This post is dedicated to my friends: Ashu, Miguel, Angel, Gandhi, Lauren and Drea
When somebody uses the term ‘fresh off the boat’ I don’t mind the cheap shot but please at least respect your own Boeing. Well admittedly I’ am not that fresh anymore. It’s almost a year now and on this 4th of July weekend when none of my friends are here with me, I find time to reminisce.
After a 22 Hour flight you land in the same weather you had taken off from. Welcome to Texas. I drove from Houston to Austin on the first night and the place was so desolate, dark and quiet. Damn Youtube! I had such a different image it mind. The next morning I woke up with a weird feeling of isolation, like a dog-eared page in a book, distinctively different yet a part of the herd.
Morning also brings another feeling. Although I had been to the US before there was one thing I respect about the French that I despise about Yankees and Brits. Toilet paper. Why kill trees or worry about recycling when you have Atlantic on the right and Pacific on the left??
Austin took quite sometime to grow on me but when it did it was malignant. The place that had looked quiet on the first night had life blown into it and was brimming with colors, sun, cars, hotties, cap-metro, cyclists and so many people I’d come to know as friends. Just the confetti was missing.
UT itself was imposing and it blended so well with the city that it did not look like a university per se and walking from one end of campus to another was a feat for the quadriceps. Classes began, moved into a new apartment, commuting on buses began and life started switching gears.
Going grocery shopping was like embarking on an adventure. Hop off the bus in front of H.E.B and then do a couple of lunges and squats. Warm-up before a workout. The place was so massive that a fly coming in would think that it was a new planet. Finding a carton of juice in those gazillion aisles deserved a same elation as Marie Curie’s radium find. Except that I didn’t die after drinking the juice. The way back was an ordeal, as I had to lug four 15-pound bags from the bus stop to home. That is when you appreciate the value a car and the fact that every American has two hands and four wheels.
When I applied for a driver’s license I rented a car and that night was the first time I was driving a left-hand drive and believe you me, it’s not easy. It’s like walking on your hands when you lose your bearing. I got fifteen honks on the very first day but did make it safely back home. Americans say that Asians are good at math but are poor drivers. I say why don’t you come to India, you’ll be good at neither.
I got my first car, a Honda Accord EX Coupe with the money I had saved up from my fellowship and I’ am really proud of the five scratches that it has till date. I’ am pretty comfortable driving on the right side of the road now but I’ am skeptical about driving my dad’s car when I go back home. One scratch and I’ am disowned!
I had worked for an oil field service company before I came here to the US and after a year of studies I got a chance to work for an exploration and production company as an intern. I drove from Austin to Denver, a total of 1800 miles along with my friend. I had a throbbing back pain for a week but was an awesome experience driving thru the hill country, desert and along the Rockies. For some odd reason being away from Austin made me sad. I had begun to relate to it.
My intern began and I came to know and like people and gradually with their help eased back into the life of corporate world.
This one year has given me a lot. I’ve taught myself how to get a feel of the weather on the internet without going out of the house, talked my parents through the yahoo messenger setup, played softball and ran towards the pitcher with the bat in hand, seen snow at 14000 ft, gone hiking and seen a snake creep over my feet, learned to dabble in Spanish, drank half a gallon of milk in day and loved my life like never before.
Aquí está a la vida y a los Estados Unidos.
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