After one and a half years, I came back to the UAE the previous Saturday morning.
I guess you can call me a snob, but I like travelling in 'Ish-style'. So I always prefer Emirates. This time, however, I felt the need to be responsible as my parents now live in Ajman (Another emirate of the UAE) and not in Dubai anymore. So the nearest airport would be Sharjah and the flights would be limited to Air Arabia.
Air Arabia is a budget airplane. I booked the tickets with trepidation, consoling myself that it would be a red-eye flight and hence would be more concerned about sleep rather than food and entertainment during the actual flight. And I was right. I was so tired that all I wanted to do was curl up and sleep. But I also found out why people prefer Air Arabia. The seats are bigger and there's more leg room. Since it's a night flight, you dont spend the extra money on food. You do have to pay for your own blankets though. Another plus point: Sharjah Airport is much smaller as compared to Dubai Airport. You really don't have to walk that much to get to the exits.
My home place hasn't changed all that much since I last left. Yes, there are more malls. Speaking of which, I went to Dubai Mall, the day I landed, with my sister, brother in law and my mother. Dubai Mall, is supposed to be one of the Gulf's biggest malls, but I didn't really take it to heart. 'How big can it be?' were my thoughts. I didn't think anything could surprise me anymore.
But I was wrong. Dubai Mall is HUGELY big. I was tired after I finally got back. And we hadn't even covered 25% of the mall!
Anyways, I felt like a country bumpkin that day because a lot of things have changed from my day. The information screens, which were placed at strategic points all over the place, were touch screens. Touch and you'll find where you need to go. Touch and you'll find a list of shops that you're interested in. The restrooms- well, I've seen sensor taps before. They're common in India too. But I was a lil surprised to see sensor flushes. You place your hand over a screen once you're done and it automatically takes care of cleaning as long as your hand is still on the sensor. This looked so much more cooler than the multi functional toilets back in Korea.
Ok, enough about toilets!
There were shops that I had only heard of in books and movies: Bloomingdales, Ralph Lauren FOR KIDS (Yes, you read right!!), Tiffany's, House of Graff... The jewellery on display was especially amazing, though kind of depressing because I knew I couldn't afford a single piece.
We visited a small-scale aquarium. Even though it was small sized, it still looked remarkable. There were sharks as well as manta ray among other giant-sized fish. And I know that these are all artificially enhanced containers, but aquariums have this connection with nature that can take your breath away. :)
A few of my girl friends think I'm slightly off but I like electronics stores just as much as the next guy. It's always fascinating to see how technology keeps advancing with the blink of an eye and you should always keep abreast of it, I think. My bro-in-law loves gadgets too. So he and I spent a considerable amount of time at a particular electronics gallery, ooh-ing and aah-ing (guy style, of course) over some, while comparing prices of others. My sis and mom were waiting impatiently outside. 'What took you so long?' my sis demanded after we were done. I couldn't help supress a smile.
Anyways, this one mall was a surprise for me, with all its Ice Rink, Water Fountain, Gold Souks and all.
I'm going to Dubai again tomorrow. I hope to be pleasantly surprised again! :)
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Monday, March 2, 2009
The Hindu Taliban
I dread reading tomorrow's newspaper.
Last weekend, yet another woman (this time a journalist) was assaulted by two bikers on Mount Carmel road. The journalist was punched in the face before she quickly recovered and grabbed the pillion rider's shirt. The man fell off the bike but both of the riders managed to run away. Cowards. They have no issues in ganging up on lone women but are such wimps when they're challenged back.
First of all, good for the woman because she managed to hit back. Second of all, it's such a pity that she couldn't do more (like kick those men in the family jewels, for starters).
Any person with an ounce of common sense and tolerance condemns the Mangalore pub attacks. It seems that the Bangalore attacks on women have been inspired by the Mangalore ones.
I fail to understand the psyche of an individual who feels it's Indian to abuse and assault women. Who thinks its morally wrong for women to drink or wear jeans but feels its perfectly alright for men to do the same. Who stress that a sari is the icon of Indian culture. Yesterday, inspite of wearing a salwar kameez, I still attracted the wrong kind of attention on the street. Say, wasn't I being 'Indian'? Why did those perverts still materialize? It's like, no matter what you do, you end up losing anyway.
The attacks affair is more than just about inequality (men can do this; women can't do the same). It's also about the inability to tolerate others who live around you.
