I don’t feel estranged

The most beautiful thing happens when you live outside your country, you feel the value of your nation and the beauty of belonging to it. This may not happen while you live at home and always think about travel.
Sometimes the opposite, especially if you are living in one of the countries of the First World which is more advanced than our country intellectually, socially and technologically. Sometimes you feel your nation lives on periphery, which is sad, and at times it is good, because it makes you feel sorry and gives you the incentive, you feel something inside pushing you to return and work for change.
However, what you think about most is your family, which is thousands of miles away. And you start thinking: “It’s not their fault if they are living there.”
But the reality that has become apparent is that there is no way to feel estranged today for at the press of a button I can sit with my family at the table, and talk to them for hours, freely and see them through smartphones.
The estrangement I used to experience earlier is no longer there as was the case when I traveled to London in 2012. I consider myself very lucky to have come here at a time when I can communicate with my family and friends any time I want.
Sometimes I don’t feel I am in London, but sitting in an apartment in Hafr Al-Baten — northern Saudi Arabia, drinking coffee, eating dates and watching Arab channels over the Internet. I talk to people as if they are next room in the same apartment.
I only feel the difference when I go down the street, and sit next to a Chinese girl in the lecture hall. Now I can say, this is London, but Whatsapp, still connects me to the world I left. I am still close to my country through the continuous news on twitter, even while I am studying.
What’s happening? What is the West doing to us? By accepting us to benefit from their educational system, it kills the nostalgia we feel for our homeland. I love the West, it’s a different and beautiful world based on humanity and equality. These advantages top all the past mentioned benefits. They have strict laws, which is a good thing, but life is very expensive; bills and taxes are high and the law shows no mercy to the people.
Despite all this, when you live in the West, you feel the quality of life here more than in any other place. People are no different from each other, there is no difference between rich and poor. All of them use trains and buses and walk the streets without abundance of luxurious cars. Maybe this is the reason immigrants are flooding Britain. When you add the feeling of belonging, I definitely am happier because I came to the right place at the right time.