Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Umrica -Here I come !!

Once upon a time, there lived this little girl who had never heard about this country or knew nothing about it until her father went on an official trip. It was big thing those days and she would tell everyone that her father went to “foreign”. She was too small to understand the difference between foreign and the country’s name or what foreign meant. She was astonished by the gifts her Dad got her and had really painted a beautiful picture of the country based on her fathers’ stories and photos.

Years went by and all the dreams about going to this country were long forgotten. School, college and teenage years took over and life just revolved around friends. Her sister got married and settled down in the same country. Long forgotten dreams resurfaced back. Vision of living close to her sister was too hard to resist. And like every other college kid, she started her preparation for GRE, TOEFL and what not…She went through the complete rigmarole of studying, taking tests, applying for universities… yaada yaada.Anyways her visa got refused and dreams were shattered. She just thought it was not meant to be and forgot about it and moved on in life. The rest was history.

After so many years, suddenly there came an holiday that was too good to be missed. She just couldn’t resist and quickly grabbed it. This time though it’s not the country that’s the cause of the excitement.
It’s the opportunity
- To reconnect with her sister. Somewhere down the lane, the ties got slackened and both of them got busy with their own lives. She hopes that this trip would bring back the closeness they once shared.
- To see the next generation interact. As much as she wants to spend time with her sister, she can’t wait to see her little one have fun with her sisters’ kids. She hopes to see them bond from now and that which would last for a lifetime
- To meet good old friends from college. These were the people who once meant the world to her. They all moved on when she was left behind. She tried to be in touch for some years and eventually lost touch except for the yearly birthday, anniversary wishes. One of the reasons, she stopped talking to her friends was that she felt really upset after talking to them. They all were having a great life- a Master’s degree , good life, good job and what not… while she was struggling to come up and was facing heaps of problems. It seems totally trivial now when she has finally made it in life. She hopes this would bring a new beginning to old friendships.
- There was time when she created a wall around herself and decided that there wasn’t going to be anymore best friends as it broke her heart when they went away. Never did she realize that one more person would come and break the walls and get close to her. Her Friend V was a totally the opposite it of her- gregarious, loud, extrovert…but they got along like house on fire. Fate again played with her and V had to relocate to the country few years ago. She is hoping to start is all from where they left 3 years ago.
- To see the university that she one dreamt of studying in. To see this little town that she lived in through her friends’ words. To see the department building that she never stepped foot on.
- And finally to meet a few new friends who knowingly or unknowingly make a difference in her life everyday

With just one more day to go, she hopes everything goes fine and she does make this trip and comes back refreshed and rejuvenated. This holiday has been in the making for more than 6 months and finally the excitement is catching up now. She just can’t wait to knock the door and surprise her sister. (Or would it be a shock???)