Education takes you to places some amazing places. Especially if you’re a Pakistani desi who belongs to a middle-class family, the thought of going abroad for higher education must make you feel giddy yet excited. However, the real struggle starts when you go abroad and realize the things you took for granted when you lived in Pakistan.
Here is a list of struggles that you must have faced if you’re a Pakistani, living in a foreign country as a student:
1. Craving For Maa Ke Haath Ka Khaana:
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When you’re living in a country where there is no place like home or you are unable to find a home-cooked meal… you know the struggle is real. You even start craving for those dishes made by your mother that you once refused to taste.
2. Missing Out On Desi Family Weddings:
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Whether it’s your cousin’s or your best friend’s wedding, you cannot go to Pakistan to attend it. To sit alone in your dorm room, imagining all the masti that your loved ones must be having, the kulfis and Biryani of those events, missing out on all these things must make you wallow.
3. Public Holidays In Pakistan:
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May it be Labor day, Independence day or Shab-e-Baraat, you miss all those holidays you could be having if you were still in Pakistan. To be fair, you get to witness so many off days only in a place called Pakistan and nowhere else.
4. The Constant Look-Out For Halal Food:
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When you spend all your life in Pakistan you don’t need to think twice before eating anything in a restaurant whether it is halal or haram. But living in a foreign country and always making sure you eat halal food is the real struggle.
5. Missing The Special Celebrations Of Eid:
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Waking up early in the morning to offer the Eid prayers, dressing up traditionally, visiting every relative, collecting eidi, eating sheer–khorma – these are the things that make Eid so very special for us Muslims. However, when you’re far away from home, none of this is possible.
6. Getting Homesick Every Now And Then:
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Living away from your loved ones is not an easy task. You begin to miss your ammi ki goud, abbu ki daant, chote behan bhai se larhayi with each passing day. This feeling doesn’t go away instead it keeps building up.
7. Not Being Able To Speak Much Urdu:
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You must miss not speaking as much Urdu as you used to when you were home. However, the best thing turns out when you find good Pakistani or Indian friends around and you fill up this void through them.
8. Hanging Out On Your Favorite Spots In Your City:
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You must have two to three favorite spots where you used to hang out every now and then with your friends or family. Not being able to visit them that much gives an indescribable ache.
These are some of the things that you must have felt if you are or were a student living in a foreign country somewhere. If you want to add something to this list, let us know in the comments section.
