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.