As said earlier, here’s the second post for the month of July – made it just on the month end. It’s getting difficult to recall past memories now, especially when you face so many new experiences recently. But I will try my best and put down as much as I can recall in this post. This post will cover the last few days I spent in US and the return journey back to India.
The latter half of my life in US was spent in what we called GMAPS House. SK, SM and I started living in a 2 BHK apartment which became a “Home Away from Home” for the 3 of us. Later, AV joined us and we 4 spent many memorable days in there. Life was going on well with no tensions and we were living together with a smile on our faces. Sometimes, I did miss my family and friends who were there in India but I occasionally made it a point that I would talk to them.
VP came to Phoenix and finally after so many month of working together (though on phone), we finally came face-to-face with each other. I always had this impression on hearing her voice that she would be intelligent and wise. When I saw her, I was surprised to see her look much younger than what I expected her to be. She looked shorter and like a kid – maybe my imagination of her was totally opposite like I expected a much elder woman when I thought of VP.
After she came, there were lots of fun filled evenings going on with SK, her, AV and rest of us. We were a team and united – it showed by the gesture PK made by inviting all of us to his place for a get-together and dinner. It was a second family to me and I felt really lucky to have been working with such great people. I owe them a lot.
Time passes by and it never stops for any one. Same is the case with me – 6 months passed by at onshore and I never realized it. The time came when I was about to leave for offshore. This is a time when I had mixed emotions in my mind – sad to leave this new-found family out here in US and happy to go back to my motherland, to my parents and friends out there in India. I promised myself that tears would not roll down my eyes when I leave from here but it was bound to happen – I knew this already in my mind.
Shopping time came in and I started to buy stuff which I had discussed with my family and friends that I would bring them from US. Packing time was at leisure when I started the packing slowly but surely – few minutes each day in the last week.
The day arrived when I was to board the flight to London from Phoenix and then go to Mumbai. As was the case when I came here, it was a BA flight all the way till Mumbai – the flight leaving from Phoenix in the evening. I spent the last day in office working little, taking photos of clients and my team members with me – to capture the memories of the workplace that I learnt in. For the last 2-3 days, I had that intuition that VP was not feeling well. She had a tradition that any one of us who stayed at onsite was supposed to be coming at her place for dinner which she used to prepare all by herself. I could have done the dinner at her place, but I realized that her health wasn’t fully well and I got busy in my packing and other work routine. I just wanted her to get well and take care of herself. She had been a great influence in my life and I always wish well for her.
VD came to drop me in his car at the Sky Harbor International Airport, Phoenix – along with him came SK and AV. It was an emotional drive back to the airport for me as I quietly remembered all those memories and fun filled moments I spent with these people. At the terminal, I gave a rich, creamy STARBUCKS treat to all of them and we spent some time talking, joking and having a nice, last time together before I depart towards the gate.
I proceeded towards the departure gate after bidding farewell to my friends. The flight was going to be a long one and again I was alone travelling back to London. I gave one final phone call to SK and talked to him, AV before I went for the security check – as I spoke with them, tears did eventually roll down my eyes. They assured me that they will also miss me and that I should come back to them soon. I somehow knew in my mind that Phoenix would not in m future plans any sooner.
The flight was very nice and by now I had the experience of flying – having been around in US too on flights. I reached London in the afternoon around lunch time – again on Terminal 4. This time, I made sure I had proper food (even though it was not Indian food) so that I’m not hungry again during the afternoon and early evening. The flight from London to Mumbai was going to depart at night and I had to spend 9 hours at the terminal.
A thought crossed my mind if I should get a transit visa to roam around London since the wait time was more than 6 hours – but then I realized that Heathrow Airport may not be close to the city of London and let’s instead rest for the next flight.
In the evening, I had an early dinner/snack at the terminal itself before I proceeded to my flight’s gate with no hurry at all. I had enough time to reach to the gate and I was going through some photos that I took at the Terminal 4 during the day. The afternoon again was gloomy, dark as if London’s climate never changed from the last time when I was there at this terminal.
