USA is a new world in itself, everything different from India so still
figuring out things. like the other day I took a metro shuttle- a bus
that takes u to the closest metro station. knowing not what to do I
just went inside and sat. the driver- a black lady asked me to come
back and get a ticket. I said k so they don't have a conductor. so how
much for a ticket, she said two dollars. I said k- I gave her a
twenty- she looked back at me and said that the machine will not give me any change back so I needed to tender the exact change. I didn't have any so she asked if
some one in the bus had a change for twenty. Everyone was looking around but none
had it so she said- k i'll give u a free ride. I said thanks n was
going back when a white lady in the back just took out two dollars and
gave it to me, asking me to keep it when i offered her the twenty dollar bill. however, what this whole episode did was bring me in notice of a lot of black fellows inside the bus. They started saying things to me, but thanks to their accent I couldn't get a word of what they were saying and I maintained my calm- smiling back at them. Once at the metro station I got off only to find them following me. I hurried downstairs but they caught with me soon and then started saying things. All I could get of the melee was that they were asking for my twenty dollar bill.
I was shit scared- they were four, heavily built and with the stories of guns being so easily available in USA- I literally froze for a moment. But i kept moving and thank god none came in my way allowing me to rush things up. Once on to the platform I kept on walking till I saw a white cop and went straight to him. I
asked him how to get a ticket. He led me to the counter and assisted me
there. Meanwhile the blacks did come over but the cop sensed their
intentions and asked them to move away. Soon the metro was there and I
got lost in its crowd.....
my first near mugging.
now I didn't go looking for trouble but it caught on to me.
Food worries
Today I made my first indian recipe. aalo ki sabzi with rice, and the good part is it was palatable.
usually we get processed food and eat that -like beritos, pizza ya aisa hi kuch. but since it was a week of free lunches and dinner for me, owing to the orientation, I didn't have to fend for food more than a couple of times. As for breakfast well its
cornflakes most of the time. We have bread but the taste is so
different from what we have in india. We usually get our groceries from shnucks- if you can call processed food, garlic paste, tomato puree as groceries! Have been to walmart- some stations away from where I live- an there I could see why everybody keeps flocking to this store. They have sell stuff which is cheap by a margin!
Another strange habit I have developed now is that now whenever I pick up an item, I tend to look at the nutrition facts printed on the same. I even looked up for nutrition facts on a packet of potatoes, but what left me startled was they had printed one on that too!
The american diet is low on fiber so whatever u do, try having more fibre
as raw vegetables else u will get constipated soon, especially if you come from India.
usually we get processed food and eat that -like beritos, pizza ya aisa hi kuch. but since it was a week of free lunches and dinner for me, owing to the orientation, I didn't have to fend for food more than a couple of times. As for breakfast well its
cornflakes most of the time. We have bread but the taste is so
different from what we have in india. We usually get our groceries from shnucks- if you can call processed food, garlic paste, tomato puree as groceries! Have been to walmart- some stations away from where I live- an there I could see why everybody keeps flocking to this store. They have sell stuff which is cheap by a margin!
Another strange habit I have developed now is that now whenever I pick up an item, I tend to look at the nutrition facts printed on the same. I even looked up for nutrition facts on a packet of potatoes, but what left me startled was they had printed one on that too!
The american diet is low on fiber so whatever u do, try having more fibre
as raw vegetables else u will get constipated soon, especially if you come from India.
my flight journey and first days in USA
I am still settling here in USA. The orientation program takes nearly all my
day. It starts at 8 in the morning with the breakfast and goes up till
dinner- so not much time to go around and look. Also once the
orientation ends i would be able to go to an Indian center to get a
calling card so that i can call back home. This weekend perhaps.
have to buy a laptop and also need to shift into a new apartment this
weekend. Food has not been a problem till now as all my meals are
being provided by the university itself thanks to the orientation
stuff...
Till now i have found the Americans to be very helpful, punctual
and carefree as far as dressing goes. The streets are sparkling and
the outside atmosphere or temperature has no bearance on you are in an
air conditioned environ for most part of the day- including my room,
the apartment lobby, the bus, the metro, the school the classes... you
name it and they have it.
The journey was good. Saw what traveling across time lines means... it
was day for the most part of my 32 hour journey leaving me totally
disoriented. still have a bit of jet lag left which surfaces
especially if i get some time during the day to sleep- leaving me
awake in the night...
