  London
Click to get the inside scoop from
real travelers here at VirtualTourist. See the London Travel GuideInside advice from real people on:Overview, Hotels, Things to Do, Restaurants, Nightlife, Shopping, General Tips, Transportation, Off the Beaten Path, Tourist Traps, Warnings or Dangers, Local Customs, Packing Lists or Sports Travel.
 24039 London Tips.36226 London Photos.10 London Videos. London Pages by Manyana
| Page Views: 1,697 Last Visit to London: July, 2005 I Live Here | Pay as You Go--1, 2, 3 student guide to London by Manyana - last update: Sep 28, 2007 |
this is the place that has taken my heart away
I know what's beautiful
Looking at you
In a world of lies
You are the truth
I wanna make you see
Just what I was
Show you the loneliness
And what it does
You walked into my life
To stop my tears
Everything's easy now
I have you here
Around a year ago, I was still my family pet! had a cook who served dishes, and a driver who took me anywhere I pointed my finger at, tedious saudi life...sounds like I was a queen. Yes, but I didn't like it! So I decided to give up this spoily dependent life and to look for a sense of self, of existence where what I do can be accridted to me, not to family.
Everyone expected me to marry as soon as I finished my BSc, have a good job, preparing for a fancy wedding, and showing off my future husband...but my mind was really far off. I enjoyed being solo, having no responsibility to or for anyone. I knew I was selfish but I needed this as a sheild to protect the vulnerable self that I hid for a long time behind my excellent school performance and academic reputation I gained at that early age. Needless to tell you that I struggled and fought against my family's will to let me go. The traditions and social conventions were the main priority, woman should not live alone, woman should not travel abroad alone. But with little will and perseverance and buzzing all the time, finally I made it to London, yuppie:D
I came to London to do my MA in psychology of religion, it was my excuse ticket to leave home and keep receiving greens! Don't ask me what this is, still have no clue even after one year scrutinising paper and nearly finishing the degree! Anyway, I came here to find two things; what I want to do with my future, and who I am. Stupid questions but they have really caused a considerable amout of worry and fear to me back home. I have mingled with people I've never imagined to meet. I have tried food that I did not know if it ever could be made. Most importantly, I have attended the events and occasions that I always dreamed to attend. It was all possible here in London, yes!
On my first day, I just came, no hotel booking, no accommodation, no nothing. My good friend, from Wales, whom I knew for nearly 5 years picked me up from the airport to help me with my big borken-wheel suitcase and keep company for the rest of the day. Until the evening we were walking around with no goal in mind really but to find accommodation for me. Another friend who offered me to stay for few days at his family place, just called me and picked me up from the tube station. See the divine blessing?
So the next day, I had my pocket, trainers and my Saudi-sim phone and headed to Central London. I was planning to contact a student office that usually arranges for accommodation, so it was my first place to go. Again with my 5-year good friend, he showed me how to get there, booked a single en-suit room for 2 weeks. It was expensive by student standards in London but this was very important to me. As a traditionalist, I did not like to share my bathroom with males, nor I could tolerate sharing my privacy with another roommate...still can imagine how self-indulgent I was?
Then my friend took me for lunch, showed me around for a bit and got me back to my other friend's house again...gosh! It was in zone 4 and he got me all the way back there! I'm grateful for this friend, he has taught me giving and uncoditional love. |
cont'd Two days later, I attended my first class in English for Academic Purposes as a prepatory course for my MA. That was a lovely experience. It was my first time I took the initiative for taking responsibility for myself. I paid my tuition fees by 'my' own credit card, registered by 'my' own self, and handled the orientation day all on my own, with no family companion or guardian....imagine how happy I was to do all these stupid tasks, but for the first time in my entire life! I was very happy, very scared too.
I met a Japanese lady for the first time, knew about the Japanese culture and history and mort important the language, something I always enjoyed. Also I met colleagues from Korean, Greece, Taiwan, Lebanon, China and other places I could not store for how diverse they were from my exlusively-Arab background.
