Shanil Jiwani – GW Blogs from Abroad

USA Flag Emoji but bigger and bolder

AdminAugust 31, 2016December 14, 2018

Now that I only have a week and a half left in the UK, I should reflect a little on how much has changed (or stayed the same) since my first post. When I was writing my first post, I had barely just made it to the UK and hadn’t started studying abroad yet; everything I learned was based on two weeks of traveling. Now with nearly four months under my belt, I feel a little differently about Europe but mostly the same in regards to my identity.

One of the reasons why I chose to study in the UK was because I wouldn’t have to learn another language. Sadly, British English and American English are still miles apart. Euphemisms, jokes, and simple phrases don’t translate. Dialects are difficult to deconstruct. Half the time the conversation is “what” or “haha” just to act like we understood what the other person said. Now, this isn’t always happening, but it’s happened enough to where it’s noticeable.

...continue reading "*USA Flag Emoji* but bigger and bolder"

USA Flag Emoji

AdminNovember 2, 2015December 14, 2018

By Shanil

Being an American shouldn’t be that weird in the UK, right? That is, unless you’re one of the few Americans that your friends know at Sussex and rely on you to explain everything that happens with America to them.

This week, I was asked to reflect on how my community has supported my identity and how my identity has changed. In a previous post, I wrote a little bit about how my identity in Europe is different from when I’m in America. This time around, I’ll write a bit about how it’s changed while I’ve been here. ...continue reading "*USA Flag Emoji*"

My Support System Includes Binge-Watching Gossip Girl

AdminOctober 28, 2015December 14, 2018

By Shanil

For this blog post, we were asked list who or what makes up our community with visuals attached. Anyone or anything that helps us grow and support us can fall into this category. Typically, there’s a long list of people that make up a person’s support system, but there’s so much more to include. At first, I thought I might take a few pictures of people and explain how they help make up my community, but then I thought, why not really show what my support system consists of? First, I should explain why people aren’t the most integral part of my support system.

During sophomore year of high school, I found myself alone at a Baptist Army boarding school in Texas. As a gay Muslim teenager from Los Angeles, I was very clearly out of place. They didn’t let us have our phones during the day so contact with my friends back home was scarce (even scarcer with my family). I had to rely mostly on myself because my trust for the adults at my boarding school was very little after they bashed the LGBTQ community again and again—even at an anti-bullying assembly. Ever since then, I’ve had a support system that’s mostly devoid of humans. I will include friends as a collective category, including best friends, as they are still an integral part, but below is what consists of my support system. ...continue reading "My Support System Includes Binge-Watching Gossip Girl"

What’s 52 in French?

AdminSeptember 3, 2015December 14, 2018

By Shanil

When I first started to write this blog post that’s supposed to be focused on my identity, I wrote about how being a gay Pakistani-American Muslim affects how I perceive the world and how it’ll affect my time abroad. However, seeing as how I’m going to be in England at a fairly liberal school, it wouldn’t really be much different than being at GW. If I were in a Muslim country or another area that wasn’t as safe to be who I am, it would make for some great reading, but while my background and history is interesting, I think my identity as an English-speaking American is even more interesting (and funny). ...continue reading "What’s 52 in French?"