An epilogue of sorts.

I am in Hyderabad now, and I thought I'd just pen down (type down is more appropriate, I suppose) some of the things I felt about the U.S. and being there.

Broken perceptions.

I really did not see it coming. The sheer beauty of the country. The U.S. has so much space, natural resources and it's planned so well, right from the roads to the burrows for owls/other endangered birds, to the lovely landscapes and national parks. It is unbelievable! The reason I didn't expect so much beauty is because the beauty is not what is spoken about when people talk about the U.S. People talk about it as a technology driven country, where everything is so easy to do, and it's a good life. While that's true - it's a very beautiful country. I was told though, that it's only California that's this beautiful. Hopefully I'll get to be the judge of that with another trip to the US soon! :)

Life is hard. It's not whether the place has more to offer or not, but living there has it's own problems, and it's not all hunky dory. I saw how Gapa struggled to find a place to stay, I saw all the homeless people on the streets, and realised that the reason some places are so unsafe and the crime rate, high is because things are rough. Even with all this, I guess, especially for us folk from India, the grass is a lot greener on the other side.

People.

Californians are hard to break the ice with, although they're all nice. I found that people seldom go out of their way to show you a good time, and it was only after over 2 months of my stay there that people warmed up a little and spoke to me a lot. You still need to sort of push yourself onto them. I'm kind of social, and I found it hard to make friends easily... so I feel bad for those who're sort of introvert-ish. I managed to make a few friends though, and I miss them!!! Smart, fun, super interesting people. The folks in the Ann Arbor office seemed a lot warmer in comparison to the Mountain View folks. Maybe I should go there next time. The MV people refer to that attitude as "so west coast!" :)

It's also funny - so many people in Google (Americans) spoke about Americans' stupidity... I didn't encounter that though, because Google doesn't (generally) hire stupid people. Haha. But then, there are umpteen videos and stuff that point out the stupid ones. :D There is a lot of freedom the place has to offer, but a lot of people in the US are very comfortable in their bubble and don't know about what's going on outside.

America is DIVERSE ! They don't tell you about it, usually. Although I suppose that's pretty obvious. There are people from all sorts of countries, and different walks of life. People who want to escape, people who think they fit in here better, people who come to America and then miss their home countries, people who strongly display something that's their own from the country of their origin. People here are very conscious about where they're from. The different types of food available in this country can speak for this! Yes, food speaks a zillion languages. So... something like racism isn't taken lightly, because everyone is so tuned in to their roots here. But, honestly. This is probably one of the few places where you'll possibly find people of EVERY nationality.

I'm also so glad I had all my friends there, and a lot of folks who used to be in the India offices but moved there... it was so good to see them all and talk to them after ages. It's a small world too, I found so many people I never, in my wildest dreams, assumed I would meet and hang out with!

This made me realise something about India. I think Indians are so very warm, and they involve you in everything when you're a stranger, as opposed to here. Indians are super trusting and will assume that you are a God until you prove otherwise, and you are treated with absolute hospitality all the way until then. I recall going out of my way a few times to accomodate visitors. Pin it to cultural differences. :)

The overall.

I could definitely get used to life there. It is so easy to be alone there, and I realised how much I love it, although back at home, I feel the need to constantly be around people. There's also always so much to DO! I love how you don't need to be dependent on anything in particular (except perhaps, a car because the public transport system is pretty darn terrible in the suburbs) because everything is so easy to do. And then there's the fact that men don't stare at you on the streets, you can wear pretty much anything you want and do anything you want, and because things can get so outrageous there, no one will give you a second glance even if you're wearing a cap made of feathers. SF is lovely! The weather is beautiful, the place inspires creativity... The availability of anything under the sun in the US is exceptional - I hope India will get there someday!

I am a HUGE fan of how clean and organized the place is. Right from the roads and the discipline with which people drive (although, if I ever move there, I'm buying a stick shift car - automatics are boring) to the meticulous care taken to keep things looking good... even a hedge on the street!

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE that California is so dog friendly! You can take your dog to work at Google!!! How many places do you know like that? A little ridiculous that you have to run after your dog and collect his/her poop, but it's absolutely awesome that it's such a dog friendly place. I really missed Pepper! :(

Oh, and everything needs to be planned in advance here. Minimum 2 weeks in advance. Impromptou = super expensive, if available! Whether it's meeting friends, traveling, doing something over the weekend -- planning in advance is the only way to make it work. That didn't always work out too well for me while I was there. :)

Travels.

All my traveling there got me pretty darn broke, but I am so glad I got to see a large part of California, although I missed some fun things like the Grand Canyon. Next time, I guess. :) I'll probably also muster the guts to go skydiving next time around. There is SO much to see, and the country is HUUUUGE. Being in the same country but in different time zones (Mrin, Ice and Nandu and the A2 office were in different time zones) makes you realise that!

Me?

Having gone there changed me for sure. I'm inspired to know more about my country so I can be a better ambassador next time around. I intend to do a lot more reading, develop more interests, and most importantly... take time out to do things other than work (not that I did that there) because there's SO much to do. In life. So much to see, SO MUCH. There's also no point cribbing about things, because... you're just wasting time. I hope I can live up to this little resolution though! :)

I will miss being in the US. So much.

Well, this I suppose, marks the end of this blog. I hope that you enjoyed reading about my everyday things. I already feel like it was unreal, like it was all a dream, and I've only been back two days. I'm still jetlagged!