Another Indian comes to the US of A!

Please continue. Your report appears to be very interesting!

MY

I can't wait to read the rest of this! Welcome!

LisaG

Hey MichelleY & LisaG, I really didn't expect anybody to be reading this. Thanks for reading and here's my next installment!

For me, the US has been so different from being back home. I have actually grown up with so many girls who have this dream of coming here and settling down. This is the land of those dreams....girls who marry for the sake of coming here, who study engineering so they can come and settle here as they pursue their higher studies... ofcourse there are wierder stories that I wouldn't want to share now that I know someone is actually reading this thread! But yes, the gist was I was coming to the(pls read that in bold) US. 30 hours of flight time flew without me picking up the 2 P.G Wodehouse's I had brought along as I sat thinking these thoughts!
Ofcourse when I landed all I could think of was finding my husband in the small crowd....staying away for three months had made me miss him terribly! And when I did his first words were, "so how is the US of A?" Ofcourse, I didn't have an answer for him then!
After 3 full weeks of living here in Columbus, Ohio, now I think I do. Contrary to my belief that all of US had only skyscrapers and congested construction, Columbus is a very quaint and nice place to live in only downtown is a bit congested. (No wonder AJ is enjoying himself so much here!) And keeping with my perception of the US the roads are AMAZING!! What an asset to have! And so well planned! For me the headlines of this story has been the roads- I mean if this were a movie the hero would be the roads!Everybody seems to own a car to commute around, so I don't see much of public transport, but then with roads like these even a dud can drive! I love the lane system and the planning for a seperate lane for people who want to digress from the given road! Now why cant the many Indians who have lived here come back to our country and help make our roads a little better I wonder...? Maybe we should send the Minister for transport/infrastructure on a study trip here.....?
Our community(Christopher Wren) is awesome, look alike buildings, mostly made of wood (which is something that we are not used to in India), spacious rooms and quaint balconies with nice views of the lawns outside which has a thriving animal life- squirrels and birds- make for a nice place to live in. These are certainly stark opposites of what we have in India- in our case the hero of the story (as I call it) is the population- so ther's a crunch for space, a crunch for opportunities (if not you,!) and a crunch for life. It is this crunch that gives us our strong 'survival' instincts, we grow up in a competitive world and live our life that way, always trying to outdo the millions around..... I don't see any of that here and I shall explain what I mean by that in just a second..

The authorities that are planning and maintaining this country must truly respect and appreciate human life because they put so much effort into making it easier for everyone unlike back home where we take it for granted. We were amazed to see some of the following: signs as we drove near a school that reduced speed limits to 20 miles an hour during school hours; red cones so vistor's wouldn't step on a wire connecting camera's to a generator at the zoo; reserved parking lots for handicapped people almost everywhere-malls, zoos,communities; reflector road signs 1/2 mile ahead warning of any road repairs that may be driving into .... I know for those of you who are reading this these may all be very commonplace! But back home, who has the time to do all this?? I mean here the GPS has all roads and their respective speed limits mapped onto it, in India we will have newer gullies by the minute even before you finish keying in something on the GPS I am sure! People take such good care of their lives and the authorities are doing a great job helping them do the same. That is something I am taking home from here for sure as I leave this country now, the lesson to care for your life and for those around you!

Very enjoyable reading!
Welcome to the States.
Please don't be shy about posting other differnces you discover here, even if they're not totally complimentary.

I reached here on a Saturday and predictable the many Indians who are working with AJ all live in the same community (thats another thing that freaks me out, how can you work with the same people and stay with them as well?) There were some of them AJ wanted me to meet and we headed off on SUnday itself to tell them a "hi", a very sweet couple really who take real good care of AJ when he's here alone! Surprisingly I had no jet lag, had slept well the prev nite and was all set to go to the neighboring malls What started that day is yet to end, even today I am heading out to the Easton Mall to shop some more, I have absolutely no clue how I am gonna get my luggage back with all the shopping I have done. But hey! Don't blame me, being 5 ft 8" is not a great feeling back in India esp when you shop for clothes! So for me the US has been a heavenly find! A whole new wardrobe that I cant wait to wear when I get back to work!
Thru the week we went to many nice places around here- The Academy Park, The Easton Mall, Kohl's, Kroger's Market and Giant Eagles. I also did a lot of cooking for AJ- he's a foodie! And we Indian's are famous for the number of spices we have discovered and added to our pallettes, so if you have just salt, sugar, chilly and pepper we will just not survive! The last three weeks he's been coming home everyday just to have hot steaming lunch that I serve him I never cook when in India, we have a cook and she does all that is needed for us and my dad! So a refreshing change for me! {I truly mean it, this life in the US was very topsy turvy for me!]