The flight from London to Mumbai started at night and was expected to reach Mumbai in the morning at around 11:30 IST – it was a Thursday, if I remember well. My parents were going to come at the airport to receive me – and my Aunt also came as she had done during my flight to Phoenix in November 2006. My flight reached Mumbai in time and once I landed in India (especially in Mumbai), I realized how humid it can get for a person who comes to Mumbai. I patiently walked through the baggage unloading process and other customs formalities. Once I came out of the terminal, I saw Dad somewhere in the crowd and waved to him. I walked out and reached a vacant place where Dad came and embraced me, welcoming me back. We proceeded towards a jeep that Dad had brought and there I met my Mom and Aunt.
Usually, my Mom does not show much emotion but that day, she had tears in her eyes when she saw me and she quickly hugged me – she was happy to see me back and proud that at such an age, I stayed away from her and everyone else and became independent. I had learnt how to live on my own and for my parents, they felt that I had grown up in life now that I can take care of myself.
I met Aunt and took her blessings. We then loaded the bags in the jeep and drove back home. All the roads, people and places looked so new to me even though I had come back to my own city. When I reached home, the place itself looked so small as I had been staying in a 2 BHK in US for all that time. My brother came home later as he had gone for his examination at that time.
I was going to join office back on Monday only and so I had the long weekend that I had hoped for. Much needed rest after coming back home and having lived an entire new chapter in your own life.
I end the post now having recalled as much as I could. The next post will not cover much detail about my Syntel work back at offshore and I would wrap it at the point when I resign in order to go for my MBA at Nirma University, Ahmedabad. If you feel that I’ve missed out on anything in this post, kindly provide your feedback and I’ll make sure I’ll write it in my next post.
Signing off now. See ya, friends!
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Half a Year in US
First of all, apologies to everyone for not having posted an entry in the month of June. Just could not find time for it and hence I have thought of entering 2 posts for the month of July. The last post described the days before I was to leave for onsite and how I went through the deputation process and then flight travel.
Now, I start with the work life when being in front of the client as privileged as American Express. The entire complex of buildings and infrastructure at American Express was commendable. Work life was located in a shared cubicle with few Syntel colleagues from other teams and some other vendors’ work partners like IBM. PK’s cubicle was straight in front of our cubicle and so he was easily accessible. SK and I used to walk from Pillars to Sonterra in the cold mornings so that we go to office with PK in his car. When coming back, we used to alternate between various people for going back home (yes, that was our kind of home now for us).
The first week was a short one as I landed in US during the week which had a 4 day long Thanksgiving weekend. I didn’t know much about Thanksgiving celebrated in US but out here it was a big deal. People shopped like crazy during this time as they could things for a really less price – it was the season of Megadiscounts and Rebates. This concept fascinated me a lot and I had a unique experience of shopping for Thanksgiving. Although I was not keen to do any shopping for myself, but I survived the night without sleeping for more than 2 hours so that we could maintain our position in a long queue outside a superstore chain. I saw people standing in a queue for the entire night, say from midnight to 5 am when the store used to open especially during Thanksgiving. I saw people shopping like crazy, waiting in the cold night outside and bringing their comforters, coffee mugs, some of them even carrying a tent to sleep on the pavement outside the store.
American clients were a delight to work with – professional yet approachable and friendly. They lived a work life where they worked simply 8 hours a day. – either 7 to 3 or 9 to 5. I learnt a lot about how they look at things with a different perspective. They balance their work life well and it is nice to see that. We wish we could manage this in our lives too – its not difficult, just that we do not stop a moment and look on what’s going on in our life.
Work was going good with regular meetings with clients in which we reported the status of our work in the week. Knowledge was abundantly available when interacting with clients, PK and VD. These guys had spent many years learning the business and were masters in their own. SK was the guy with whom I shared many light-hearted, funny moments. We had developed a nice friendship during my entire time out there.
