The 2nd Episode..

Well, im back again. I know its been too long but they say, its never too late. So here it goes:


Loving each day, if it’s our last, dancing all night and having a blast- Boyzone
Well, that’s exactly the way I’m spending my days here, though they are surely not my last days but since I want to make the most of each moment I spend here I’m treating them as one. The last six months have totally been a roller coaster ride for me. Traveling, partying, working and studying. I should surely consider myself as a multitasker after being able to carryout the above mentioned things together. The anxiety of the first snowfall, of being able to get the best deal in the black Friday sale and of the announcement of the President of the United States are few of the most special and memorable moments I’ve witnessed in these past few months.
I remember in my last PDJ I mentioned my excitement towards the coming of Thanksgiving and Christmas and certainly both these occasions stood up to its hype. Besides drooling over the thought of the image of huge turkey resting on a dining table with loads of food for the thanksgiving day, I think its the day after thanksgiving that people yearn for, also very well known as the Black Friday. I certainly would cherish that day because that’s when I made my first and most precious investment; a laptop. Though owning it was not an easy affair at all. One has to stand outside the shop starting from 1 or 2 in the night in order to be able to grab the best deal that particular shop was offering. Same was with me but at the end of the day it all seemed worth an effort when you finally have your prize in your hand. Just after the Thanksgiving came the day I believe not only the Americans but people throughout the world were waiting for, the Declaration of the 44th President of United Sates. It was an awestruck moment for me when Mr. Barrack Obama was finally announced the winner. Sitting at home all alone, I just sat there on my couch and watched the speech made by both Mr. Obama and Mr. McCain. Meanwhile through my window I also happened to noticed the Empire States with its blue, red and white light on top, truly in sync with the event that was happening.
I won’t be wrong if I said that NY is a place to be during Christmas. The tinkling snowflakes, the welcoming angels and the magnificently lit up Christmas tree at Rockefeller is a must see. Even the artistically decorated windows of all the famous outlets like Macy’s and Lord & Taylor were crowd attractions. But the midnight mass at St Francis of Assisi church on 24th night was something that completed the essence of the season. It was also one of the moments I missed my family and friends back home very dearly but being with my other family here which by default are the Mountbatten interns was an interesting experience by itself. I would have also loved to experience the ball drop at Times Square on New Year’s but my friends backed out on me, terrified of all the cold wintry breeze and crowd of people that they’ll have to come across. Any which way I still managed to be surrounded by a loads of people at the stroke of 12 somewhere in New York and spent my New Year in a way an American would have, so no regrets.
Another adventure and something that I one always wanted to do as a child was visiting the Walt Disney Park. This happened out of the blue right in the first week of January. My friend managed to get free ticket to any of their park for 3 days. One thing I can’t help but mention is my journey to Orlando. In fact the second time I ever got onto a plane but this time I was all alone. It may not sound like a big deal now but at that moment it was, at least for me. It was also a nice place to be in January, away from the cold and snowy weather of New York and I remember I had to literally drag myself to the airport on my way back from the trip.
Besides all the partying and roaming, work also went on pretty smooth. Though the scene in the workplace was not a pleasant one because of the crisis which left nothing untouched. There was not much to do for a month or so besides bidding farewell to fellow colleagues. At this time the Cambridge assignment happened to be catalyst that kept me on the move and also helped me communicate better with the people at work. I had to speak to many at work, firstly to decide on what problem to work on and then confirm the solutions that I’ve come up with could be really worked out. I really had fun doing this assignment and the feedbacks from my professor were a great help all way long. The presentation was a great way to put forward my ideas that were in mind right from the time I commenced my work here, it helped so much that my views were highly appreciated by everyone and is already on it ways to being implemented. My overall involvement at work and the assignment also helped me earn very good reviews in my evaluation.