Thanks NGail, but I have stayed too little a time to discover any differences that are uncomplimentary! Ofcourse I miss the variety in food we have there, and the sounds, the touch, feel of India! But if thats what I expect everywhere I go then why venture out at all? ;D I always look on any new experience with a view to take home the best of it...Hope I am making sense here....

You are making perfect sense and posting a very interesting and unusual trip report. Thanks so much for posting!

Thanks LaurenKahn1 - I really can't believe I have so many people reading this now...! I expected none really, after all how many Indians have come here before and they must have posted trip reports! I mean when we went to Niagara last week it seemed like a bit of India here, so many Indians!!

Ok, continuing with the topsy-turvy part... it’s so different to find that when I am cooking if I stop humming or if I switch off the TV that’s playing then there is an absolute dead silence!! Our house is right next to a state highway, people just do not honk here & the engines are remarkably silent too! Or when I am crossing the road, vehicles stop to make way for me and when I enter a store someone always greets me with a “Hi! How are you today!” The first few times I didn’t know what to say in reply, we are so not used to that. Then again, in India the employees of the store go all out to service you, here we have to do everything ourselves, you collect your coffee, you clear the table afterwards, you fill gas yourself, you iron your own clothes, vacuum your house yourselves, wash your own clothes....... the fundamental difference of us having abundant human resources to do everything and here people being technology driven is quite clear! And the other part that is so different is the abundance of space, it is a luxury really! Roads are so wide, the parks are so huge, the malls are ENORMOUS, buildings are large.... it is so clear that this is a country built from scratch... and I guess somewhere these are the conveniences that lured all my friends here. So I decide to get in touch with some of them that are settled here and guess what?? I find that they all miss home so badly! But I guess all these conveniences soon become a habit that’s hard to rid of! And again geeks like me just love everything about their country- the smells, tastes, sounds, feel and sights of India for me are like being on drugs! Keeps me high all the time!

Enjoying your perspective on our country.

Thanks for posting!!

MY

Let me know if you get to Washington, DC. I would be glad to show you around.

Hi Laurenkahn1, thanks so much for your offer, but my short visit to the US is almost over I am flying out this sunday, but am hoping to comeback and visit AJ sometime in October. Will try and come to Washington that time around!
and MichelleY, thanks will continue posting I am sure thanks to both your encouraging words!

Ok, continuing from where I left off, I remember having this interesting conversation with an American once- if you compared the number of experiences an Indian would have had, say in a span of 30 years to that of an American’s, it will probably explain why we look a lot older! After all what is age but a number?! True age is measured by the number of experiences you have in the said time period and not by a metric measurement! In just getting from home to office I navigate thru 30 kms (less than 15 miles) that takes me more than 2 hours of driving thru choc-a-bloc traffic, pleading beggars and pedlar’s, several potholes and reams of pollution that’s swigging in and out of my lungs! After this visit I realise these are not easy experiences to have here!
So with the first week making me conscious of this dramatically new life, we decide to take a small vacation to the Niagara! Having come all this way there was no way I was going back without seeing the Niagara- we are total nature buffs, in fact AJ & I met on trek 4 years ago, before falling in love and getting married! So we are always on the lookout for natural wonders to visit together and Niagara didn’t disappoint. As I mentioned before what was just equally amazing was the number of Indians we found there! So many Indians all taking the conducted tour of the Niagara, I think we Indians are very risk averse! We never go out there and explore on our own, we always like a little help in finding our way in any new place and I am sure the same is true of our neighbours as well coz I see a lot of them in these conducted tours. Anyways, AJ & I explored the place on our own and we really loved it. The whirlpool was a bit of a disappointment, that apart we liked the falls and the ride on the maid of the mist a lot! A pity we didn’t have a Canadian Visa so we could get some rocking photos of the Horse Shoe Falls, we got to see it up close from the boat but our camera was not waterproof And regarding the many Indians here in the US of A, I guess that is the gist of America really isn’t it? It’s a country that started as a ‘free for all’ come and settle here kind of attitude. So if India constitutes for one sixth of the world population it’s gonna constitute similar proportions of a free country isn’t it? As AJ gave me this logic I thought it did kind of make sense. I mean if the US started closing doors to anybody it really wouldn’t be the US anymore would it? It is a country for people from anywhere to come and settle and get that equal opportunity, after all, men are created equal as they said then at the time of creation of the USA! After this little discussion I stopped thinking about the number of Indians here and just continued having a good time here and sometimes when we saw Indians I also noticed how American they were in their lifestyle! So that’s that then....