Grocery shopping was something I learnt from the nearby FRY’s Supermarket. Weekly shopping for us roomies ran into a bill of $100 each week. But the layout and design of the supermarket was so beautiful that shopping was actually enjoyable even for guys.
Circumstances in your life make you who you are. They say life is the greatest teacher of them all. I learnt the art of cooking when I was in US – yes I would call it an “Art” rather than “Science” as I thoroughly enjoyed cooking food – for me as well as for roomies, friends, etc. Prior to living in US, I knew only how to make tea but here I learned to cook food like Vegetables, Chicken, Prawns, Rice, Dal, etc. We never made Chapatis but instead used a substitute named Tortillas which were similar.
The greatest compliment I got for my cooking skills did come from SK himself. I had prepared Aloo Mutter and after eating it, SK told me that today this Aloo Mutter reminded him of his mother’s cooking. What music to my ears – when a close friend says this, that you could remind him of his mother through preparing food for him, that sums it up. A defining moment in my life captured here! Thank you SK.
We travelled a lot during my 6 months there. Places included Sedona, Las Vegas, Flagstaff, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Apache Trail, Fountain Hills, Lake Pleasant and Phoenix Zoo – to name a few. SK was with me on almost all of these trips and we clicked photos like anything. I had bought a new Canon digital camera and I was in awe of it – constantly using it for any trivial scene or place to capture it. Sedona was a beautiful, colorful place to have a nice weekend. Las Vegas is America’s playground and I’m quite sure all you people know what kind of experiences you can get there. Flagstaff is where I tried my hand at Skiing and it was a tiring, yet enjoyable experience. Los Angeles was simply amazing with trips to Universal Studios and other places – easily one of my highlights. Washington DC was a very cool place with plenty of greenery around and Baltimore Harbor and Maryland Science Centre were really cool places to hang out. Apache Trail was a Roadies kind of experience with it being a really perilous road to travel and yet enjoy the scenery and the valley around. Phoenix Zoo was a long 1-day experience but really nice to see the wildlife around – impressively maintained by Phoenix City as compared to our Mumbai’s Byculla Zoo.
I made new friends there and had fond memories of sharing some cherished moments with them. Quite a rewarding experience. I met new people with whom we had our differences (SK and I) but we learnt from this experience too on how to handle such situations.
In January 2007, we both setup our new home which we called GMAPS House along with a third team mates named SM. It was a 2 BHK in Pillars and 1 more team mate named AV was expected to join us soon. The process of buying things for your new place and making it look like home is another experience which I would not have learnt if I had stayed in India during that time period. This place had a special place in my heart as I now knew what it is like to create your own home, put each thing in its right place and look at the final product and be proud of how you made your home.
I end the post now having recalled as much as I could. The next post will touch upon my last few days in US and the return journey to our beloved motherland India. If you feel that I’ve missed out on anything in this post, kindly provide your feedback and I’ll make sure I’ll write it in my next post.
Signing off now. See ya, friends!
Now, I start with the work life when being in front of the client as privileged as American Express. The entire complex of buildings and infrastructure at American Express was commendable. Work life was located in a shared cubicle with few Syntel colleagues from other teams and some other vendors’ work partners like IBM. PK’s cubicle was straight in front of our cubicle and so he was easily accessible. SK and I used to walk from Pillars to Sonterra in the cold mornings so that we go to office with PK in his car. When coming back, we used to alternate between various people for going back home (yes, that was our kind of home now for us).
The first week was a short one as I landed in US during the week which had a 4 day long Thanksgiving weekend. I didn’t know much about Thanksgiving celebrated in US but out here it was a big deal. People shopped like crazy during this time as they could things for a really less price – it was the season of Megadiscounts and Rebates. This concept fascinated me a lot and I had a unique experience of shopping for Thanksgiving. Although I was not keen to do any shopping for myself, but I survived the night without sleeping for more than 2 hours so that we could maintain our position in a long queue outside a superstore chain. I saw people standing in a queue for the entire night, say from midnight to 5 am when the store used to open especially during Thanksgiving. I saw people shopping like crazy, waiting in the cold night outside and bringing their comforters, coffee mugs, some of them even carrying a tent to sleep on the pavement outside the store.