The air hostess on Lufthansa were good but one was a stunner. Other
than that there was plenty of material available left right and center
to keep me awake through my journey- especially at the Frankfurt
airport. six hours of complete bliss. the people, the shops the luxury
and all. I was bowled over. then the trip to Denver was ok. nothing
great about it except that i had a lot of booze...
At Denver it was a complete dressing down to your basics for a
complete security check in person and of the luggage.
On the flight from Denver to Saint Louis was THE air hostess. boy. she
just had a single garment on her. nothing beneath it too. so tightly
hugging her curvaceous body and the lapels of her apparel gave you a
deep view into her inner assets- especially when she came asking sir
would u like something....
It was in Denver itself that I first saw the colors of America- a
mouth to mouth kiss in wide public view was my first, but by the time
i had reached home along with gangwani bhai- hardly 3 hours later- i had been
witness to three. Hard to keep your eyes off all those and it is thus
nothing strange that i find myself staring blankly at people. the
chicks are hot- and what makes them so is the way they dress... boy o
boy.
At the first day of orientation i saw a stunner- pity that she
belongs to a totally different course and I would hardly see her, but
it was better the next day as I had some classes and I got to share a
laptop with another whooper from health administration. and this time it was more
than just me ogling, I talked to her and had my eyes all over her.
alas a lot happening here
day. It starts at 8 in the morning with the breakfast and goes up till
dinner- so not much time to go around and look. Also once the
orientation ends i would be able to go to an Indian center to get a
calling card so that i can call back home. This weekend perhaps.
have to buy a laptop and also need to shift into a new apartment this
weekend. Food has not been a problem till now as all my meals are
being provided by the university itself thanks to the orientation
stuff...
Till now i have found the Americans to be very helpful, punctual
and carefree as far as dressing goes. The streets are sparkling and
the outside atmosphere or temperature has no bearance on you are in an
air conditioned environ for most part of the day- including my room,
the apartment lobby, the bus, the metro, the school the classes... you
name it and they have it.
The journey was good. Saw what traveling across time lines means... it
was day for the most part of my 32 hour journey leaving me totally
disoriented. still have a bit of jet lag left which surfaces
especially if i get some time during the day to sleep- leaving me
awake in the night...
The air hostess on Lufthansa were good but one was a stunner. Other
than that there was plenty of material available left right and center
to keep me awake through my journey- especially at the Frankfurt
airport. six hours of complete bliss. the people, the shops the luxury
and all. I was bowled over. then the trip to Denver was ok. nothing
great about it except that i had a lot of booze...
At Denver it was a complete dressing down to your basics for a
complete security check in person and of the luggage.
On the flight from Denver to Saint Louis was THE air hostess. boy. she
just had a single garment on her. nothing beneath it too. so tightly
hugging her curvaceous body and the lapels of her apparel gave you a
deep view into her inner assets- especially when she came asking sir
would u like something....
It was in Denver itself that I first saw the colors of America- a
mouth to mouth kiss in wide public view was my first, but by the time
i had reached home along with gangwani bhai- hardly 3 hours later- i had been
witness to three. Hard to keep your eyes off all those and it is thus
nothing strange that i find myself staring blankly at people. the
chicks are hot- and what makes them so is the way they dress... boy o
boy.
At the first day of orientation i saw a stunner- pity that she
belongs to a totally different course and I would hardly see her, but
it was better the next day as I had some classes and I got to share a
laptop with another whooper from health administration. and this time it was more
than just me ogling, I talked to her and had my eyes all over her.
alas a lot happening here
my visa interview on 2nd of August
The visa was scheduled for 0915 in the morning. I reached there at 8 am in the morning. It was raining heavily en route and i was thanking that I asked my brother to drop me at the counslate. After standing in the line for more than hour finally my documents were received at the counter outside and I was asked to go inside. After depositing my mobile and a security check I was inside the arena. First up was the finger prints counter- done up with it in a flash I was asked to go and stand in the second row- there were 6 candidates in front of me. In the other row- only 2, while a no of them were kept seated waiting their arrival- the immigrant visa row.
With in 5 mins I found myself at the front of the row guessing who was it going to be.
I was called for the interview in the corner most window- the guy who was handling the emergency appointments.
VO- YA (young guy, looks harried, probably missed his early morning coffee)
ME- Good Morning Sir
VO- Your papers.....
ME- (Gawd this man is in a foul mood)
VO- Why do you want to go to USA?
