All but trees were showing their veins and bones in the panorama view without any of leaves as if they were shameless naked girls. Such leafless trees were taking place around the areas as far as my eyes could reach. They, however, owned the natural beauty of themselves with uniforms. No flowers, no leaves, no sprouts, no fruits, nothing at all on the trees except clearly showing their skeleton branches. How was the UK weather like? It looked like a deep summer in the central part of Myanmar. The extreme coldness got rid of all the leaves on the trees here.
As soon as I arrived in the UK, what I was greeted is the bitterly cold winter. In addition to it, the sharp wind made me more chilled and uncomfortable as if life was not difficult enough here. Three of the staff from Myanmar embassy to the UK welcomed us at Heathrow Airport; one of them drove us to the so-called temple, Santisukhavihara, the semi-detached house not differing from other houses, thanks to the staff for their kindly assistance. The temple is situated in Hounslow alongside the Vicarage Farm Road. Surprisingly the temple was donated by only single man, Doctor Soe Lwin (with a bit participation of his nephews and nieces) almost two decades ago. I have been living at the temple since then.
One thing I was amazed is the ordinary road which is too narrow for the plenty of cars to run on. What the road gets even narrower is that many cars were parked alongside the road. Believe or not, besides the cars, many big buses (double-decker buses) run on the road days and nights. You know the narrower the road, the more dangerous they are. The M roads and A roads are, however, too good to be compared with the main roads in Myanmar.
Another thing I never expected before is that a wider range of people here are in a frugal lifestyle. In reality, there are thousands of old-fashioned houses such as semi-detached houses, terrace houses, detached houses and flats in the precinct of Hounslow. Either opulent houses or mansions are rarely seen around that area. It was quite difficult for me to get accustomed to living in a small room with one of my friends for some time.
Whosoever gets in the UK knows the funny proverb of three Ws--women, weather and work which are unpredictable. Yes, it is my sentiment exactly. It is too difficult to catch the real mind of a woman here rather than that the estimation for the quality of diamond and gold. Moreover, sunshine in the morning and raining in the afternoon is not in a single day. Cloudy, foggy, humid, smoky, glooming, shining and raining are alternate every moment. Furthermore, it is sure of difficulty to obtain a good job. A person walking in the darkness might find the correct way, but one looking for a good salary job is unthinkable.
All in all, I had no better choices to long for a convenient place rather than being stuck to the temple which is much better than several houses in which some Myanmar people are living. The cold weather, the three Ws, the narrow roads and the small room could, however, never stop my aims and objectives. I was running on my way to achieve what I aimed regardless of any discrepancy and difficulty. I was attending at a language center neither too far nor too near from the temple where I have been living. This is what I have experienced during my early days in the UK.
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