By Gurvinderjit Kaur | Experience |
I can’t believe I’m halfway through my journey already. It’s been 6 months since I’ve come to the UK and oh my, what a roller coaster it has been.
I think the biggest challenge for me thus far was to cope with the loneliness and the feeling of being homesick during winter. I remember feeling quite homesick in the month of January as it was cold and rainy, and I didn’t even have any classes that month to sort of keep myself occupied. I was initially happy when winter started as I had never experienced this season before; especially because I come from a country where its hot and humid all the time. The cold and rain made me want to just stay at home and lay in bed and watch my favourite movie and eat good food. Of course, that didn’t help getting rid of feeling homesick!
So, I decided to find a couple of ways to keep myself occupied and for me to overcome this phase:
Firstly, I started to cook a lot more. Back home in Malaysia, I used to be so lazy to cook and even help my mum in the kitchen. However, that feeling really changed since being in Cardiff. Cooking for me now is very much therapeutic. I cook to release my stress and I love the feeling of being able to cook a bowl of comfort food which reminds me of home. My cooking skills have become way better here and for the record, I can make round chapatis now which hopefully my mother approves of!
Secondly, I tried to expand my network of friends. I decided to take part in the Festival of Diversity organized by the Malaysian Students Society of Cardiff University. This was essentially a musical and I was part of the Wardrobe Department. I am really happy that I took the chance to be a part of this production as I made new friends and connections. The Malaysian Society here in Cardiff does feel like home away from home and it felt nice to mingle around with other fellow Malaysians. I also attended a Law Networking Event organized by the Law Society and I really enjoyed this event as it was all about networking and talking to other fellow aspiring lawyers. This really boosted my confidence and made me feel so much more motivated about my future journey as a barrister.
I even participated in a Virtual Speed Moot Competition which really helped develop my advocacy skills and I was able to put all my legal knowledge to practice. Law School has been one hell of a ride and I can’t believe that I’ll be graduating soon. I have got to learn so much from the amazing lecturers and tutors here at Cardiff University who have been nothing but approachable and helpful. I have been exposed to different areas of law through the various electives I have taken like Commercial Law and Intellectual Property Law. One aspect I found interesting was to learn about the Brexit movement in depth and how and why the UK withdrew from the EU. Though not a favourite subject of mine, I was able to put a ‘name to a face’ when learning about Brexit in EU law as I had only heard about this phenomenon and never looked into it in great detail.
Despite all the challenges I’ve faced, I have had such an amazing time exploring different cities. I went to Portugal for a short weekend trip with my cousins back in December and it was the best time ever. It was the perfect change in weather I needed because Cardiff was freezing cold, and Portugal was so sunny. During this trip, I explored Albufeira and Lagos and the different Praia’s were so magnificent and beautiful. One thing to take away from this trip was how to see and do so many touristy things in a small budget. I also took a day trip to Bristol with 2 of my friends. That was a nice scenic trip as we visited the Clifton Suspension Bridge and that overlooked a picturesque landscape of Bristol, and the views were to die for.
March for me has been an exhilarating month rather, as I call it the month of ‘all my firsts’. I saw snow for the very first time in my life in March. I remember waking up early in the morning and as I pulled up my blinds, I saw that snow was literally falling down from the sky! I couldn’t believe my eyes and I immediately put on a jacket and went outside to play with the snow. I remember grinning from ear to ear while walking to class in the snow and I made sure to have the perfect picture taken of me just enjoying the very rare snowfall in Cardiff. I also played Holi for the very first time with my friends and that too in the rain! We danced to peppy Bollywood music and smeared colour on each other and took many pictures and videos.
On top of all these fun events that happened, I made sure to always be connected to God spiritually. I would go to the Gurdwara every Sunday and listen to kirtan and the katha preached by the Giani and I would try to do some seva as well. There was an initiative taken up by the Sikh Society in Cardiff University and that was to have a program called ‘langar on Campus’. I attended this event, and it was so peaceful and divine as you could see so many people from different cultures and backgrounds coming to have langar and appreciating Sikh culture and the faith. There was paath being played in the background and so many people volunteered to do seva. It felt so wonderful to see vand chakna happening in action; one of the three pillars of Sikhism preached by Guru Nanak Dev Ji.
Well, it has indeed been an amazing 6 months here in Cardiff and I love it here. I can’t wait to see what the future holds in store for me. Until next time then!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Gurvinderjit Kaur, 19, is from Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. After two years studying law at a private university in Malaysia, she is now in the final year at the Cardiff University. Click here for her earlier story. This note was written in March 2023.
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