I try out my hand at blogging for the first time. I don intend to write a blog which is catchy and fascinating. Its just a rapid penning of thoughts,a diary of wat happened since I came to ann arbor as they come to my mind.
I have finished my semester which was hectic, eventful and overall a great learning experience. My dad told me when I was leaving for US, a new tree cannot grow under the shade of another. It has to grow in open. I will recount my days since I stepped in USA.
My first tryst with USA will be the one which will stay with me forever. A lesson in courtesy, hospitality that I will cherish forever. Just the day before I left for USA my friend who was supposed to pick me at airport mailed me saying he could not do so as he had broken his hand and asked me to take a cab and come by myself. Not a tough task really. I didn't tell me parents about knowing how hysteric they tend to get about these small things. So off I left after an emotional farewell at airport where all my near and dear were present. A greeting card from arun which will be most my treasured possession, A last moment words by Rakesh saying..mama thanks for everything ra, sony who came all the way to airport for the second time in the day for me after having dropped her frnd just in the morning..sidhu,vs,chaitu,pavan..my relatives..anyway the flight took off..I wept and wept silently as it soared above those lights of Hyderabad which I did not know when I will ever see..Could not sleep much on that flight as there was hardly any legspace, just read some magazines which were in Dutch. Was looking at screen in front which showed which place we were flying above. As the names Warsaw,Berlin, Munich came up a sense of occasion overwhelmed me..somehow the pictures of World War in history textbook came alive in front of me. It's a very difficult feeling to explain. I was like I am actually flying over these places. Looking down the windows I only see vast expanses of land with small rivers cutting across the plains. Well finally landed in Amsterdam. The most beautiful place I have ever seen in my life..( I am not a poet so I cant really explain it words you have to se it with your eyes to believe it). As we approached Amsterdam the plane seemed to be landing right into ocean. Nowhere around could I discern any land. I almost closed my eyes when suddenly out of nowhere lush green fields filled with tulips filled my vision. My my...wat a scene.. anyway we landed. The sheer enormity of amsterdam airport overwhelmed. People everywhere. White people, speaking languages which I had no clue wat it was..I struck me finally I am in foreign land. I have left India. What was to follow is something I will remember as courtesy I will not ever forget. I happened to meet a lady with a logo of M(University of Michigan) on her laptop. I just asked her If she was going to University of Michigan. She said yes, I introduced herself and told me she and her husband were professors there. I was like that is cool. They asked me how I would be going from detroit to ann arbor. I said by cab,alone. They were then you can come with us. We can meet you at exit terminal. I was like cool. But at detroit airport at immigration it took me 2.5 hours. They caught some guy from africa carrying some prohibited stuff...it stalled the whole line. It took me like forever to get out of the place. I had assumed that the professors would have left by then and guess what I walked out of the airport and they were standing right there waiting for me..Two professors well over 65 years of age. Kat of had an appointment with a doctor and she cancelled it cause she gave me a word to wait. They hired a SUV specially because a small car in which they would have otherwise gone in wont fit my luggage. The cab driver asked for 10 dollars extra from their house to mine in ann arbor. she said no it takes only 6 right! he was like no this is a detour i will charge 10. I said no its ok I will pay 10. She was like no!! this is a question of ethics not money. They took me to their home. They made lunch for me. We had lunch together and then she hired another cab and sent me home for 6 dollars!! All this for a stranger!! Both wife and husband are Phds from princeton and Cornell respectively and top professors in Ross School of business. She was narrating her love story on the way. she was so excited about it.!! I was like well this is love!
Well all this over and I ended up at my senior Rohan's place. Initial days I didnot do much. just got used to the place. Went to college got lost a couple of times. Was drizzling one of the days as I was walking through a forest and I was like wow so beautiful and as I was thinking two deers came out playing. I was like wow!!! so beautiful! I instantly fell in love with the place,people it was all so good to be true.
Then ofcourse some orientation ceremonies. Classes started. Initial classes I was like I can sleep walk through them easily. But in just a couple of classes they speed became so unbearable. I made a couple of wrong decisions this sem. I would not like to bore you with those now. I started working in a coffee shop. Thats where I realised how meticulous these americans are about their work. If by mistake you put a spoon which was used to stir house coffee in french roast they throw off the whole jar of coffee which has coffee enf to serve 40 ppl!!! just cos of a spoon!! and if you touch any food item by mistake with ur bare hands its fate is resigned to trash box!! so immaculate. I learned to appreciate why we should respect the people who work in hotels and all. I realised, lost in out own troubles how many things,how many people we take for granted. Believe me it is not easy working in a coffee shop. Setting up the whole strore each morning is only such a tiresome exercise!!
Well the classes went on. Initially, as usual I started studying in full josh. Was well ahead of the whole class. Soon I lost steam went back to old ways of keeping things until last moment. Being very disorganized. Started sleeping like 8 hrs a day again! Well had too many things on my mind then, was terribly depressing phase, days and nights became blurred i didn't know when I was waking up, when sleeping. Somehow managed to keep my head above water.
My first midterm marks were right at the bottom of the class. My ego was brunted terribly. I knew I was better than what I got! I swore to hit back with vengeance only to realise it doesn't work that way in USA. People work with vengeance and commitment throughout the semester! Well in middle of all this melee I along with sony started Gyan. Was a good diversion. I really admired the way she was working hard and giving shape to our long time dream. The way she tried bringing together to work was amazing I knew I have found a friend for a lifetime. It was then I realised that whoever is there with you or not your friends are always there. One phone call to rahul brought about such change..I was like why did I not call him before! Slowly things started falling back on track..I got a clasp on things! I managed to finish my first semester successfully with my head above the water. In totality was a great learning experience..learned a lot..
