Hell's Canyon

A snapshot of my life here. These are some of the pictures of my first weekend when my friends, Parul (wearing white), Amit (in green) and Manasi (in black) took me along with them to Hell's Canyon, a national park a few hours' drive from Moscow.
Manasi very sweetly let me use her camera, and I think I clicked everything that caught my fancy. Will sort and post the link later...have to run for a class in a while, and this is not one that I am taking, it's one I am giving. So wish me luck!

Five Points Sayantani

Just wanted to write a quickie before dashing off to yet another class.
1. My apartment is made of wood.
2. Indians can be prejudiced and racist too. And usually very very unfairly so.
3. Americans love desserts and conversations as much as we do.
4. We treat our teachers with a lot more respect usually.
5. I have always disliked my name. It was a burden to carry around even in Delhi. I was tired of repeating it, explaining it, spelling it. Now I hate it. Not because it's been mocked or frowned upon or disliked. In fact, it's been treated with a lot more respect here than anywhere else. But I hate it now, simply because I am exhausted.

Class time! See you later.

The Weekend Rocked Because...

50th post on Kirrin Island, yippee. OG, my ex-boss would kill me if she were to see me start a sentence with digits as I just did in the last sentence...but somehow I didn't want to use the word fifty...this digital 50 seemed more appropriate.

So much for a completely useless and worthless introduction. Moving on.

In my new life here, I am trying to pack in as many first-s as possible. And make friends with as many people and nationalities as possible. As I see it, this is the only way I can justify leaving home, family, friends, and everything I was familiar with, in pursuit of a completely unnecessary but deliciously mad dream.

So what are the new things I did this weekend?
Friday evening I explored the entire University of Idaho library. That was awesome since it is huge, split on several floors, and has tons of books on every conceivable subject.

Saturday began on a good note. My flatmate Manasi had a friend over for the weekend, so the three of us made breakfast, then I got down to the nasty business of finally unpacking properly. That took pretty much the whole day. In the evening I came to the campus for a while, pottered around for a bit, and went back home to a dinner of all kinds of munchies, three kinds of American beer, and cigars. Yes, smoked my first cigar on Saturday, and I quite liked it. The three of us (I assume in a slightly inebriated state) composed a song; listened to Mark Knopfler, Indian Ocean and Rabbi (one after the other); ate several portions of delicious garlic bread, and finally went off to sleep at nearly 3 at night. Ah, the joys of living outside home again! :D

On Sunday I was invited over for lunch by the Albrechts. The Albrecht family is my friendship-family. They and I were matched together by the University of Idaho as part of the international friendship program. This is not incumbent on every new international student, it's something we are asked to do voluntarily. The idea caught my fancy, and since I am usually game to try everything at least once, I said "yes" without any hesitation. I met the Albrechts for the first time at the International Students Orientation Program. Their family comprises of Jason and Stacy (both school teachers and products of the U of I), their two sons Alex and Nik (Alex is a sports enthusiast whereas Nik is going to grow up to be a creative writer) and Jason's mother Lynda (fond of growing herbs and writing stories for children). So yesterday I went to their lovely house set amidst the hills, and had a great time chatting them up on subjects as diverse as Indian festivals to zucchini to Moscow vis-a-vis the bigger cities of US. I also met their two horses, three dogs, several cats, chickens and hens, and ate an authentic American lunch that included homemade icecream. It was fabulous! After several fun-filled hours with them, Jason and Stacy dropped me back to the campus where I had to attend the President's Dinner (something on the lines of a dinner thrown by the principal of a college/university in India).

This dinner was an outdoor event. First the U of I marching band played for us, and it was great fun to watch that. Then the President and the First Lady personally welcomed all of us new students. After that dinner was served to the accompaniment of live music. In the midst of it all, I befriended Michael, a student of landscape architecture who turned out to be a passionate pianist as well. And the best part? He could be easily coaxed to play some tracks for me.

Nice, packed Sunday. Loved it.

