A significant enough milestone to warrant a post methinks.
I want to sound like those immigrants in a Jhumpa Lahiri book right now and muse about how I came here with nothing but thats not exactly true though. I came here with 3 suitcases - 69 Kgs - thanks to the generosity of Jet Airways which recognized my student disposition and fleeced me accordingly. And contrary to all those immigrants in Ms. Lahiri's books who went on to do well for themselves, (that is, if you consider becoming a tenured professor at University of Oregon or wherever, doing well for yourself) I continue to descend faster into student loan debt than those scary roller coasters at Disney World. Yes, a massive negative. So judging by conventional FOB (Fresh Of the Boat) standards, you might be tempted to categorize my one year as a massive "FAIL" but that too is not exactly true though.
I think I've had a change of heart about America. Let me explain. When I first came here on a work trip, I left begging God not to EVER send me on a foreign trip again. Knowing how all of us clamour for foreign trips and assignments, you must guess that my trip was awful. It was not awful. It was terrible and traumatic and Emotional scar inducing. I got ripped off by a cab driver to the tune of $150 (my fault entirely) and lost my luggage (not my fault). I wept on the sidewalk of NY and watched people pass me by without so much as a cold stare. I never wanted to return to such a cold country I declared. I must admit that I was deeply injured that a NY cabbie duped me. But that incident not withstanding, I found myself opening the door of an empty house in North Carolina this time last year, not half ready to meet the rigours of a demanding MBA program. I was out of a long term relationship and I felt alone and messed up.
I reconstructed my life gradually and it must be said America made it easy for me. I had a bank account, phone, a furnished house and a car in less than ten days. Nowhere in the world would I have been able to grow some roots so quickly and so easily. My 3 suitcases grew to fill up an entire closet and I have, with great alacrity, amassed a shoe collection which at last count was 42 pairs (alarming hint on where my loans are going). Tucked away in my own bubble, America gave me the space and time to introspect about my life. Space that would not be possible in any other place. I eventually came out of my bubble and was embraced by the extrovert population of this country. The people I've met and the experiences I have had have made me more social and extroverted.I like the fact that I can start a random conversation with anybody here something I don't do back home. I once got an education on Japan by a waitress at my favourite cafe. It also made me more independent and self reliant. I would have also added "polite" but I was always polite FYI.
After a year, I feel enriched and different. Thats when you know you've changed. Your outlook on life, people and experiences are no longer black and white. For that alone, thank you America.
