Saturday, January 24, 2009

The Multi-Phases of an Individuals Life Abroad...

Till date the craze and the hype of coming to The United States of America is to the highest level. As a matter of fact I know its gonna continue for atleast another decade. But after landing to US I dont understand what people are so crazy for . Is it about the cold weather (where you atleast need 25-30 minutes to wear all those layers of clothes before you even step out of your house to check your mail) or about cleaning your own bathroom by your own precious hands(as a student or even an H1 applicant I dont think anyone can afford to hire a Hispanice female to do the special chore for you) or is it the Tissue Culture(I dont need to explain this I guess..Its a real nuisance and extremely unhygenic especially for a true Indian who believes in spilling more water on the floor than what he actually uses) .. huh!!!! ok... as all of you must have come to know by now . I am not a very big fan of this "US" Lifestyle... To disclose a fact before coming to US I never fantasized about the whole thing of coming to 1 of the most devloped countries in the world and how amazing its gonna be.. I never had that bit of thrill and excitment in me about living alone from parents - take the extra advantage of getting the freedom and enjoying it. As a matter of fact I felt it as a not the very pleasant side. Living away form your parents means so much of resposiblity.. so much of work.. When I was leaving from my home I was just a 22 year old girl who had the habit of not getting up every morning till my Mom loses her temper and at night not going to bed till Dad loses his... So to make it short I was and I am form a very middle class conservative background where my Dadi has to make sure that both her grand daughters are well inside the house before the clock strucks 10 at night. So after coming to US it was like a big mystery for me.. "To take the advatnage of your freedom means exactly do what " Go out to pubs till late night and drink... But everything costs money man... And that also dollars out here... Trust me I am still pondering on this topic...

After shifting to US "Indiscipline" has become the most prominent word in my life. There is no fixed time at what we sleep.. Oops !! I am sorry there might not be a fixed time but yes there is a fixed time range... We definately never sleep before 2am and never ever get up before 10am.. No matter what happens.. The smoke detector goes on or there is a fire-engine down our building . We just dont care... Then at around 12pm or sometimes its also 2 or 3 in the afternoon that I get up.. Then goes the standard breakfast.. Cereals and Milk! In another hour or 2 it gets dark as if its already 10 in the night.. The whole day is just wasted either in kitchen racking your brains on what to cook or it may be actual cooking or it can even be cleaning the utensils that your roomies wants to use and you have left it unwashed from your last night dinner....

But as they say evey coin has two sides.... Now about the other side of this so called happening life in the States... The best part is you learn to cook! No matter you are a gal or a guy... This two years of masters you learn to atleast fetch yourself a meal that will help you survive.. You learn to value even a small stick of corriander leaf and how valuable it is... I dont know how true this is for every individual but thats what says my personal experience! After coming anywhere abroad you understand what miracles have some people made by making talk engines like skype or gtalk... It really makes me feel that the world is a small place to live when I was having a conference call with my friends 1 from UK, 1 from Mumbai and 1 from a remote town in the middle of Maharastra (state in India). After living alone you even understand the value of the culture your parents have just embedded within you. And not only that you understand the value of just having people around you, talking to you, caring about you..its actually so animated! Once I shifted in with my 6 room mates in this spacious 3BHK apt I had a tryst with this feeling of responsiblity towards my house. It all started by keeping the house clean, getting the furniture which suits the house.. This was a new feeling for me.. It was never before like this for me.. It was always my Mom-Dads duty to take care of the house. It was a new and very sweet feeling. Seemed like growing up all over again in life...

To brief up the stay away form once home is like biting a piece of tamarind you never know when its sweet and when its sour... For me staying here is all about carrying gallons of milk all the way from the grocery store in the cold, its about getting excited to see you friends away in India online and chatting with them for hours, its all about going through some old photographs and crying like a baby all of a sudden, its all about having fun with 7 gals cooking in the same kitchen and having fun cooking, its all about missing that warm hug form your mom and waiting for the day to rise in India and hear her voice on the Skype call again, its all about sitting at Dunkin in night sipping hot choclate while it is -10C outside, its all about missing your grandparents and there questions which were like a nuisance to answer then but which you die for when you are away, its all about checking for the lowest calling cards rate so that you can call them, its all about staying up till 5am solving just 3 problems of your assingment,its all about missing you and your sister wearing your clothes and making the fit go wrong,its all about giving your roomies your clothes to make up for that mistake......

I really miss all of you.... Bye! God bless you...

4 comments:

Unknown said...

This is so koool.. awesome description...

Abhijeet Shirgurkar said...

Well written...........
The main point of studying abroad is not at all education but to learn how to take care of yourself as well as others. Only then you know the effort that your parents take on you. Only then you understand the true value of your parents, relatives, friends, everyone.

keep writing.....

Unknown said...

hey this is superb ya......I personally feel everybody should experience such kinda lifestyla for atleast once in your life...Truly amazing..keep writing good going gal

SVM said...

It is really wonderful to read. It is really very difficult to go abroad for higher studies. Every part of the life is demanding. You have to understand so many things especially cooking just to survive. Then taking care of your clothes, your everdemanding study courses, submissions and the various events cultural, educational etc etc. That too in a limited budget. Life abroad is very different than at home. Those who survive first week wins the battle.