Fifty Observations

Spanning the last ten days or so...ever since I left home to come to my new home...here are fifty random observations.

1. The Indira Gandhi International Airport sucks. So much so that loo doors don't close.
2. The staff at the IGI Airport is cooperative and friendly.
3. I have had kinder-faced principals than the stern looking airhostesses that were aboard my flight from Delhi to Frankfurt. I was so petrified of them that debated a hundred times before asking them for water.
4. The same flight played several movies back to back...and entertaining ones at that.
5. Different matter altogether that they were all silent since something was wrong with the plane's sound system.
7. Watched a silent Ice Age for the first time in my life.
8. The food aboard this flight was cold, flaky, and little in amount.
9. The Frankfurt airport is spotlessly clean.
10. The Germans look and behave so efficiently that it's nearly scary.
11. The Air India flight from Frankfurt to Los Angeles had pretty and attentive airhostesses, very very good food, excellent sound system, and better TV programs.
12. Why? Just because the number of firangs were more on this flight than the earlier one did AI think it necessary to spruce up its act?
13. A flight where 96% or so of the passengers were Indians didn't deserve good service and good food is it?
14. The Los Angeles airport is HUGE.
15. I got lost a hundred times.
16. Everytime there was some staff member to bail me out with a "Hi! How may I help you?"
17. People (and not just staff) of all ages, shapes, sizes, features, and colors were helpful. So much for all those who had made me paranoid that post 9/11, American airports treat South Asians badly.
18. Los Angeles airport is big, huge, and somewhat confusing. But the people are friendly and helpful.
19. From Los Angeles, I caught an Alaska Airlines flight to the city of Spokane in the state of Washington.
20. Domestic airlines within the USA do not give the kind of meals Indian domestic airlines do.
21. They serve only meager refreshments.
22. I had a brilliantly red colored cranberry juice. The glass and the juice in it were lovely.
23. And the accompanying spicy peanuts were very good too.
24. The Americans love students.
25. Idaho is a mountanous state.
26. Walking up and down my University will make sure that I am reduced to half my size by the time I come back home.
27. Which is a good thing.
28. Of the international students I have met here I got along exceptionally well with this one guy from Peru and another from Zimbabwe.
29. The largest ethnic group from India here in Moscow comprises Teluguites...yes, Andhra Pradesh rules here.
30. My apartment number is B7.
31. It is located in the quietest place I have ever lived in my life. No one blows horns.
32. The food servings in America are huge.
33. You better not order a single plate by yourself. You will never be able to finish it.
34. I love my teachers already.
35. They are maha excited to have someone from India, a completely new experience for them too.
36. People actually work.
37. And they look up when you approach their desk/counter with a question. They take pains to answer and if they can't help you they make sure to direct you to someone who can.
38. In a small town like Moscow, it's common enough to leave your car unlocked for long periods of time.
39. My flatmate is a darling. Manasi loves silver, food, men, movies, books...in no particular order.
40. And makes excellent food.
41. Walmart spoils you for choices. Too many choices, too many brands may not always be a good thing.
42. Saying "hi" is inbuilt in this system. But at times I do wonder how much they mean it.
43. Moscow is pretty.
44. Health and health insurance is a hugely big deal.
45. Dinner invitations are at the ridiculous time of 5/6 pm usually!
46. It's nice and warm during the day but chilly at night.
47. I miss my phone.
48. And therefore not being able to call and sms all those people who were an intrinsic part of my daily life.
49. Life is good here.
50. I miss my mum the most.

Sunshine

I apologize for the disappearing act. I apologize to everyone who read the last blog post on Calcutta and commented, and did not get an answering comment in return. I apologize to everyone (including my parents) who checked and rechecked my blog every day to see if I have updated it, and saw no change in status. I apologize to the writer in me that saw situations, and mentally wove words all the time and thought that they would make excellent blog material but never got down to typing them out.

