(Part two) After more than a year of believing Belfast was where everything would happen for me, leaving became an option. Although I had lovely friends there, I needed a change. Also, I needed to stop wearing the student shoes I had put on when I arrived in Belfast. For that, finding a different environment was necessary. Within a few weeks, I was living in Manchester. I considered a few options, but this city seemed more multicultural and larger, where I might find a few more opportunities.
In Manchester, my routine completely changed. Since I had savings, I could afford not to work for a while and to take off the ‘survival shoes’ for a bit. I rested for a few days and caught up on personal matters. Over time, I stopped feeling like a student, perhaps it was no longer the context I was in, I also stopped working at the university’s bar.
As the days passed, I could organise my thoughts and reconnect with myself. I updated my CV, refreshed my information on employment platforms, and built a routine around job hunting.
Weather in the north
While having breakfast, I generally sit at my computer, check the news in the UK and always a bit about how things are going in Colombia. Also, and most importantly, I check the weather forecast and pray for a warm day. I believe that the fact that foreigners struggle with the UK’s weather -which seems to be a bit more relentless here in the North- is not a novelty. Well, for me, it has been no different.
However, I promised myself that I wouldn’t complain unless it rains, though you can’t deny wind and cold are hard to deal with. Even if you come from a not-too-warm city like Bogotá, you struggle.
So, this is me starting to negotiate with myself from very early in the morning, which continues to happen even though I’ve been around for almost two years.
After my morning routine, I get into ‘the matter’, which is looking for a job related to my career. Remember? What I want to do. However, at first, my days were about studying and going to university while getting to approach new ways of understanding the world.
Cultural fusion as a graduate
However, this time, I knew that I needed to give more time to Mariana’s more personal shoes, seeking out recreational and cultural spaces but from a different perspective. Continuing your path as a graduate means prioritising, thinking, and acting constantly about the best steps for building your future.
I believe that, in terms of culture, I’ve found a little bit of everything in myself. I’m Latina, and in my country, I always enjoyed Spanish music like salsa, merengue, old reggaeton, rock in Spanish, and tropipop. For me, a weekend in Colombia was about organising gatherings with friends or family, going to a bar or someone’s house to enjoy aguardiente and/or beer, chatting, listening to music, and dancing.
When I arrived in Belfast, I became friends with a group of Latinos. Along with them, and perhaps from a longing for what I used to enjoy back in my country, I started looking for spaces where Latino culture could be felt, the way I knew it could be. However, although we found some events, the feeling was never quite the same.
Only on one occasion, when my partner visited me in Belfast, and we went sightseeing in Dublin, we found a very Latin bar where the experience felt more gratifying in that sense, the bar is called The River Bar.
Advocating the positives of Colombia
This time, however, I had to deal, as I had on other occasions both in Belfast and Manchester, with ‘jokes’ about Colombia and drugs. How what people know about my country is related to Pablo Escobar or drug trafficking. At first, it made me angry, and I tended to react impulsively.
Over time, I have learned to respond differently, by talking about positive things about Colombia, like the climate, the music, the people, the flora, and the cuisine. But at the same time, I’ve also realised that it’s difficult for people not to be aware of the darker side of the country’s history when film platforms, series, and ourselves constantly feed into these narratives. So, I think Colombians and non-Colombians have much to learn about Colombia and need to stop focusing on the negative.
Coming back to what I was saying, not finding much of what I felt was ‘mine’ beyond my computer and headphones – meaning, in shared spaces where it had other connotations – perhaps I realised that I had come here not to search for what I had left behind but to discover with curiosity and not expectations, the place I was now in. That’s what my days had to be about now.
Friends become family
I can’t say I did much regarding recreational and cultural activities in Belfast (which I regret), as I dedicated most of my time to my master’s degree. Also, a lot of personal stuff was going on at the time. However, with time, I can say that my social life began to develop, maybe not at university, but while working in bars and with the people I interacted with, especially in the second bar I worked in.
First, some of my Latin American friends were already working there. I also began to meet the kitchen staff, managers, and supervisors, mainly from Northern Ireland, except for a Venezuelan woman and a woman from the Republic of Ireland. They were all very warm and loving towards me, making me feel happy even when the days working at the bar were tough. They always found a reason to laugh, and that was contagious for me. I have felt this human warmth since I arrived in Belfast and then Manchester.