Soon next semester will start. Waiting for it. Hopefully I will be better prepared this time to accept the challenges that come my way. Bring it on I say!
I have finished my semester which was hectic, eventful and overall a great learning experience. My dad told me when I was leaving for US, a new tree cannot grow under the shade of another. It has to grow in open. I will recount my days since I stepped in USA.
My first tryst with USA will be the one which will stay with me forever. A lesson in courtesy, hospitality that I will cherish forever. Just the day before I left for USA my friend who was supposed to pick me at airport mailed me saying he could not do so as he had broken his hand and asked me to take a cab and come by myself. Not a tough task really. I didn't tell me parents about knowing how hysteric they tend to get about these small things. So off I left after an emotional farewell at airport where all my near and dear were present. A greeting card from arun which will be most my treasured possession, A last moment words by Rakesh saying..mama thanks for everything ra, sony who came all the way to airport for the second time in the day for me after having dropped her frnd just in the morning..sidhu,vs,chaitu,pavan..my relatives..anyway the flight took off..I wept and wept silently as it soared above those lights of Hyderabad which I did not know when I will ever see..Could not sleep much on that flight as there was hardly any legspace, just read some magazines which were in Dutch. Was looking at screen in front which showed which place we were flying above. As the names Warsaw,Berlin, Munich came up a sense of occasion overwhelmed me..somehow the pictures of World War in history textbook came alive in front of me. It's a very difficult feeling to explain. I was like I am actually flying over these places. Looking down the windows I only see vast expanses of land with small rivers cutting across the plains. Well finally landed in Amsterdam. The most beautiful place I have ever seen in my life..( I am not a poet so I cant really explain it words you have to se it with your eyes to believe it). As we approached Amsterdam the plane seemed to be landing right into ocean. Nowhere around could I discern any land. I almost closed my eyes when suddenly out of nowhere lush green fields filled with tulips filled my vision. My my...wat a scene.. anyway we landed. The sheer enormity of amsterdam airport overwhelmed. People everywhere. White people, speaking languages which I had no clue wat it was..I struck me finally I am in foreign land. I have left India. What was to follow is something I will remember as courtesy I will not ever forget. I happened to meet a lady with a logo of M(University of Michigan) on her laptop. I just asked her If she was going to University of Michigan. She said yes, I introduced herself and told me she and her husband were professors there. I was like that is cool. They asked me how I would be going from detroit to ann arbor. I said by cab,alone. They were then you can come with us. We can meet you at exit terminal. I was like cool. But at detroit airport at immigration it took me 2.5 hours. They caught some guy from africa carrying some prohibited stuff...it stalled the whole line. It took me like forever to get out of the place. I had assumed that the professors would have left by then and guess what I walked out of the airport and they were standing right there waiting for me..Two professors well over 65 years of age. Kat of had an appointment with a doctor and she cancelled it cause she gave me a word to wait. They hired a SUV specially because a small car in which they would have otherwise gone in wont fit my luggage. The cab driver asked for 10 dollars extra from their house to mine in ann arbor. she said no it takes only 6 right! he was like no this is a detour i will charge 10. I said no its ok I will pay 10. She was like no!! this is a question of ethics not money. They took me to their home. They made lunch for me. We had lunch together and then she hired another cab and sent me home for 6 dollars!! All this for a stranger!! Both wife and husband are Phds from princeton and Cornell respectively and top professors in Ross School of business. She was narrating her love story on the way. she was so excited about it.!! I was like well this is love!
Well all this over and I ended up at my senior Rohan's place. Initial days I didnot do much. just got used to the place. Went to college got lost a couple of times. Was drizzling one of the days as I was walking through a forest and I was like wow so beautiful and as I was thinking two deers came out playing. I was like wow!!! so beautiful! I instantly fell in love with the place,people it was all so good to be true.
Then ofcourse some orientation ceremonies. Classes started. Initial classes I was like I can sleep walk through them easily. But in just a couple of classes they speed became so unbearable. I made a couple of wrong decisions this sem. I would not like to bore you with those now. I started working in a coffee shop. Thats where I realised how meticulous these americans are about their work. If by mistake you put a spoon which was used to stir house coffee in french roast they throw off the whole jar of coffee which has coffee enf to serve 40 ppl!!! just cos of a spoon!! and if you touch any food item by mistake with ur bare hands its fate is resigned to trash box!! so immaculate. I learned to appreciate why we should respect the people who work in hotels and all. I realised, lost in out own troubles how many things,how many people we take for granted. Believe me it is not easy working in a coffee shop. Setting up the whole strore each morning is only such a tiresome exercise!!
Well the classes went on. Initially, as usual I started studying in full josh. Was well ahead of the whole class. Soon I lost steam went back to old ways of keeping things until last moment. Being very disorganized. Started sleeping like 8 hrs a day again! Well had too many things on my mind then, was terribly depressing phase, days and nights became blurred i didn't know when I was waking up, when sleeping. Somehow managed to keep my head above water.
My first midterm marks were right at the bottom of the class. My ego was brunted terribly. I knew I was better than what I got! I swore to hit back with vengeance only to realise it doesn't work that way in USA. People work with vengeance and commitment throughout the semester! Well in middle of all this melee I along with sony started Gyan. Was a good diversion. I really admired the way she was working hard and giving shape to our long time dream. The way she tried bringing together to work was amazing I knew I have found a friend for a lifetime. It was then I realised that whoever is there with you or not your friends are always there. One phone call to rahul brought about such change..I was like why did I not call him before! Slowly things started falling back on track..I got a clasp on things! I managed to finish my first semester successfully with my head above the water. In totality was a great learning experience..learned a lot..
Soon next semester will start. Waiting for it. Hopefully I will be better prepared this time to accept the challenges that come my way. Bring it on I say!