Last time I checked, India was a free country. The SRS, Muthalik or similar clowns can't dictate what people should and should not do. Apart from anything else, it's in violation of a human being's basic rights to freedom.
By the way, how different is the SRS from LeT? As far as I'm concerned, SRS is just a few steps behind. All the SRS needs to do is kill women. Else they have pretty much 'terrorized' women anyway, which is basically what LeT does: terrorize people. Such groups, needless to say, need to be outlawed and such miscreants need to be caught. Would the Government take such measures? At least to save their seats in the upcoming elections?
Am not sure about that. As for me, I now carry pepper spray in my bag since I usually travel alone. I've also saved my friends' numbers on speed dial.
So this is what the world has come to.
Last weekend, yet another woman (this time a journalist) was assaulted by two bikers on Mount Carmel road. The journalist was punched in the face before she quickly recovered and grabbed the pillion rider's shirt. The man fell off the bike but both of the riders managed to run away. Cowards. They have no issues in ganging up on lone women but are such wimps when they're challenged back.
First of all, good for the woman because she managed to hit back. Second of all, it's such a pity that she couldn't do more (like kick those men in the family jewels, for starters).
Any person with an ounce of common sense and tolerance condemns the Mangalore pub attacks. It seems that the Bangalore attacks on women have been inspired by the Mangalore ones.
I fail to understand the psyche of an individual who feels it's Indian to abuse and assault women. Who thinks its morally wrong for women to drink or wear jeans but feels its perfectly alright for men to do the same. Who stress that a sari is the icon of Indian culture. Yesterday, inspite of wearing a salwar kameez, I still attracted the wrong kind of attention on the street. Say, wasn't I being 'Indian'? Why did those perverts still materialize? It's like, no matter what you do, you end up losing anyway.
The attacks affair is more than just about inequality (men can do this; women can't do the same). It's also about the inability to tolerate others who live around you.
Last time I checked, India was a free country. The SRS, Muthalik or similar clowns can't dictate what people should and should not do. Apart from anything else, it's in violation of a human being's basic rights to freedom.
By the way, how different is the SRS from LeT? As far as I'm concerned, SRS is just a few steps behind. All the SRS needs to do is kill women. Else they have pretty much 'terrorized' women anyway, which is basically what LeT does: terrorize people. Such groups, needless to say, need to be outlawed and such miscreants need to be caught. Would the Government take such measures? At least to save their seats in the upcoming elections?
Am not sure about that. As for me, I now carry pepper spray in my bag since I usually travel alone. I've also saved my friends' numbers on speed dial.
So this is what the world has come to.
Friday, February 27, 2009
In Conclusion to My U.S. Trip
As I always like to say, inorder to survive in Richardson, Dallas, U.S., you have to be any one of the following:
1. Be sociable (That means you have to actually like the act of talking/interacting with people)
2. Own/rent a car (The trick is to get your company to pay for those expenses)
3. Be pretty (Especially if you're a woman)
Luckily, during my first 2 months in Dallas, there was always at least one team mate who knew how to drive a car. That helped fulfil our grocery/movie-theater needs. However, during the last 2 weeks of my stay, it was my team mate, Neha, who came to the rescue.
Mind you, Neha is a very pretty young girl. So naturally, anybody and everybody with half an ounce of brain would come to the aid of the Damsel in Distress. Even if she wasn't quite in Distress. And being Neha's loyal side-kick, I could tag along for perks as well. :D
Sigh. The things you do to get your things done. :D
1. Be sociable (That means you have to actually like the act of talking/interacting with people)
2. Own/rent a car (The trick is to get your company to pay for those expenses)
3. Be pretty (Especially if you're a woman)
Luckily, during my first 2 months in Dallas, there was always at least one team mate who knew how to drive a car. That helped fulfil our grocery/movie-theater needs. However, during the last 2 weeks of my stay, it was my team mate, Neha, who came to the rescue.
Mind you, Neha is a very pretty young girl. So naturally, anybody and everybody with half an ounce of brain would come to the aid of the Damsel in Distress. Even if she wasn't quite in Distress. And being Neha's loyal side-kick, I could tag along for perks as well. :D
Sigh. The things you do to get your things done. :D
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Ice, Ice Baby!
Yesterday, I went out with my teammates to ice skate.
All my friends know me for my absolute love for gravity. In other words, I can be pretty clumsy. So I tend to stay faaaar away from such activities.