The perception of UK people
I must admit, it is entirely opposite to what is said about this culture in my country. I understand that Northern Ireland could not be assumed to be the same as the north of England. However, this is not widely recognised in Colombia, where the general perception is that people in the United Kingdom are severe and distant, even a little cold. However, my experience has shown me the opposite.
I would say that spending time with these people is when my ‘shoes for returning to the present’ came to me, undoubtedly because I had spent so much time living in the future. worrying.
I guess whenever you start to connect with your actual daily life, you begin to experience, recognise and enjoy other things. I started noticing a certain uniformity in Northern Ireland’s culture. For example, expressed in people’s way iof dressing, their hair and behaviour style, both men and women, who came to the bar. It was pretty strange for me to see anyone really stepping outside the mould.
This raised some questions for me. But beyond that, when you spend so much time in one place seeing the same patterns, without realising it, your way of dressing and behaving gets slightly influenced. I think this has led me, even now at 31, to search again for my own style because the truth is, whether you want it or not, this experience shapes and transforms you every day.
Finding a home with a Peace Piper
After arriving in Manchester, where I came in search of a new, more multicultural space with more opportunities, I felt at home at the house of one of The Peace Pipers’ members. This band is a great example of what I came to see, of what Manchester can be, which for me was a tremendous artistic scene and atmosphere. Where people are genuinely interested in connecting with themselves and freely expressing this through whatever means better allows them.
When I met him and his partner through a video call to see the room where I could live, more than the room itself, their personalities connected with me. They were relaxed and authentic but, at the same time, kind and attentive. They had already visited Colombia and other Latin American countries, so to have a Colombian living with them was interesting. After I confirmed I would be moving into their house, they were attentive about my flights to Manchester, ensuring my luggage arrived safely and that I, having only been to this city once before choosing it, could find my way home.
Exploring the culture in Manchester
They told me about green spaces to visit, multicultural restaurants, and places to do my professional work. They made me a small part of their lives by inviting me to their band’s gigs and others that I wouldn’t have experienced otherwise. They showed me the real Manchester, and I feel very fortunate. In this city, I also began to connect more with different cultures, their ways, gastronomy, and other elements, which undoubtedly opened my senses. Like in academia, rather than making comments, I observed and learned from things I had never encountered before.
Although my time living in Manchester has been short, and perhaps I haven’t explored as much of its vast culture and social life as I could, I’ve managed to establish a balance between my professional life and my personal life. I’ve started to see new transformations in my life once again. It feels like I’m filling the glass that was left empty when I arrived in Belfast. I’ve begun to listen to myself more, discover new personal curiosities, and appreciate the small pleasures I want to indulge in, no matter how insignificant they seem. This has made my days about listening and valuing myself beyond the professional sphere, seeing myself as a more integral person.
Continuing to try on new shoes
Throughout this journey, I’ve connected with extraordinary people, friends, mentors, and companions – who have walked alongside me for a time, sharing unique moments and teaching me invaluable lessons. Whether in Belfast or Manchester, these relationships have anchored me, reminding me that even though the ground beneath my feet may shift, the bonds I form remain.
On the professional side, I’ve begun to carve my path slowly but steadily. In seeking new opportunities, I’ve embraced fresh experiences and relearned things I thought I understood. Yet, like shoes that fit differently in new terrains, these familiar lessons took on new shapes and challenges in the context of the UK. I didn’t anticipate how much I’d have to adjust.
I’ve found moments of peace along the way, holding on to the belief that I’ll be here for as long as I need to be, learning what this chapter teaches me. More than ever, I understand that this journey has been about letting go. I’ve left behind material things, but also the professional woman who left Colombia with confidence and security, and the student who, in Belfast, learned to survive amid personal absence and uncertainty.
Now, in Manchester, I find myself slipping into new shoes, perhaps those of curiosity, or maybe I’m still searching for the right pair. This journey isn’t just about choosing the right shoes but also about being willing to walk without knowing where they’ll take me.
As a foreigner, I’ve realised that a day in my shoes means constant change, a continual invitation to trade expectations for curiosity. And while I may not know which shoes I’ll wear next, I’ve learned that every step, no matter the fit, is part of the path I’m meant to walk.
