Family dinners feel like a foreign country
Everyone laughs at something ami said. Your partner translates, but the moment is gone. You got the words, not the feeling.
Your in-laws are polite, not close
They speak English for you. You know it's effort for them. You want them to relax around you, to forget you're "the outsider."
Your kids hear one language from each parent
You want them bilingual but you can't help with the Urdu side. You're raising a culture you can't fully participate in.
Weddings, Eids, gatherings: you're always the guest
You love these events. But you watch from the edge, catching names and smiles, missing everything between.