My first experience with ice skating was around three weeks ago. Sundar, who was an amateur, gave me a few guidelines: Keep your knees bent and never fall backwards. I was determined to at least walk around the rink that evening. So after three tries, I managed to maintain my balance and walk the periphery of the rink.
It was nothing special really. Especially when you were forced to observe kids figure-skate around you. :D
But yesterday was a different story. As I started my usual slipping and sliding, a passive observer gave me a few tips: 'Look straight ahead and make your feet point in a v-shape.' I'm not sure how I got it so quickly but in less than 2 minutes, I was maintaining my balance with no difficulty at all. In less than 5 minutes, I had moved to the center of the rink.
To say in the least, I was ecstatic. Balance was just never my thing. I mastered the first few steps of an art form which I initially thought to be very tricky. And now I have the confidence to do more. :)
All my friends know me for my absolute love for gravity. In other words, I can be pretty clumsy. So I tend to stay faaaar away from such activities.
My first experience with ice skating was around three weeks ago. Sundar, who was an amateur, gave me a few guidelines: Keep your knees bent and never fall backwards. I was determined to at least walk around the rink that evening. So after three tries, I managed to maintain my balance and walk the periphery of the rink.
It was nothing special really. Especially when you were forced to observe kids figure-skate around you. :D
But yesterday was a different story. As I started my usual slipping and sliding, a passive observer gave me a few tips: 'Look straight ahead and make your feet point in a v-shape.' I'm not sure how I got it so quickly but in less than 2 minutes, I was maintaining my balance with no difficulty at all. In less than 5 minutes, I had moved to the center of the rink.
To say in the least, I was ecstatic. Balance was just never my thing. I mastered the first few steps of an art form which I initially thought to be very tricky. And now I have the confidence to do more. :)
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Some Old-fashioned American Hospitality
If I could chronicle my entire stay at 'Homestead Suites, Richardson' into the form of a movie, it would be a runaway box office hit. The movie would be a comedy where in the beginning, everything goes wrong but turns out fine in the end.
Ahem. I'm still waiting for the end though.
But here's how the movie would go:
A very beautiful, petite woman travels halfway across the world to the US of A. 'Would there be any aana motta growing on the trees?' Mocha wonders as she makes her way to the hotel.
Scene changes to where she enters the hotel room. She gasps in delight as she looks at the plush surroundings. 'Very nice' she murmurs to her room mate Kat. Who wouldn't be? Take a look at the pics yourself.
'Don't get yourself too comfy', Kat says. 'The hotel service is terrible'. Mocha rolls her eyes in response.
As the days go by, Mocha finds that Kat is right. The front desk 'help' are hostile people who take offense at everything. The manager is even more incompetent albeit slightly less impolite. As a result, Mocha and Kat suffer through weird hotel room rates, clogged bathtubs and ghostly smoke alarms (it sounds a bit like 'wheeeeeee') which go off only when Mocha and Kat are in the room and strangely goes quiet when a third person enters the scene. Regular weekly cleaning service? Yes, if you could redefine the term 'week'. Simple requests such as 'please, give me a detailed bill in only my name' processed? No way, Jose!
The climax is when Kat leaves for India. Mocha is living alone for a few days. But after one tiring day at work, she finds herself locked out of her own room. Wait a minute. She has already paid the bill. But none of the keys, including the masterkey, work.
'I'm sorry ma'am,' the night personnel informs her, after some investigation. 'You're going to have to spend the night in another room. The technician will be over only tomorrow morning.'
Oh boy, Mocha thinks. But she makes her way to the new room at 1 am in the night, after some office-related chores. She hopes to get a good night's sleep. Enter the NEW ghostly smoke alarm. This one goes a loud beeeep after every 180 seconds. Yes. She actually times it. This is while she tosses and turns in bed. Result: no sleep. And we're talking about a heroine who can sleep through the sounds of a bomb or with the sun right next to her pillow.
The next day morning, the technician arrives and works on the electronic lock. After a few new batteries and some reprogramming later, the door magically opens. But wait a second. The room hasn't been cleaned. And it was supposed to be cleaned on Monday-postponed-courtesy-the-lousy-staff-to-Thursday.
Mocha wearily makes her way to work.
What more surprises await our heroine, you- the audience- ask?
I'm sorry. You're going to have to wait like the rest of em.
