when it comes to the "lets see" part of my life...

The journey started 3 years back while I was in third year of my undergraduate studies. Following the trend I joined famous Dilip Oak’s GRE coaching classes hoping that I would score high and get into a high ranked university in U. S. of A. (which I now call it as United State of A***o*e* ). As a typical engineer I scored just about average and got into a very average university in U S of A. I still remember while writing Statement Of Purpose (SOPs) to all these universities I had tried to convince the readers that I am motivated enough to learn technology and gain knowledge via education in the states after which I will lead to my faithful return to my home country serving for its industrial growth. (after getting selected at the very average university I thought people are quite convinced by my statements!) Then time came when I expressed my eagerness to return to my home country to a lady sitting across the window at US consulate in Mumbai. Looking at my interest in supporting my family and in their enormous property back home, even she was convinced that I would return after my graduation and she granted me US VISA for 5 years! With this “achievement” I was felicitated and greeted everyplace I went and called upon for lunch/dinner by almost everyone I knew in my town. All the elderly people had only two blessings to share with me:

1.       1. Do come back to after your education.

2.       2. Don’t get any “gori madam” with you.

Taking every advise as it came I flew here to the States and within a month I realized how things were best back home than being here. Surrounded by a bunch of fools all the time and not getting what you want every time made me realize the importance of how I wanted to be back home every moment. I missed food, family, freedom (not being a guest where you are restricted to do many things which you fear you will be deported if done L) and with every minute spent my desire to return home strengthened. For two long years I have been saying that I will go back after completing my MS and to almost 100 people I spoke this to only had two words to say to me “lets see”.

This part of my life is called recalling “lets see” part of it. Now that I have decided to go back home just after 2 months of my graduation, people are looking at me as if I am fooling myself. It has been 2 days that I have booked my “one way” flight to my home country, and people are coming up with all different expressions I have learnt while I was in school. Happy, sad, surprised, jealous, respectful, un-convinced, are-u-kidding-me, proud, excited, scared, confused and what not.

With this, I myself am astonished with whats going on. I would only say to them that I dint lie in the 300 word SOPs I write while applying to graduate school ,I dint lie to the lady at US consulate, I took all the blessing/advises from all elderly people very seriously (maine "gori madam" bhi nahi patayi :-D), I did not lie to 100 people I spoke to while expressing my desire for these two years. All I want to say is I am doing what I always said and I wanted to do.

I guess this is a story of most of the Indian coming here for education. For a matter of fact, there are not many of them doing so for various reasons. (I do have a personal opinion about such people – in my next blog :-P )

-Ninad