In my scrapbook, I made a little insert that was labeled, "10 things I love about travel" and in it I placed little slips each listing an aspect that was most important to me during this trip. My analysis of this scrapbook will detail how this scrapbook pictures these 10 themes, to what extent, and how that fits into a larger cultural context of travel in the UK, South Asian identity, and historical context.
1. Independence
2. Dubstep Scene
3. Primark
4. Being Allowed to Drink
5. Pub Culture
6. Public Transportation
7. Fabulous Festivals
8. South Asians Everywhere
9. Making Friends
10. Soul Searching Time
1. Independence was a large factor in my decision to go abroad. At the time of my application for the London Semester via UK, my parents were going through a very difficult divorce and I was overwhelmed, taking anti anxiety medication, xanex as needed, attending therapy on a weekly basis, struggling to maintain my weight (I kept losing weight), and having pretty regular anxiety attacks that were simply inhibiting my ability to function. Both of my parents were calling me regularly, pitting me against the other parent, and my only sibling has vanished into a realm of binge drinking, drug abuse, and complete walling off from our family as a way to cope. The email of my acceptance into the program came as an opportunity to escape this situation, and spend some time alone, without my external stresses, to reassess who I was during a very emotionally traumatic experience that I am sure many children of divorce experience, no matter the age.
One example of where this independence came in, especially early on is the page in which I illustrate my apartment, the space in which I lived during my time in London. This was an important visual representation of my independence within a sprawling big city. The room is nothing special, a small apartment located in West Kensington, but nonetheless, I felt it was important to include as a representation of my inhabited, personal and private space within the context of a common experience of many students who studied abroad. Moreover, the photos in the beginning of the scrapbook illustrate a number of first experiences. These experiences are representative of the need to illustrate my independence and a personal lifestyle in London. The adjacent page illustrates me scouting out the best location to make my personal pubspot-the regular place I would go to watch sports, do homework, meet for after work drinks, pre-game, eat dinner, use internet, etc. The pub culture is very important in the UK, and I became familiar with the bartenders and regular patrons of this pub during my stay. It became an important public space for me.
Other elements that provide context to this importance of independence are through my job. Photos picturing me at work, or after work, with details about where it was located and with whom I worked with, displayed a culture of me as a responsible citizen of the world. I also pictured myself doing poojas, or traditional Indian ceremonies, by myself in London on Diwali, a big holiday. This was the first time I hadn't been with family, and hours of research had gone into this personal celebration. It is pictured, displaying me in traditional clothes, celebrating the holiday with my flat mates. These moments were important for displaying that I was able to work, travel, and maintain my cultural traditions abroad, without the physical support of my parents being in the same state, or at even the same country.
Another notable experience that illustrated my independence was the day trip I too to Cambridge alone. This section includes no photos of myself, and focuses purely on the landscapes that I saw. I wrote in the bottom of the page, "went completely alone". This was a trip that was characterized by my ability to get up, take the train, travel to another city, experience it, and make it safely home after without any assistance or support throughout the process. It was a milestone for me, within my London narrative.
2. Dubstep was listed as well. Dubstep is a genre of music that I had a very earnest interest in during my time in London. Beyond listening to the music, it also happens that dubstep originated from London Underground music scenes, and so the opportunity to experience that scene for myself was a good one. Electronic music plays a large role in the youth culture of the UK, especially in London where a lot of big name artists come through and many well established clubs are located. We visited some of these locations like Electric Brixton and Fabric who not only offered us people we liked, but at a venue that we respected and admired as being formative of the evolution of electronic music. Interestingly enough, I have since become obsessed with the genre of electronic music called Trap. It seems to be the next evolution of this type of music, all of which are constantly growing into something else, some new evolution of good music.
Our interest in this electronic music that had originated from London led us into venues and locations that offered us a glimpse into more unique cultural experiences. Instead of attending an event and seeing it as an artist we saw it as a moment in cultural history. In my photos, I tried to capture the DJ himself, and usually the light show at a moment that might offer the most visual wonder to capture the audio feeling that I was experiencing.
3. Primark is a popular shopping location in the UK. The shop was central to London shopping on a student's budget. It gets very expensive as a student, and moreover as an unpaid student living abroad. It was a lot like Target or Ross, considered to be cute and cheap clothes. Even more interesting about Primark was that each stores collection varied by location and all of it was considered to be pretty trendy no matter where it was. This makes for a unique consumer experience, shopping at a chain that is different no matter where you are. Another perk of the prices of the clothes was that it made it much easier to justify impulse purchases. As such, I purchased items of clothing such as my onsie. The purchase has become a sort of unique novelty item that I attribute to being in London.