Though I'm seriously worried about my - err, I mean - HER plight.
:)
Ahem. I'm still waiting for the end though.
But here's how the movie would go:
A very beautiful, petite woman travels halfway across the world to the US of A. 'Would there be any aana motta growing on the trees?' Mocha wonders as she makes her way to the hotel.
Scene changes to where she enters the hotel room. She gasps in delight as she looks at the plush surroundings. 'Very nice' she murmurs to her room mate Kat. Who wouldn't be? Take a look at the pics yourself.
'Don't get yourself too comfy', Kat says. 'The hotel service is terrible'. Mocha rolls her eyes in response.
As the days go by, Mocha finds that Kat is right. The front desk 'help' are hostile people who take offense at everything. The manager is even more incompetent albeit slightly less impolite. As a result, Mocha and Kat suffer through weird hotel room rates, clogged bathtubs and ghostly smoke alarms (it sounds a bit like 'wheeeeeee') which go off only when Mocha and Kat are in the room and strangely goes quiet when a third person enters the scene. Regular weekly cleaning service? Yes, if you could redefine the term 'week'. Simple requests such as 'please, give me a detailed bill in only my name' processed? No way, Jose!
The climax is when Kat leaves for India. Mocha is living alone for a few days. But after one tiring day at work, she finds herself locked out of her own room. Wait a minute. She has already paid the bill. But none of the keys, including the masterkey, work.
'I'm sorry ma'am,' the night personnel informs her, after some investigation. 'You're going to have to spend the night in another room. The technician will be over only tomorrow morning.'
Oh boy, Mocha thinks. But she makes her way to the new room at 1 am in the night, after some office-related chores. She hopes to get a good night's sleep. Enter the NEW ghostly smoke alarm. This one goes a loud beeeep after every 180 seconds. Yes. She actually times it. This is while she tosses and turns in bed. Result: no sleep. And we're talking about a heroine who can sleep through the sounds of a bomb or with the sun right next to her pillow.
The next day morning, the technician arrives and works on the electronic lock. After a few new batteries and some reprogramming later, the door magically opens. But wait a second. The room hasn't been cleaned. And it was supposed to be cleaned on Monday-postponed-courtesy-the-lousy-staff-to-Thursday.
Mocha wearily makes her way to work.
What more surprises await our heroine, you- the audience- ask?
I'm sorry. You're going to have to wait like the rest of em.
Though I'm seriously worried about my - err, I mean - HER plight.
:)
Sunday, October 26, 2008
'Life in these United States...'
Yes, I know. I haven't blogged.
The past few weeks had been a lil busy for me as there was a lot of work. Scrap that. There IS a lot of work. :)
Yesterday, my team mates and I went on a trip to a wildlife park called Fossil Rim Wildlife Center at Glen Rose, Texas. It's a sanctuary to certain species of deer, giraffes and a few other exotic animals such as the ostrich, rhino and cheetah. We left at 11 am and reached the park by 1 am.
The idea is to interact with these animals/birds by offering food to them (but obviously not the dangerous ones). The first bird we met on our way was the ostrich. It was daring enough to move towards the car as we slowed down. It was also aware that we had food and it kept incessantly pecking on the roof till one of us rolled down the windows and offered food.
Even though in reality deers are very shy and nervous creatures, the deers at the park were quite used to human presense. The Arabian oryx was the most friendly as each one of its kind kept approaching the cars to get more food. My personal favorite was the giraffe. It was so gentle!
We all were famished by the time we sat down for lunch at the picnic area around 3:30 pm. I had never been so happy to see rice and sambhar in my life! :D
After lunch, we found a petting zoo. That's where you could brush down or hold a few farmyard animals. It was a lil funny because the sheep and goats looked so huge around the tummy area that we all thought they were pregnant. As we were exiting the zoo, there was a board that said: 'No, we're NOT pregnant. We just have four-chambered stomachs!' I guess the zoo keepers were a bit tired of answering that question. ;)
On our way back, we saw more giraffes, bison and cheetah. The surrounding areas were beautiful and we even got a spectacular shot of a watering hole.
Here are a few pictures of the whole drive. Click here.