American clients were a delight to work with – professional yet approachable and friendly. They lived a work life where they worked simply 8 hours a day. – either 7 to 3 or 9 to 5. I learnt a lot about how they look at things with a different perspective. They balance their work life well and it is nice to see that. We wish we could manage this in our lives too – its not difficult, just that we do not stop a moment and look on what’s going on in our life.
Work was going good with regular meetings with clients in which we reported the status of our work in the week. Knowledge was abundantly available when interacting with clients, PK and VD. These guys had spent many years learning the business and were masters in their own. SK was the guy with whom I shared many light-hearted, funny moments. We had developed a nice friendship during my entire time out there.
Grocery shopping was something I learnt from the nearby FRY’s Supermarket. Weekly shopping for us roomies ran into a bill of $100 each week. But the layout and design of the supermarket was so beautiful that shopping was actually enjoyable even for guys.
Circumstances in your life make you who you are. They say life is the greatest teacher of them all. I learnt the art of cooking when I was in US – yes I would call it an “Art” rather than “Science” as I thoroughly enjoyed cooking food – for me as well as for roomies, friends, etc. Prior to living in US, I knew only how to make tea but here I learned to cook food like Vegetables, Chicken, Prawns, Rice, Dal, etc. We never made Chapatis but instead used a substitute named Tortillas which were similar.
The greatest compliment I got for my cooking skills did come from SK himself. I had prepared Aloo Mutter and after eating it, SK told me that today this Aloo Mutter reminded him of his mother’s cooking. What music to my ears – when a close friend says this, that you could remind him of his mother through preparing food for him, that sums it up. A defining moment in my life captured here! Thank you SK.
We travelled a lot during my 6 months there. Places included Sedona, Las Vegas, Flagstaff, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Apache Trail, Fountain Hills, Lake Pleasant and Phoenix Zoo – to name a few. SK was with me on almost all of these trips and we clicked photos like anything. I had bought a new Canon digital camera and I was in awe of it – constantly using it for any trivial scene or place to capture it. Sedona was a beautiful, colorful place to have a nice weekend. Las Vegas is America’s playground and I’m quite sure all you people know what kind of experiences you can get there. Flagstaff is where I tried my hand at Skiing and it was a tiring, yet enjoyable experience. Los Angeles was simply amazing with trips to Universal Studios and other places – easily one of my highlights. Washington DC was a very cool place with plenty of greenery around and Baltimore Harbor and Maryland Science Centre were really cool places to hang out. Apache Trail was a Roadies kind of experience with it being a really perilous road to travel and yet enjoy the scenery and the valley around. Phoenix Zoo was a long 1-day experience but really nice to see the wildlife around – impressively maintained by Phoenix City as compared to our Mumbai’s Byculla Zoo.
I made new friends there and had fond memories of sharing some cherished moments with them. Quite a rewarding experience. I met new people with whom we had our differences (SK and I) but we learnt from this experience too on how to handle such situations.
In January 2007, we both setup our new home which we called GMAPS House along with a third team mates named SM. It was a 2 BHK in Pillars and 1 more team mate named AV was expected to join us soon. The process of buying things for your new place and making it look like home is another experience which I would not have learnt if I had stayed in India during that time period. This place had a special place in my heart as I now knew what it is like to create your own home, put each thing in its right place and look at the final product and be proud of how you made your home.
I end the post now having recalled as much as I could. The next post will touch upon my last few days in US and the return journey to our beloved motherland India. If you feel that I’ve missed out on anything in this post, kindly provide your feedback and I’ll make sure I’ll write it in my next post.
Signing off now. See ya, friends!
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