Driving to and back from Niagara ensured we were more comfortable with driving in US now, so there was no doubt that next weekend we would getaway to another place. We started looking up places to visit from Columbus (many suggested we see Columbus properly- the Capitol, Museum etc, but then we are nature buffs, so these didn’t appeal to us), AJ’s colleague suggested Put-in Bay. We looked it up on the net, it sounded exactly like what we were looking for. The trip turned out to be a photography expedition for us- birds, flowers, butterflies and snakes all made for a heady combination for us photography lovers! Top that with a sudden storm and a drive back in some heavy downpour with hardly any visibility and you have our trip report in a nut shell! We spent Saturday at the Columbus Zoo, I love animals and like a kid get very excited going to zoos, so AJ promptly takes me to one whenever he can. I thoroughly enjoyed our time at the zoo, it is amazing to see them put so much effort to make it interactive for the kids! I stood in the line to get my turn to touch the children’s python, I was the only adult to do it and before you ask, nope I don’t feel embarrassed at all! : D I am seriously thinking of getting back and dropping some suggestions at our zoo in Bangalore! From here we went to the quaint German Village, it felt so European! Like a little bit of Europe right here in the US. Three hours in the book store Loft made us feel very good and a stroll into Starbucks to be told the vending machine was being cleaned. A wait of 15 mins for our coffee... hmmm...we were getting impatient! (What was happening to us? In India we waited for coffee for fifteen minutes ALWAYS!!) The guy served us our decaf and promptly refused to charge us for it as he had made us wait!! Another new experience for us I guess....!

This last week here has been spent socialising a bit, in fact we are not done with it yet. We are to attend a naming ceremony of AJ’s cousin’s daughter in Florence on Saturday, so that leaves us tomorrow when we will be going downtown for the fireworks. Also went for evening walks at the Blendonwood metro Park and the Hoover Dam here- both nice places to spend an evening. I have fallen in love with Barnes & Nobles, just love spending all evenings there with a book in one hand and decaf in the other! And though Starbucks is good I think Caribou Coffee is amazing! Love their witty ‘Piccup Place’, ‘Thanks a Latte’ and other signs (and ahem, the coffee and pastries too).I can’t believe 3 weeks have flown by so quickly! I wish I had more time here, but then taking even so much time off from work (I work in retail in India, where the concept of vacation/leave just does not exist, infact our stores work all 7 days from 10 am to 10 pm and the people in the HO also almost always work that long) has itself been a miracle. Still keeping my fingers crossed and hoping I can visit him here again in 3 months time. It has been a nice and very different trip for me, many new things to see and learn from while being very far away from home! Thanks everyone for reading this trip report, I am glad to have you all to share it with!

When you come back and come to Washington, DC, make sure to notify me in advance. I would be happy to take you around for a few hours. I do have a guide license here and I would be happy to take you around as my guests for free. You seem full of enthusiasm and someone I would enjoy meeting.

Have safe flights back home!

Thanks again LaurenKahn1, that is very kind of you! I shall definitely do that! And hope you come to Bangalore as well, then we will truly exchange our views...

I hope you can find a flight with fewer stops between Ohio and Bangalore! I fly from US to Delhi so I don't know what airlines are better for getting to Bangalore, but being able to fly non-stop from Newark (New Jersy) to Delhi has been wonderful. No more layovers and time lost in a European airport.

Continue to enjoy your time here! Jaya

abi-maha, thank you for writing your thoughts of life in the USA. I am enjoying your reports and am so glad you have had a good time. I hope you can come back again sometime soon and see other parts of the USA too.

Glad to have come across this trip report....thank you for sharing your insights abi-maha!

Jaya- it can be faster by getting to NY, flying direct to Mumbai and then going Mumbai to Bangalore which is what I shall do if ever I come again here.
Cali thanks for your comments, am hoping I get to see more of the US as well!
And Salive thanks for your kind words!
Just started packing now. looks like I will need another suitcase so will go get one now! Am looking fwd to the fireworks today!

I have been enjoying your report as well. It is interesting the things we notice when going to other countries, that we might not even think about at home. And, it is interesting to see parts of the US through your eyes!

Bangalore? I have never been to India, but, at the rate jobs are fleeing there perhaps we will all be moving there in the future. Maybe we could teach American accents at the call centers. LOL.

Seriously, I have never been to India and would love to go but no home exchange there has come my way. Anyone living on a houseboat in Jaipur want to swap?