As we made our way back to Dallas, I thought that we were on our way back to the hotel. All of us were tired. But a team mate, Sundar, had other plans. We reached Richardson around 8pm. He took us to a dancing fountain which was near our office. The dancing fountain itself was beautiful and Sundar made us all to splash around in the water. I definitely perked up after that unexpected shower. :D
We reached the hotel by 9pm, all drenched, and then we spent some time reviewing the photos and movie clips that we shot during the day.
Today, the girls (Kat, Poornima, Youngsil and I) spent the day shopping. I thought I'd get bored stiff but this time we shopped for accessories. So, YES! As usual, I went ahead and bought lots and lots and.. LOTS. :) I'm not kidding people, we girls had enough of shopping bags to fit the trunk of our car.
Anyway, one month down. Hopefully less than one month to go.
Yes. I'm homesick. :(
The past few weeks had been a lil busy for me as there was a lot of work. Scrap that. There IS a lot of work. :)
Yesterday, my team mates and I went on a trip to a wildlife park called Fossil Rim Wildlife Center at Glen Rose, Texas. It's a sanctuary to certain species of deer, giraffes and a few other exotic animals such as the ostrich, rhino and cheetah. We left at 11 am and reached the park by 1 am.
The idea is to interact with these animals/birds by offering food to them (but obviously not the dangerous ones). The first bird we met on our way was the ostrich. It was daring enough to move towards the car as we slowed down. It was also aware that we had food and it kept incessantly pecking on the roof till one of us rolled down the windows and offered food.
Even though in reality deers are very shy and nervous creatures, the deers at the park were quite used to human presense. The Arabian oryx was the most friendly as each one of its kind kept approaching the cars to get more food. My personal favorite was the giraffe. It was so gentle!
We all were famished by the time we sat down for lunch at the picnic area around 3:30 pm. I had never been so happy to see rice and sambhar in my life! :D
After lunch, we found a petting zoo. That's where you could brush down or hold a few farmyard animals. It was a lil funny because the sheep and goats looked so huge around the tummy area that we all thought they were pregnant. As we were exiting the zoo, there was a board that said: 'No, we're NOT pregnant. We just have four-chambered stomachs!' I guess the zoo keepers were a bit tired of answering that question. ;)
On our way back, we saw more giraffes, bison and cheetah. The surrounding areas were beautiful and we even got a spectacular shot of a watering hole.
Here are a few pictures of the whole drive. Click here.
As we made our way back to Dallas, I thought that we were on our way back to the hotel. All of us were tired. But a team mate, Sundar, had other plans. We reached Richardson around 8pm. He took us to a dancing fountain which was near our office. The dancing fountain itself was beautiful and Sundar made us all to splash around in the water. I definitely perked up after that unexpected shower. :D
We reached the hotel by 9pm, all drenched, and then we spent some time reviewing the photos and movie clips that we shot during the day.
Today, the girls (Kat, Poornima, Youngsil and I) spent the day shopping. I thought I'd get bored stiff but this time we shopped for accessories. So, YES! As usual, I went ahead and bought lots and lots and.. LOTS. :) I'm not kidding people, we girls had enough of shopping bags to fit the trunk of our car.
Anyway, one month down. Hopefully less than one month to go.
Yes. I'm homesick. :(
Sunday, October 5, 2008
'The Eagle has landed'
With reference to the title, I guess my airplane could be likened to an eagle and well, I didn't really land on the moon but rather Texas.
You heard right. I'm as of now, standing on American soil. Ok, scrap that. To be technically correct, I'm as of now, lying down on my bed in a hotel which has been built on American soil.
For y'all who know me really well, you'd be thinking: 'OMG. This girl has finally obtained her dream.' Umm, yeah sort of. :)
I reached Dallas, Texas last Sunday. The journey consisted of a total of 19 hours on two different flights and I'm not counting the transit time at Frankfurt. But it was a great trip.
My flight from Bangalore to Frankfurt was pretty uneventful since it was a night flight. The man sitting next to me was a pharmaceutical representative on his way to attend a conference at Frankfurt. It was pretty sweet to see the way he was enthusiastic about everything down to the food served. It was, without a doubt, his first time flying. :)
Frankfurt International Airport is pretty big and I had to take a sky-train to reach my terminal. Even though my transit time was around 3 hours, I couldn't go around the airport much. So I took the opportunity to get online and email my family that I was indeed still alive. Simple task? You wish! You'd think that the numerous computer terminals would slightly resemble our computer keyboards. Not even close. These keyboards have keys for everything. Two for space bar (which don't even say 'space'). Two suspicious looking ones that ended up being the ones for left-click and right-click of a mouse. Letter keys placed totally out of sync.. well, you get the picture. To say in the least, you NEED a certification to use those terminals. And this is coming from a software engineer.
