Surprised

It’s been almost a month, and strangely, the place does seem like home. When I left India not long ago, I was excited. I looked forward to spending my time in a ‘developed’ country, learning things that were exclusive to students in the US. This bundle of positive thinking did not, however, include feeling at home. I felt, like my family and friends, that however good it could get, I’d always feel like a visitor. That feeling you get when you are on a great vacation, enjoying yourself while living in a hotel room is the most I expected from Ohio State. The real deal has fortunately been much better.

I arrived on the seventeenth of August, sore from the long travel in the plane, and with quite a few misgivings about the place. The group of people on the plane decided that it should not stay that way! The plane was delayed due to bad weather (A common ruse, I’m told), and the staff of the airline gave us a brilliant time by laughing at themselves, the airport authorities, and everything in general. Not a bad way to get through the unpleasant wait in the plane. My co passengers were model citizens, and proved that the US was indeed a very friendly place. When one of them actually waited at the Columbus airport (My final destination) until my pickup arrived, I was sure that whatever my future experiences in Columbus might be, I would always consider it a place with very hospitable people. The weeks after that were surreal, and more posts are necessary to do justice to the incredible experiences I’ve had here. Suddenly, from being the one who complained about everything, I found myself being the one who had nothing but praise for everything I found around me. My other friends in the US were ‘pleasantly’ surprised. I hope.

I realize that I’m here to do my Masters and possibly PhD, in Mechanical Engineering. (Although being able to play basketball had a lot to do with coming here!) But in case anyone planning to apply to a US university is reading this, trust me you will find a whole array of things to do here, and it’s worth every dollar you spend.