Toucan2- I agree, even I realized a lot about India only when we (my husband & I) started talking to visitor's to our country!
LaurenKahn1- Jaipur may not have a houseboat , but if you put this up I am sure there will be many Indians like I said in my report who would do anything to be in the US [just kidding!]

abi_maha,
I have really enjoyed your report. You appreciate all the little things that we who have alwayslived in the USA take for granted. Perhaps if more people saw our country through your eyes they'd be a lot happier!
Have a good trip back home.

Thank you for posting this thread. I work with many Indians in the Washington DC area, and I always enjoy hearing about their experiences in the United States.

abi_maha -

I have really enjoyed reading about your experiences and impressions of life here. Your report has been so much fun to read. I hope you have a fabulous 4th of July and a safe trip home.

very interesting to read your take on coming to the u.s. from india.
gave me a strong sense of deja vu 30 years ago.

being used to the constant crowds in india, my father thought cities in the u.s were like a morgue.
we had a hard time giving up the crowd and the chaos, the many servants, the nosy but helpful neighbours and all the 'uncles' and 'aunties'.

i have a fond memory of my young cousin's visit to bombay when i lived there.
since the flight had arrived in the dead of night, she had not noticed much in her sleepy daze.
in the morning when she joined us on the terrace for our morning tea she was so excited to see the crowds. she thought everyone was out to see a parade!
it was hard for her to conceive that the crowds were a normal part of living in bombay.

now after 30 years, although we miss india and long to return we have come to realize that it is just a longing for a place that does not exist the way we remember it.

my parents, now in their late 70s, had planned to retire in india but now only visit for a couple of months each winter.
after about 4 weeks, they are ready to head back 'home' to the u.s. they have a hard time adjusting to the crowds, the dirt, the smells, the pollution etc.

kind of ironic.

Thanks for this report! Glad you had a good trip. I've been to India, so I totally related to your description of the difference in the roads! (Although I remember reading that the Indian government had been building some better roads linking the major cities?) When I get back from Asia I always notice how empty the streets seem in the US. I'd be interested to know how India appears to you when you get back - sometimes people suffer reverse culture shock, although usually from longer trips.

abi_maha,

Thank you for posting this most interesting report. I hope you do get to return and will write ago.

Wow! So many replies
schmerl ,Hershey & Spider- Thanks for your comments and kind words.

thursdaysd- I really hope I don't have reverse shock, I normally tease all my 'US return' friends about their behavior and comments and would be ironic to fall into it myself

abranz- I know of friends who have lived here a couple of years who feel that way, so after 30 years i guess it is just normal that you have to 're-adapt' while in India

beanweb24- The fireworks was awesome, we have some 300 pics of the same! Thanks for your kind words!

You could write a book! Your observations are so interesting. Have a safe trip home and I hope you return soon.

Loved your report! I spent only three weeks in India, but I can imagine just a bit what the change in coming to the US would be: almost like your senses are being a bit deprived without that swirl of sounds and smells and colors and tastes. I hope you do get to come back and see some more here...plus of course I feel bad for you and AJ having to be apart. It's so nice you could come at least for a time.

Ditto - loved your report, too. It's very interesting reading it from your perspective.
India has always scared me as a destination. The crowds I see in the photos and the fear of getting lost tend to be the biggest obstacles. Also, this was way in the past, but food poisoning was always a big concern. I knew one woman who took a suitcase full of canned tuna to avoid it. I would love to read a trip report from you about your city in India and how and where to go to get out of the big cities. I know I have a couple girlfriends who would be up for the trip!

Pdx, I'm hoping abi-maha gets a chance to write about her hometown, but in the meantime for a bit of encouragement to go to India here's my trip report, including rather out of the big city Leh in Ladakh: http://www.fodors.com/community/asia/july-2008-in-india-a-slightly-odd-trip-report.cfm I went completely on my own (made all my own arrangements, too) and had a wonderful time! (Of course, I can get lost in my own city quite easily--I've only lived here 44 years--so getting lost isn't such a problem for me. And if one gets a bit of Delhi belly, just have some yogurt!)

Just got back home and logged in. Grasshopper- Thanks for your words of encouragement.
pdx- I can imagine, I do have many travel reports of mine on VT http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/99512/; do check whenever you have the time. I can understand how it must feel to come here but these days tourism in India has also come a long way. You can definitely make a trip to Rajasthan and Kerala as they are used to having many people coming in from abroad and hence their services are on par with what you get anywhere else in the world!

""I love the lane system and the planning for a seperate lane for people who want to digress from the given road!""

I just love this! As Americans we do take so much for granted and thank you for opening my eyes to all that we are fortunate to have.

I've just loved reading your report.

Where did you watch the 4th of July fireworks?