But please everyone, do forgive me. I have been getting used to a new life, to a whole new set of people, to a transition from being a professional to a student, to a way of living that is not necessarily better or worse than ours but is hugely different indeed. And all this takes time to get used to.

Someone I met today asked me, "So how does it feel to be here?" I pondered for a while before saying, "Overwhelming." Because that is indeed exactly how I feel. It's been a long journey. Nearly two years of thinking, mulling, planning, emailing, running, crying, saving, believing, smiling, and tiring myself before reaching my campus...the University of Idaho set in the beautiful city of Moscow in the state of Idaho, USA. I am still getting used to everything here, particularly because I am just one week old, and the campus itself is huge...so much so that I keep getting lost about a million times every day.

There are a hundred new experiences I am undergoing everyday. Learning completely new things like using a coffee percolator, sitting on the right side of the car and not driving, acquiring a taste for amber-colored, non-bitter and therefore better beer, lightning fast Internet, and my favorite...the fact that everyone greets one another, be it with a "hello" or a "hi" or "how you doing today" or "how's it going?" It's nice, polite and friendly.

I also want to write about my new home, my great set of friends here, my amazing
teachers, but I don't know where to start. It is, as I said before, overwhelming. Give me time. But for all those of you reading this, all I want to say is, I am glad to be here.

Memories of a Dear City

I had gone to Calcutta, my birthplace, a few weeks ago for a week-long vacation.
One's place of birth is always special, especially when it has repositories of affection like grandparents and sundry other members of the family. Which is why every trip to Calcutta is worth its weight in gold.

But if I were to look at it from an outsider’s point of view what would I see?

Firstly, a city that is any foodie’s paradise. Be it all kinds of non-vegetarian delicacies, or sweets, or several snacks and savories...there is food to suit every budget, location, and whim. My brother and I sampled a cross section of food...be it straightforward, no-frills street food, or fine dining at one of the premier restaurants of the city. Our verdict remained unchanged -- for good, value for money food, Calcutta is Mecca.

Secondly, it’s a city that revels in art, culture, creativity. Even the tiniest neighborhood seems to have a club of its own, with its own little library and book store. There are schools, colleges, museums, libraries, and several other such institutes that owe their modern day existence to our British masters’ decision to set them up in the then capital, Calcutta.

Thirdly, it is the place one should go to, to learn about a very significant part of India’s history. There are heritage buildings everywhere, balustrades and spires that would have seemed commonplace in 19th century England can be seen peeping out from the most unlikely corners, and there is an inbuilt, old-world charm that is hugely different from the flavor of other historically rich cities such as Delhi or Agra or Lucknow.

Despite all this and more, as also the new chief minister’s drive and zeal to improve things, a most obvious facet of Calcutta is how dirty it is. I am not just talking about the crowded parts of the city where a multitude and variety of people live, even inside a premier institute like Presidency College, which is unarguably one of the finest institutes of the country, the dirt factor is so high that my first thought was, “Thank god, I didn’t give in to a childhood whim and leave the pursuit of St Stephen’s to come and study in Presidency.” How can students not take pride in the environment in which they are studying? How is it okay in their scheme of things to invite professors and students from outside ostensibly in an attempt to show off their fine college and its infrastructure, and yet keep it so dirty and unlivable? Mind you, I went there on a day of work and activity, and the squalid environment and working conditions were pathetic.

Another problem with the city is the people themselves. Bengalis by far, must be some of the laziest people in the world. Give us the time to pursue beautiful, creative mistresses such as literature, painting, sculpture, music—-we are happy. Even academics can be our cup of tea. But tell us to exert ourselves, to sweat, to get up and work, to make money, to be commercially and financially successful...naah! That’s not us. Which is why every time I go to Calcutta, it strikes me how the entire city seems to sleep, to let things be the way they are and not shake them up, and therefore perhaps losing out on some of the shades and flavors of the unpredictable, exciting adventure called life.

Note: Pictures are ready and uploaded, but Flickr has chosen to give some trouble. Hopefully, it should be up and working soon.