I finally got the email from my company a week later on 07/12, mentioning that my Visa extension denied and i have to leave the country in 1-2 weeks. People kept saying that i'm going to India after 4.5 years and i should buy lot of things for everyone in home. I'm terrible at buying things for other people. My girlfriend accompanied me for shopping and those few days we were fighting for everything, even in buying chocolates. I didn't want to carry any extra baggage. I'm really lazy in submitting claim request and following up with managers for the same and all. So i just fitted everything in the allowed 2 check-in bags and one carry on bag. In the airport i still had to throw away 3 kg chocolates and couple of shoes etc to bring the weight of each bag to 23kg.
Flight was booked on Etihad airways and i finally left USA on 07/18/2018 and reached India on 07/19/2018 night. Whole travel i couldn't sleep much. My mind was on how i'm going to adapt to India and Chennai soon and whether i should try my chances of going back to USA soon or not. My Dad and my cousin came in cab from my hometown to Bangalore to pick me up. Two of school friends also came to airport to see me. The moment i came of out of airport and saw my Dad,cousin and my friends, i couldn't stop blushing. It felt like a generation after i'm seeing them.
Then we started immediately and reached my home on 07/20 3:30 am. That travel itself gave a glimpse of India. The traffic, the honking noises, bad odor on roadsides, unhygienic restaurants on highways etc. Then after reaching home, it was awesome, relaxing, comfortable and full of love. I soon realized how much i missed spending time with my family, my village, neighbors, relatives etc. Looking at Mom's smile makes us forgot all the worries. Getting insulted by sister makes us forget all our ego. I stayed one week in home and had my favourite foods(that are most delicious only when my Mom cooks) that i have missed very badly for long. Idly with Tomato kurma and coconut chutney, rice and karuvattu kuzhambu, Idly with Mutton kurma, Appam with coconut milk, lemon rice(i never liked lemon rice unless its made by my Mom), Banana stem stir fry, various green leaf dishes, etc.
First 2-3 days i only ate and slept due to jet lag. Then started meeting relatives one by one. I hardly recognized anyone other than people who were past 30. More new kids, kids had become grownups, teenagers had become adults. Everywhere new houses were built, all the streets in which i played when i was a kid looked very small, maybe due to the all houses became big and tall. Meeting the relatives made me feel how much i have been an outsider for so long, yet they still treat me as special. Almost every one in my village came to my house to say 'Hi'. It was good to see my village and the people didn't change much, except for bigger houses. Neighbors chatting till 11PM at night, people walking into each others houses with just yelling "Yekkovvvvv....", neighbor's kids playing in our home, helping neighbor kids homeworks etc.
I practiced gear bike for few days and had some improvement. But still my Dad kept telling me to buy a gear-less two wheeler as it would be difficult to drive in Chennai. As the days kept passing and i had to leave for Chennai, fear again struck in me. CHENNAI.....ever since Visa rejection, people kept teasing me that i'm going to have a tough time in Chennai. I finally left for Chennai on 07/27 night.
Chennai's welcome, soon....
Flight was booked on Etihad airways and i finally left USA on 07/18/2018 and reached India on 07/19/2018 night. Whole travel i couldn't sleep much. My mind was on how i'm going to adapt to India and Chennai soon and whether i should try my chances of going back to USA soon or not. My Dad and my cousin came in cab from my hometown to Bangalore to pick me up. Two of school friends also came to airport to see me. The moment i came of out of airport and saw my Dad,cousin and my friends, i couldn't stop blushing. It felt like a generation after i'm seeing them.
Then we started immediately and reached my home on 07/20 3:30 am. That travel itself gave a glimpse of India. The traffic, the honking noises, bad odor on roadsides, unhygienic restaurants on highways etc. Then after reaching home, it was awesome, relaxing, comfortable and full of love. I soon realized how much i missed spending time with my family, my village, neighbors, relatives etc. Looking at Mom's smile makes us forgot all the worries. Getting insulted by sister makes us forget all our ego. I stayed one week in home and had my favourite foods(that are most delicious only when my Mom cooks) that i have missed very badly for long. Idly with Tomato kurma and coconut chutney, rice and karuvattu kuzhambu, Idly with Mutton kurma, Appam with coconut milk, lemon rice(i never liked lemon rice unless its made by my Mom), Banana stem stir fry, various green leaf dishes, etc.
First 2-3 days i only ate and slept due to jet lag. Then started meeting relatives one by one. I hardly recognized anyone other than people who were past 30. More new kids, kids had become grownups, teenagers had become adults. Everywhere new houses were built, all the streets in which i played when i was a kid looked very small, maybe due to the all houses became big and tall. Meeting the relatives made me feel how much i have been an outsider for so long, yet they still treat me as special. Almost every one in my village came to my house to say 'Hi'. It was good to see my village and the people didn't change much, except for bigger houses. Neighbors chatting till 11PM at night, people walking into each others houses with just yelling "Yekkovvvvv....", neighbor's kids playing in our home, helping neighbor kids homeworks etc.
I practiced gear bike for few days and had some improvement. But still my Dad kept telling me to buy a gear-less two wheeler as it would be difficult to drive in Chennai. As the days kept passing and i had to leave for Chennai, fear again struck in me. CHENNAI.....ever since Visa rejection, people kept teasing me that i'm going to have a tough time in Chennai. I finally left for Chennai on 07/27 night.
Chennai's welcome, soon....
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