ME- Sir, I want to pursue Masters in public health from Saint Louis University.
VO- Are you practicing?
Me- No Sir
VO- Were you working before this?
Me- Yes sir
VO- Where?
ME- Sir, I was working as a Research physician in Alembic pharmaceuticals.
VO- So, you want to do research
Me- NO sir....(before i could say anything else)
VO- Which all universities did you apply to?
ME- pardon me
VO- (repeats question)
ME- Sir I applied to University of Pittsburgh, Boston University, Yale University, Saint Louis University, University of South Florida, U MASS at Amherst.
VO- Which was your priority university
ME- Saint Louis University
VO- (surprised) over Yale University?
ME- (taken aback) No sir, but I got rejected from Yale university
VO- prove it to me that Saint Louis university is the best.
Me- Sir, the university is highly acclaimed and the school of public health
specially is well known. Moreover my course in epidemiology is.....
VO- (interrupts in between, looks perplexed) What's Epidedmiology.
ME- (I knew I had my chance-the guy knew nothing about epidemiology) Sir Epiemiology is....( and I started ranting- all medical lingo)
VO- K, who's going to sponsor your education
ME- Sir My father
VO- Whats his annual Income.
ME- (I have been half guessing his questions as the sound quality was pathetic) SIR?
VO- your father's annual income?
ME- Four lakhs (not exact so I thought I should consult my papers for the exact figure)
VO- What is the net worth of your fathers liquid assets.
ME- (Still consulting the papers)
VO- I don't want to see your papers.
ME- Sir 50,000 US $
VO- In Rupees...
ME- 16 lakhs
VO- Is that enough for your education?
ME- Sir I have a loan of 25000 US $, I mean 10 lakh Rupees
VO- K *@$@@(&($@&($&@$&(@&$(@&$^&*&)(&(
ME- (in my mind- Whats he saying now. K he's kept my passport. means I would get the visa I presume) Thank you sir.
picked up my bag and went out with a smile on my face and a purpose in my walk.
I am going to USA!!!
With in 5 mins I found myself at the front of the row guessing who was it going to be.
I was called for the interview in the corner most window- the guy who was handling the emergency appointments.
VO- YA (young guy, looks harried, probably missed his early morning coffee)
ME- Good Morning Sir
VO- Your papers.....
ME- (Gawd this man is in a foul mood)
VO- Why do you want to go to USA?
ME- Sir, I want to pursue Masters in public health from Saint Louis University.
VO- Are you practicing?
Me- No Sir
VO- Were you working before this?
Me- Yes sir
VO- Where?
ME- Sir, I was working as a Research physician in Alembic pharmaceuticals.
VO- So, you want to do research
Me- NO sir....(before i could say anything else)
VO- Which all universities did you apply to?
ME- pardon me
VO- (repeats question)
ME- Sir I applied to University of Pittsburgh, Boston University, Yale University, Saint Louis University, University of South Florida, U MASS at Amherst.
VO- Which was your priority university
ME- Saint Louis University
VO- (surprised) over Yale University?
ME- (taken aback) No sir, but I got rejected from Yale university
VO- prove it to me that Saint Louis university is the best.
Me- Sir, the university is highly acclaimed and the school of public health
specially is well known. Moreover my course in epidemiology is.....
VO- (interrupts in between, looks perplexed) What's Epidedmiology.
ME- (I knew I had my chance-the guy knew nothing about epidemiology) Sir Epiemiology is....( and I started ranting- all medical lingo)
VO- K, who's going to sponsor your education
ME- Sir My father
VO- Whats his annual Income.
ME- (I have been half guessing his questions as the sound quality was pathetic) SIR?
VO- your father's annual income?
ME- Four lakhs (not exact so I thought I should consult my papers for the exact figure)
VO- What is the net worth of your fathers liquid assets.
ME- (Still consulting the papers)
VO- I don't want to see your papers.
ME- Sir 50,000 US $
VO- In Rupees...
ME- 16 lakhs
VO- Is that enough for your education?
ME- Sir I have a loan of 25000 US $, I mean 10 lakh Rupees
VO- K *@$@@(&($@&($&@$&(@&$(@&$^&*&)(&(
ME- (in my mind- Whats he saying now. K he's kept my passport. means I would get the visa I presume) Thank you sir.
picked up my bag and went out with a smile on my face and a purpose in my walk.
I am going to USA!!!
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