So in the span of four minutes (and EUR 4), I managed to log onto gmail, click compose, select the appropriate email address that belongs to my sister and type out the following email to her:
"i reached frankfurt stop flight leaves in one hour stop tell everybody stop this computer is dumb stop bye"
I spent the next one hour trying to analyse how the others fared at such similar terminals. Not very well, let me assure you. :)
The flight from Frankfurt to Dallas, predictably, consisted predominantly of Americans and Germans. I took my place next to an Israeli man, Rafi, and an American woman, Rhonda.
"It's my lucky day", said Rafi, "I never got to sit in the middle. Now that I did, I'm sitting between two women."
This man, fellow ladies, was ONE charmer. :)
It took me very lil time to get comfortable with Rafi and find out about his interesting background. Being a software engineer himself, Rafi too could empathise with the strain of being one and declared that he would stick around in the field for only 2-3 more years before he called it quits and get a job that he really liked.
I've always been fascinated by people who are a product of different cultures and race. Give me a person who's quarter Irish, native American, Thai and Mexican and has spent half of his life travelling around Asia, and I think I'd marry him for it. :D
Rafi was an Israeli, whose father was a Muslim and mother a Christian and who had studied for five years in Cape Town, South Africa. And let's not mention his foreign trips. Ladies and gentlemen, I was in heaven. :D
I asked a lot about his culture and was surprised to hear that his own was a bit conservative as well. They actually practise arranged marriages and dowry! But it's practised a bit differently from mine. The groom, it seems, provides the house, gold and money for the bride. The bride, on the other hand, provides the electronic items necessary for proper functioning of the household. So it's very common to hear mothers-in-law not being happy with what the grooms have given their daughters. Hmm. Interesting twist, don't you think?
Rafi himself had given arranged 'alliance' a try, but couldn't wait to break off his engagement a year later. He said, 'I don't want a woman who can't make her own decisions and whose mother still picks out her clothes. I want someone who's independent and looks beyond money and gold.' Same here, brother, same here. Umm. Except I'd want a man and not a woman, thanks. :D
On Rafi's other side sat Rhonda. Rhonda was a very friendly Texan. Not many people go out of their way to make you comfortable, but she certainly did. 'Is it your first time going to the United States, sweetie?' she asked me. I nodded. 'You must be scared,' she said. 'Now don't you worry. It'll be alright, you hear?'
Rhonda grew up in a small town near Dallas. After a few years of growing up in the States, she went and did what she always wanted to do: live in Europe. So she packed her bags and flew to Italy. Learnt Italian, opened a shop that tailored to her 'big-boned' American clientele and spent 6 years of her life there. After that, she fell in love with an American who worked in a big enterprise in Romania. So they got married and she was on her way to joining him in Romania. 'Now, I get to learn Romanian', Rhonda said. 'It's just one more adventure!'
Sigh. Romantic, don't you think?
Anyway, travelling with these two people was delightful. Ten hours flew by (pun not intended) and we reached Fort Worth, Dallas.
I was a lil scared at the Passport Control. Hundreds and hundreds of tips/advice/do-s and don'ts went by in my head.
"What's the purpose of your visit?" the Immigration officer asked.
"Business", I squeaked.
"How long will you be here?"
"Four to six weeks."
Scrutiny of passport. Fingerprints taken. Stamping on the passport.
"Welcome to the United States, ma'am."
Whew!
A couple of hours later (which included goodbyes to Rhonda & Rafi and a taxi ride), I was brought to the hotel which would be my home for the rest of my stay in Texas.
Folks, I'm IN. :)
You heard right. I'm as of now, standing on American soil. Ok, scrap that. To be technically correct, I'm as of now, lying down on my bed in a hotel which has been built on American soil.
For y'all who know me really well, you'd be thinking: 'OMG. This girl has finally obtained her dream.' Umm, yeah sort of. :)
I reached Dallas, Texas last Sunday. The journey consisted of a total of 19 hours on two different flights and I'm not counting the transit time at Frankfurt. But it was a great trip.
