Female born USA 2006

She was born in the United States in 2006. She moved to Buckingham about ten months before the interview (i.e. late 2023) when she got a place at the University to study medicine. She visited Milton Keynes very often for shopping, going out with friends and for university placements.

She didn’t know much about Milton Keynes before she visited. It reminded her of Saudi Arabia with the big roads, roundabouts, bigger buildings and malls. She liked Midsummer Place and Xscape, particularly an arcade and Slim Chickens at the latter. She hadn’t explored the green spaces, but planned to.

She had an experience of racism once when changing buses in Milton Keynes, when a man – probably drunk – said stuff that was probably targeted at her and her mother, who were wearing hijabs. That scared her, but other people were comforting.

She found it easy to make friends because everyone at university was in a similar situation. She didn’t get involved personally with Truby’s Garden, but her mother kept her updated about events. Buckingham didn’t have a mosque, but there were prayer spaces at the University and mosques in Milton Keynes.