On her first day in the UK, Prarthana Aggarwal stumbled upon My Wild City in London’s Daunt Books. The beautiful cover and the author’s Indian name — Neha Sinha — caught her attention.
In the memoir, Sinha writes about her experience in New Delhi, the same city Prarthana hails from.
“It felt like fate,” said Prarthana, smiling fondly, “finding a book about my city in London, right before I’m about to start my creative writing master’s.”
As My Wild City explains, nature is scant in Delhi. The only green spaces are parks and zoos, which are only accessible by car.
In contrast, Norwich offers parks, marshes and forest trails right at her doorstep. Prarthana also appreciates the public transport here, “much better” than Delhi’s.
Some things she misses about home? The food. Delhi restaurants have “crazy big menus”, offering multiple cuisines under one roof — cheap, delicious, and convenient.
Books are an important anchor for homesick students, reminding them of where they came from, and how far they have yet to go.
Aya Kawamura makes it a habit to consume Japanese media even in the UK, resorting to VPNs to bypass geo-blocking.
“I don’t feel homesick, because I watch Japanese media once a day and spend my time the same way as in Japan,” said Aya.
She enjoys Miyuki Miyabe’s mystery novel Solomon’s Perjury, where high school students take it into their own hands to investigate a classmate’s death. The book has been adapted for TV and film.
“I like mystery novels,” said Aya.
“I watched the film after reading the book, but the film cuts something from the novel. Reading the novel is better.”
Although she was born in another country, Jessica Karthar Singh still considers India her home. Living alone from a young age, homesickness does not come easily to her.
“When I do feel homesick, I go back to reading the books I brought from home.”
She carries Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle with her everywhere she goes — and Norwich is no exception.
“It’s a book that talks about literally everything in life: politics, love, misogyny, inequality, war, power, parents’ negligence, [the care between] siblings and even more,” she said.
Looking ahead, Jessica is excited for her time in Norwich.
“Home didn’t really have [as] many parks as Norwich does and I’m glad to be strolling in parks here.”
Looking for your next read? Ask an international student for a book recommendation — you might end up pleasantly surprised.
Image credit: Neo Xin Yuan
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