Well this assignment required a lot of work, and so a week's vacation to the west coast of US truly turned out to be break I ever wanted. Walking through the famous Beverly hills, rodeo drive and Hollywood boulevard in Los Angeles, glaring at the ultimate beauty of the grand canyon, walking by the lit up streets of Las Vegas and then finally strolling on the golden gate of San Francisco was almost a dream come true for me. I loved every bit about that trip and would recommend everyone visiting US to do it without fail. Coming from India, Mumbai were the temperature doesn’t go below 15 degree Celsius even in the winter season, and here in New York where the word cold means below 0 degrees plus wind running at the speed of 40 kmp was not at all easy. If not for the heaters at home I don’t think I would have survived it after all. Seeing the snow was exciting but just the first time, later it was never that pleasant to walk on. It is very beautiful to see the streets and the trees covered with snow, especially central park but only if one doesn’t slip on it, something that happened quite often with me probably because I always had the wrong shoe on me.
Its weird how I have managed to cover 11 states of US in just 6 months. In the past 21 years that I’ve spent in India I must have traveled to only 4 states to be precise. I realized it is very simple out here, maybe since I have the freedom to do whatever I want and don’t have to wait for an approval from my parents. Also, the fact that everything here is so organized that planning a trip isn’t difficult at all only one has to have sufficient funds to cover the expense. Every little thing is taken into consideration here, and the biggest example was Disney. From a small child of 3 years old to a person on a wheelchair, everyone is given equal opportunity to enjoy themselves. The incident of the plane crash at Hudson is also one event no one will ever forget. Everyone at work was rushing towards the window facing the river hoping to get a view of the plane. 155 people, all safe and sound and all thanks to the attempts of the great pilot who took the right decision at the right time. But it just doesn’t stop at that; it was also the quick action of the NY waterway that took charge of the entire situation at that very instant.
It is this transport and this organized culture that me and my fellow Indian interns will miss when we’ll be back in India. I know I have more 5 months to sit and think about all this but since the May interns are returning in the next few days, I’ve been spending a lot of time with them that made me think of these scenarios. Thinking of the crowded means of transportation with the extreme humid conditions really makes it an unpleasant thought to go back. It would be nice if we go there just for few months visit our family and friends, spend some quality time with them and then return to this beautiful place once again. Whoa!! Only if that could happen. Well, its just a thought.
It’s sad that in a few days I’ll have to say goodbye to our May interns. In the past 6 months they have more than friends to all of us. They have helped in so many ways; from guiding us to get the best deal on our beddings when we moved in, our Mountbatten assignments, links on traveling and many more things that might seem small but were important and necessary to be mentioned. In April I’ll be also bidding farewell to my 3 flat mates along with my 14 DBOI interns who are very close to me. The DBOI interns were more than family to me and seeing them go won’t be that easy. To be honest already there have been crying sessions that have taken place in the past few days when we all just sit and chat about our past adventures. Well we keep assuring them that they’ll get to see us in just about 5 months but it is of not much help at the moment. Also the time spent with my 3 flat mates is very special to me. When my room mate was moving out, these guys insisted on having some authentic Indian chicken curry and I was more than happy to be able to prepare one for them. That night we cooked the meal in the flat, someone got the appetizers, someone the desert, I was in charge of the main course. In the end it all turned out pretty well. Even after the meal was done, we all just say there on the dining table chatting for and hour or so, the may guys sharing their worries on job placements when they’ll be back and me and my room mate just talking about the things we’d done so far.
More 5 months to go but so much more is to be done. I do have lot of plans in place. One thing that I want to do for sure is the Hawaii island. Also small 2 to 3 days trip to Niagara falls and Cape Cod are places that I want to cover in the nice and hopefully warm summer. My interest in traveling has totally been triggered since the day I’ve stepped in and so if at all in the next PDJ I happened to mention visiting lot more places than I’ve mentioned above that it should not come as a surprise to any one. Besides traveling, there are few more things on my ’to do list’, the Broadway show to be one and also few of the famous museums in New York city . I’m anxious to see and know about many more places and also promise myself to continue to do so when I return to India. Its march now and officially the spring has been announced but I still don’t see the warmth setting in. I hope it does and I hope its sometime soon. Right now I’m just waiting for the right weather and also for the right balance in my bank account to fulfill my wishes. In a month or so I’ll mange to accomplish the two categories mentioned above and then I’ll be all set to experience the heat of the New York City.