Temme how does it feel?

I can't believe I got time to write this post today. Ever since I have arrived in the US of A, life has been on a roller coaster and whenever people ask "How does it feel to be in US", I just wish I could be more precise in answering it. The only thought that comes to my mind is "Wish I had done my undergrad here". I would have been so different a person as far as knowing the subject is concerned". I just love the way the curriculum stuff is handled here. Its "full paisa vasool" for me after all the hard work they make you do in the assignments. And the amount of time you keep pondering on a problem after which something strikes all of a sudden is just an amazing feeling which I never experienced back in India and its reason- quite obvious right?.

Talking about life here: "Competing is what you do throughout the semester. Assignments is what you are hooked onto, and sleep?.."when was the last time I had a peaceful one?.. is what you will ask" But at the end of the day satisfaction guaranteed! And this is the part that keeps me going. Satisfaction does not include good grades though. You will be satisfied that you worked hard enough for the course but the curve compares your efforts with other students who are many more times sharper than you. So that makes a difference.

Time for fun is something you will find only at the end of the semester and if you are still able to find time for it during the semester, then I must say you are either superb at time management or you are definately not studying. But studies apart, life is peaceful. Although walking is something you will be doing most time of the day,it is very unlikely that it will make you tired. I had never before enjoyed walking so much. The only thing I dislike is the cold because I am not made for it. Winter in Mumbai or Pune used to be too much for me, so you can imagine my situation here, but somehow I have gotten used to it now with all the jackets and hand gloves and what not. It takes me five minutes to wear all that before leaving home. If nothing else, it surely makes me look fatter so that makes my mom happy to see my pictures.

Friday nights are heaven because although you still know you have to work on the assignments, just the thought that you are going to be home makes you feel better. Friday nights are when me and my roomie are motivated to cook some stuff other than sandwich and omlette which almost is the staple food during the weekdays.

Mid month and month end is the time when I happy because we get the paycheck and however small amount it may be, it makes me feel good about myself. Shopping is meant only for groceries. In fact, we don't use the word shopping when we mean groceries. We just say groceries, which is boring because the stuff we bring is almost the same everytime and we almost know which counter to go and what to pick to make the process faster.

Any kind of manual labor costs a lot here; exactly the opposite of what used to be in Mumbai. I used to love that part about Mumbai.People usually buy stuff online here. Once you stay here, the one thing you are bound to notice is, when it comes to time, they are very particular about it. If you don't reach on time , you are bound to miss many things, be it catching the shuttle or attending a seminar or class or even submitting an assignment.

Cooking food is something which can't be done daily and hearing any Indian recepie makes me feel nostalgic and I remember my mom's garam rotis that I used to have everyday for breakfast and still used to complain about having not having variety. My favorite dishes after coming here are anything that tastes remotely Indian, which is none unfortunately. I can't tell you how much I miss my fish and kokam kari! the total fish person that I am.

I truly loved watching out of the window when it snowed the first time after I came here. So excited was I, that I didn't even want my parents to miss it. I sometimes wonder how people stayed without skype before. It makes life so convenient. But technical problems do occur and then it becomes irritataing because when my mom said she couldn't see the snow actually falling, I had to collect a handful of snow to prove to her that it was really snowing.

I think there will be some generation which will also enjoy the transfer of food and smell online and then they will make the same comment about how our generation survived without it. That would be the ultimate discovery if anyone did make it work. How I wish my generation should be the fortunate one to make that statement. So that's all about my feelings on life in US till now. I am sure to experience many more things ahead, but I think I will save it for the future posts. :)