My flight from Bangalore to Frankfurt was pretty uneventful since it was a night flight. The man sitting next to me was a pharmaceutical representative on his way to attend a conference at Frankfurt. It was pretty sweet to see the way he was enthusiastic about everything down to the food served. It was, without a doubt, his first time flying. :)
Frankfurt International Airport is pretty big and I had to take a sky-train to reach my terminal. Even though my transit time was around 3 hours, I couldn't go around the airport much. So I took the opportunity to get online and email my family that I was indeed still alive. Simple task? You wish! You'd think that the numerous computer terminals would slightly resemble our computer keyboards. Not even close. These keyboards have keys for everything. Two for space bar (which don't even say 'space'). Two suspicious looking ones that ended up being the ones for left-click and right-click of a mouse. Letter keys placed totally out of sync.. well, you get the picture. To say in the least, you NEED a certification to use those terminals. And this is coming from a software engineer.
So in the span of four minutes (and EUR 4), I managed to log onto gmail, click compose, select the appropriate email address that belongs to my sister and type out the following email to her:
"i reached frankfurt stop flight leaves in one hour stop tell everybody stop this computer is dumb stop bye"
I spent the next one hour trying to analyse how the others fared at such similar terminals. Not very well, let me assure you. :)
The flight from Frankfurt to Dallas, predictably, consisted predominantly of Americans and Germans. I took my place next to an Israeli man, Rafi, and an American woman, Rhonda.
"It's my lucky day", said Rafi, "I never got to sit in the middle. Now that I did, I'm sitting between two women."
This man, fellow ladies, was ONE charmer. :)
It took me very lil time to get comfortable with Rafi and find out about his interesting background. Being a software engineer himself, Rafi too could empathise with the strain of being one and declared that he would stick around in the field for only 2-3 more years before he called it quits and get a job that he really liked.
I've always been fascinated by people who are a product of different cultures and race. Give me a person who's quarter Irish, native American, Thai and Mexican and has spent half of his life travelling around Asia, and I think I'd marry him for it. :D
Rafi was an Israeli, whose father was a Muslim and mother a Christian and who had studied for five years in Cape Town, South Africa. And let's not mention his foreign trips. Ladies and gentlemen, I was in heaven. :D
I asked a lot about his culture and was surprised to hear that his own was a bit conservative as well. They actually practise arranged marriages and dowry! But it's practised a bit differently from mine. The groom, it seems, provides the house, gold and money for the bride. The bride, on the other hand, provides the electronic items necessary for proper functioning of the household. So it's very common to hear mothers-in-law not being happy with what the grooms have given their daughters. Hmm. Interesting twist, don't you think?
Rafi himself had given arranged 'alliance' a try, but couldn't wait to break off his engagement a year later. He said, 'I don't want a woman who can't make her own decisions and whose mother still picks out her clothes. I want someone who's independent and looks beyond money and gold.' Same here, brother, same here. Umm. Except I'd want a man and not a woman, thanks. :D
On Rafi's other side sat Rhonda. Rhonda was a very friendly Texan. Not many people go out of their way to make you comfortable, but she certainly did. 'Is it your first time going to the United States, sweetie?' she asked me. I nodded. 'You must be scared,' she said. 'Now don't you worry. It'll be alright, you hear?'
Rhonda grew up in a small town near Dallas. After a few years of growing up in the States, she went and did what she always wanted to do: live in Europe. So she packed her bags and flew to Italy. Learnt Italian, opened a shop that tailored to her 'big-boned' American clientele and spent 6 years of her life there. After that, she fell in love with an American who worked in a big enterprise in Romania. So they got married and she was on her way to joining him in Romania. 'Now, I get to learn Romanian', Rhonda said. 'It's just one more adventure!'
Sigh. Romantic, don't you think?
Anyway, travelling with these two people was delightful. Ten hours flew by (pun not intended) and we reached Fort Worth, Dallas.
I was a lil scared at the Passport Control. Hundreds and hundreds of tips/advice/do-s and don'ts went by in my head.
"What's the purpose of your visit?" the Immigration officer asked.
"Business", I squeaked.
"How long will you be here?"
"Four to six weeks."
Scrutiny of passport. Fingerprints taken. Stamping on the passport.
"Welcome to the United States, ma'am."
Whew!
A couple of hours later (which included goodbyes to Rhonda & Rafi and a taxi ride), I was brought to the hotel which would be my home for the rest of my stay in Texas.
Folks, I'm IN. :)
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