4. Being Allowed to Drink certainly played a huge factor in the kind of experience I had in London. I was 20 during the semester that I traveled. In the U.S. it is still not legal for me to purchase and consume alcohol until the age of 21. In London, children often start at 16 and I believe 18 is considered the legal limit. As such, drinking culture is an important part of all British cultural aspects, such as work culture, pub culture, night life culture, and various other kinds of nighttime experiences. In my photos, I often focus on myself in juxtaposition with a large amount of alcohol clearly marked that I am at a bar. Being able to legally loophole the American drinking age was amusing and made it much easier to blend in with a wide variety of cultures in the UK. The scrapbook begins with photos of drinking at the closest pubs to my place, then moves onto a carnival event that was heavily sponsored by Red Stripe, a Jamaican beer company. As such, lots of alcohol was being sold in the area and walking around with open containers is considered acceptable. Even police culture between citizens is less threatening in the UK, despite this event being notoriously rowdy, and noting that during the 2011 Notting Hill Carnival a man was stabbed. Moreover, I am pictured drinking at dancing at a nightclub the night of Diwali, then with co-workers after a conference, and friends before a play, then to an ice bar for a birthday and it's after party at a local club. Finally, when my best friend visited we also went to a local spot that happened to be run by an American and served a lot of American Fare. Moreover, they had a pretty decent happy hour which students living in West Kensington, notoriously one of the most expensive areas in London, was a definite point of excitement. In Ireland, I drank almost exclusively Guinness and Bushmill's Whiskey, being a short drive from the Bushmill's factory myself. Being able to drink allowed me access to a whole range of important and meaningful social experiences in my travels abroad.
5. Pub Culture, as pictured in Being Allowed to Drink, was a pretty prominent part of the U.K. experience. Pubs are where almost all ages can go, get a drink, get some food, meet friends, pre-game, play pool, watch the futbol game, watch any other sport, do homework, etc. Pubs are the equivalent of coffee shops in the U.S. except that there are fewer chains and they actually provide more services than most coffee shops. Moreover, many pubs host game nights like pub quiz in which the prize might be free drinks for you and your friends that night or a meal or even cash. My local pub was the pub closest to the tube station I would exit before walking about a 1/3 of a mile home. This was a part of the Famous Three Kings (F3K) chain and was a great place that was close to our favorite clubs, restaurants, our flats, and even the grocery store and ATM. It was one of the first things we were told to scope out and find during out stay. These photos picture me coming to pubs in different circumstances.
6. Public Transportation was a very important part of my trip. Throughout the trip I travelled via train, bus, Metrorail, tube, cab, etc. Coming from Georgetown, TX and going to London, U.K. was certainly a change from a complete dependence on cars to a total lack of necessity for one during my time in London. I did more in one semester abroad than I ever did in a semester at home, despite the fact that I had my own car at school. I collected tickets and placed them within the scrapbook, noting the importance of the travel/journey to each of the places that I visited during my travels.
7. Fabulous Festivals are available year round and throughout the U.K. and Europe in general. The timing of our arrival was particularly good for the festival scene. We were able to explore events like the London Mela, which was a south Asian music festival, we went to the Notting Hill Carnival, which is a celebration of Caribbean immigrants. There were many more beyond this that aren't pictured here, but it is clear that the festivals that were of the most importance to me were those that related to the immigrant experience.
South Asians Everywhere blew my mind, especially to be coming from my small, private, liberal arts institution in Georgetown, Texas. I was shocked to realize just how common it was to find a fellow Indian, and how friendly we all were to one another. In my travels I made relationships with other south Asians, though they are not all moments that I was able to capture on camera. Since this is not analyzing my memory, we can direct back to photos I did take to depict the importance of the South Asian community to me. For instance, on a free weekend, me and the only other South Asian in the CAPA program took the train to Southall, which is known for being "little India". The city houses temples for Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims, and more, as well as having movie theatres that show Indian movies, tons of Indian restaurants, and street vendors selling on the street, remnant of street merchants in India.
Moreover, this proved to be a valuable time for me to explore the different kinds of things I could buy for my family at home, and also to celebrate Diwali. We had access to all things desi. In my photos, I pictured signs that depicted not only English, but Panjabi as well. The influence of the South Asian culture upon this space is so powerful that even institutional signage has conceded to their presence. It was a visibility of my people that I didn't realize I was lacking in my day to day life. It felt good to know that this was a different space, very unlike central London.
9. Making Friends was hard to do with such a large group of Southwestern students are living together, eating together, going to class together, and not really being given many opportunities to go much beyond this. The program does not ensure that we will met other students in London, or locals at all. CAPA made it clear that it was up to us to get out there and meet people. With this in mind, it was really wonderful when a friend actually got made. This happened to me a few times in the scrapbook, and I have pictured friends such as Martin, the man in plaid. He actually was the barman at Famous Three Kings and was so much fun to hang out with. He eventually became our close friend, and we are all still in touch.
10. Soul Searching Time was the other overall motivating factor. In the midst of all the other reasons, I wanted to make time to take care of myself, and try and navigate the stressful family situation I was experiencing. I coped through travel and often traveled alone. For instance, I took a day trip to Cambridge one day and saw all sorts of sights, and took some photos, none of which I am in, and most of with are photos of a scene. Even these photos offer a sort of gaze into the mindset I might have had when I took the photograph. These shots, compared with others in the book, are more focused on capturing the entire moment as I experienced it. For this reason, I agree with Judith Brown and Ian Talbot when they say, "no student of contemporary Britain can ignore a broad ethnic group that makes up almost one-half of the country’s ethnic minority population and has changed the face of parts of Britain dramatically in the last half-century" (Brown 127). For me, being around a population that can be recognized in this way meant the world for me. I found a way to exist outside of my nuclear family – through my culture and my community.
To return to the scrapbook page, click here.