From One Home to Another: My UC Berkeley Experience
Grabbing a French Vanilla Latte from the coffee machine, along with a plate full of waffles, and walking to the dining hall to have breakfast with my friends was perhaps the only reason I would ever wake up at 8 a.m. on a weekend. Sitting across a Hogwarts-like table with people from all over the world, laughing and chatting while I shivered from the cold—even though it was supposedly summer in California (Karachi winters can’t compete with that)—was an integral part of my day. What began as simply having breakfast with my German, French, Korean, and Japanese friends soon evolved into spending every fleeting second together. From awkwardly defining ourselves by our majors on the first day to laughing like maniacs while walking downhill from International House just to get Boba tea from the Punjabi dhaba nearby, everything aligned and fell into place, and strangers from across the globe became family.
The Beauty of Berkeley
Berkeley was not just an experience—it was everything magical in one place. But the thing with magical places is that every moment feels special and exciting. The moment you land at San Francisco’s airport and the cold air kisses your skin, there’s a fleeting realization: Oh, I made it this far. And just like that, your magical journey begins—one made possible by Habib’s Learn Abroad Program. From that moment on, every single second I spent in Berkeley became etched in my heart because all I can remember from my time there is the pure bliss of being part of something so magnificent.
Enamored with Berkeley’s Campus
While there are countless reasons to fall in love with Berkeley, one of them has to be its campus. As someone who isn’t particularly fond of excessive walking, I found myself growing to enjoy the early morning uphill and downhill treks to and from my classes. There was something special about walking to a lecture twenty minutes away from International House, where we lived, with my favorite songs playing in my ears—it felt like a scene straight out of a movie.
And that’s the thing about magical places. You begin to enjoy the mundane. Whether it’s simply sitting in your friend’s room and giggling uncontrollably with them while they try to finish their project before the deadline, or getting Artichoke’s Pizza at 1 a.m. while you are covered in four layers because of the cold, whether it’s missing many buses because you are too busy having fun and making videos, whether it’s chatting with your Professor after class and trying to convince her to visit Pakistan for you, whether it’s going to your friend’s room to ask her to do your hair, whether it’s roaming through Berkeley’s beautiful library, or all the walks at night where you tell each other ghost stories—all the beauty and joy lies in the mundane.
Extraordinary Moments in LA
And while there is a certain comfort you begin to find in the mundane, there are also moments that feel extraordinary. During a trip to LA, we had the surreal experience of casually bumping into Serena Williams. What started as an awkward “Oh, sorry I bumped into you” quickly turned into an incredulous “Oh my God, are you Serena Williams?”—a full circle moment. Meeting someone you have idolized since you were a kid and growing up watching their tennis games on television was something that really makes you feel like you have achieved something slightly remarkable. Speaking of remarkable things, we also had the opportunity of visiting Griffith Observatory and the University of California, Los Angeles, which had one of the most gorgeous campuses I’ve ever seen. Touring the campus felt surreal because this was something I had only seen in YouTube videos, and we got to visit some of the buildings like UCLA’s School of Public Affairs. Sitting in the garden in the heart of the campus, while watching the mascot flag flutter and reading the Daily Californian we grabbed from the nearby machine, felt like a Netflix movie moment.
Academic Adventures
A Netflix movie is also incomplete without a girl grabbing her books hurriedly while rushing to classes, and that was me, except I would be walking excitedly for my Media class every week. While choosing courses, I was skeptical about picking the right one, and it’s safe to say that this was one of my favorite classes I’ve ever attended. Maybe it was because of the many group projects we did, which allowed me to interact with different students, the content, or the energy of our professor, which lit up the room—this was a class I looked forward to every week and began to adore.
Exploring San Francisco
My time in Berkeley cannot be completed or defined until I mention San Francisco because the city is breathtaking in all its ways. As a student at Berkeley, you could take the 1-hour bus, which felt like a ten-minute ride if you have friends who are the loudest people and a public nuisance, to San Francisco’s transit center. Since we got addicted to the city’s charm, we would end up in the city twice or thrice a week, even if it was to tour a museum, attend a gallery’s opening, see the sunset at the Golden Gate Bridge, visit Pier 39, or our desperate search for Halal burgers. And it wasn’t just us who would travel to the city; we would convince our European friends to accompany us with our endeavors every time we went. I could never quite figure out what it was about San Francisco that pulled me back—why, even on my second-to-last day, I felt the need to visit once more. But I began to understand that some cities are simply difficult to say goodbye to. Some places never leave you, even when you leave them.
Cherished Memories
I’m not quite sure if it was us running out of breath while hiking to see the sunset on a nearby hill as our German friends excitedly raced to the top, or the times we played ‘Go Fish’ and our French friend hilariously broke every rule just to win. Maybe it was the scavenger hunt on our third day, teaching Europeans and Americans how to play ‘Kho Kho’ and basic Urdu words, or our daily gatherings on the pavement outside I-House. Perhaps it was our endless attempts to make tea that resembled the chai from home (and somehow always failing), or our classes, or stopping at every corner to pet every fluffy dog. It might have been our late-night grad school discussions over coffee at 2 a.m., playing basketball or badminton at the sports center, convincing everyone to visit Insomnia Cookies for a sweet treat every day, or squeezing countless plans into one day. Maybe it was Pakistani students being celebrated as the liveliest crowd on the cultural day, living up to our reputation. I’m not quite sure when it happened—when I tried to bring Pakistan to Berkeley and Berkeley to Pakistan—but I do know that leaving one home for another was bittersweet in the most beautiful way.
Conclusion
There’s so much to say, so many memories to cherish, places to mention, stories to tell, and people to remember—but words seem to fall short. And that’s the thing about magical places: no matter how much you write; you can never truly capture their essence. Yet, if there’s one thing that defines the experience, it’s the people. Habib’s Learn Abroad Program, with the University’s constant assistance and mentorship throughout the process, is more than just an academic opportunity—it’s a once-in-a-lifetime journey. And one of its greatest gifts is the connections you form along the way. What began as a silent flight from Pakistan to the U.S. transformed into a 19-hour return journey of non-stop chatter, “I want to go back,” “I miss that place,” “Oh, do you remember when—”. Leaving a place that started to feel like home is never easy. But there’s comfort in knowing that the time you spent there was meaningful, and no matter where life takes you, Berkeley—much like Habib—will always be a home you can return to.
This blog is written by Fizza Jafri, Social Development and Policy, Class of 2026.
Fizza Jafri’s journey through Habib University’s Learn Abroad Program in Summer 2024 offers a glimpse into the transformative power of studying abroad. Inspired by her experiences? Discover how you too can embark on an unforgettable academic adventure and create lasting memories. Explore the diverse opportunities available through Habib University’s Learn Abroad Program and take the first step towards your own transformative journey.
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