A Muslim, a Christian, and a Hindu went for a walk. While this might sound like the beginning of a joke or possibly some philosophical conversation in the making, it is actually the beginning of what might possibly be my fondest memory. Recently, the three of us embarked on a lengthy journey through the uncharted territory known as “urban sprawl” to locate the ever elusive “kitchen knife” and “blanket.” We did not know where exactly we were going (given that we are all from different countries), but we had hopes the shopping center in the next city would help us on our quest for basic dorm supplies.
Shortly after departing, we found ourselves immersed in an unfamiliar setting where shops are built under the train tracks and churches with their groves of ancient trees divide the highway on which the sea of red busses flows. As we took in these surroundings, we couldn’t help but admire how the London area is characterized by its ability to place the new amongst the old, with as minimal disruption as possible. There is some inextricable feeling of seeing rows of century-old townhouses mixed with lofty, modern apartment buildings. From what I understand, this area of London is particularly like this as this area (known for industry and lower class citizens) is slowly being redeveloped as part of the Olympic committee’s commitment to improve the quality of life of this area’s residents by improving their living conditions and also by bringing in companies which offer positions with better pay. Whether this is successful or not seems to be debatable.
Also debatable was our sense of reason. As we continued our search, we gradually lost confidence in finding a store as each promising building lacked the tenants which we had hoped for. Instead of finding stores amongst the buildings of the developing area, we found plenty of pubs, offices, and apartments. Due to our uncertainty, we attempted the daunting task of asking locals for directions. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the people of this city, one goes about their day keeping to themselves and avoiding any unnecessary sort of interaction with strangers at all costs. This means that many people who you will approach with a question will either ignore you completely or give you a puzzled look and walk away as quickly as possible. However, we found that if you are persistent, you will eventually find someone who will help. Much to our delight, we were informed that a store which carried a wide variety of products was no more than ten minutes ahead.
Twenty minutes later, we figured we had better ask another person for directions. Instead of finding someone on the streets, we figured we had better stop in the hotel to ask the receptionist as they would likely be more receptive to inquiries. Once again our spirits were raised when we were informed that we were less than ten minutes away. Twenty minutes later, we decided to head back as the sun was setting and we were almost certain that campus was more than just ten minutes away.
While we returned empty-handed, I returned having gained two friends and a new-found appreciation for the simple commonalities between people from different countries and cultures. While we all might have had different upbringings, tastes and preferences, challenges in our lives, and native languages, we were all here for the same reasons; we wanted to immerse ourselves in another culture to broaden our perspectives and to try what we have not tried before, and ultimately we all sought to attain higher education so that we might be able to make a positive difference in both our industries and also our communities.
Reflecting on this day, I am reminded of a quote from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby: “Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.”
