that they were from Mauritius, just over six thousand miles away. The sheer scale and size of the Internet is revealed through such moments, and I can remember taking a few minutes just to visualise that extent of that distance. Continue reading →

‘Geography is a flavour’ says Starbucks and I cannot help but agree. There’s nothing better than tasting another part of the world, exploring a new city and meeting new people. These last two weeks sure have been hectic, with me going around everywhere, trying to understand most of the stuff and more importantly, trying not to get lost. But I have to say, London is a beautiful city, at the heart of which I discovered different cultures, blandly seen as one from afar.

Okay, I have to admit it though, I have met so many people whose faces or names are just a blur in my mind. And some who surely I do remember but just feel weird about going to talk to them. And of course there are others who I want to meet again and meeting we are. But it doesn’t that if I’m loving everything about ‘my new home’ that I’ve already forgotten about home. Because the truth is, I’m somehow missing it, its familiarity and warmth for swimming in unknown waters can be quite scary sometimes. Continue reading →