In my third week, and after the sad incident in London, I bought a bike as there were no direct bus routes nor tube. So I learnt how to ride a bike in such a busy city, respected the traffic light for the first time as I was never allowed to drive a car back home, and learnt where to park and to point when to turn. Just about taking full pride in this achievement, my lovely new bike got stolen on week after the purchase:'(...guess from where? from my residence which was supposed to be monitored 24/7 by CCTV! another lesson to learn! so I had to walk back and forth between school and home for about 2 months. That was my first lesson to walk for a long distance (30 minutes) inter-city. I appreciate it now though.
In my first two months, I used to have my lunch and dinner everyday outside. I just used to buy sandwiches and ready meals from the college canteen. Then when I went back home, I'd pass by any nearby restaurant or fast food to grab a bite. In one of the incidents, everyone in my class knew that I did not know how to cook a decent meal. That literally meant, how to fry little vegetables and mix it with rice or stir it in soup. So a good friend told me that I could save fortune by making these meals and sandwiches on my own, and started to teach me how. So one day, I cooked something at home, just ready-made mixture of vegetable and pasta, put it into the microwave, and here you go I had my first meal ever, hand-made:D. I came showing off to everyone, 'hey, look, my first achievement'. Everyone felt sarcastically happy not in a negative attitude but in a funny way, 'hey come come, let me take a picture of you with your first dish'--a friend took a picture of me,lol.
Weeks later, I got enrolled in my current college where I met more religiously diverse groups of people because of my studies. I met female reverands, male priests, atheist or liberal religious individuals, something wow I always wanted to see, and thought would never do. Cultures, religions, colours and ethnic groups just meant really nothing when I blended very well with all of them. They all spoke of one thing to me and they communicated it very well so I could embrace it ie, Humanity.
Being in London for a year has enriched my background, added an identification tag to my self-perception. I should acknowledge that living in such a multi-cultural city and having the best friends in the world have made my dreams come true, have re-created a definite well-known future for me. I've learnt that self-indulgence, full dependence or being someone's pet may give me a luxurious life of materliastic pleasure, yes! I can afford this, and get that, live here, travel there, yes! But it will never give me a sense of who I am! Is it worth the price? I don't think so!
...and this's my boring story with London...you can go sleep now:D
oh! wait! I've learnt to change to British spelling too, and of course to pay as I go, lol....it's a very well-known motto, believe me! |
Guidance for Students In these pages, they may tell a funny story so you can feel optimistic about living here as a student, or a sad incident so you can be prepared to tackle it. I'll try my best to write down tips that could be useful for new students, what to do when they first arrive at London, where to stay, and how to allocate your budget from having a high budget to a low budget....I have lived in three different places in London with different budgets as well, and been around England as well as Wales, I was courageous enough to try it all;^)
Quick Facts
- languages: 200+
- population: 7,000,000
- nationalities: 80+
- 2nd expensive city in the world
- 15th largest city in the world, 2004
- 25-30% of the population consists of ethnic minorities
- "Everything, everywhere is London"
- "If you don't like London, you don't like yourself"
- "it was a mistake! since then i was trying to come back to london" |
> Add to your Custom Travel Guide [What's This?]
| Pros: | "walking, tidy and well-organised, charming" | | Cons: | "no watersports" | | In A Nutshell: | "i am bewitched!" |
Manyana's London Travel Tips
 Manyana's London Travelogues | | | |
|
 Comments for Manyana about London | | | | |
Fergie01 Mon Jul 21, 2008 00:47 UTC
I enjoyed reading how you first got your wings in london...good job....cheers from Ontario Canada...I hope to be back home soon too. | butterfly_girl Tue Apr 29, 2008 10:58 UTC
I enjoyed reading your page and your photography. Cheers! | morne Mon Apr 28, 2008 19:30 UTC
well done on your nomination as home town hero | ChristaV Sat Apr 19, 2008 18:33 UTC
Very nice tips indeed |
|
More Sponsored Links for London
London hotels
Luxury to budget Hotels and B&B Save booking online Up to 70%!
London Vacation Deals
Save on Virgin™ Air/Hotel Packages! Luxury Travel, Affordable Prices.
301 London Hotels
Our selection of great hotels in London sorted by user rating.
|
email me
add as friend
