Kuwait - The desert flower

 As they say, life takes you to places. My next stop was Kuwait, in the year 2011. All I knew about it was that its currency was the strongest in the world. Besides that, I knew nothing.

Life in Kuwait

The only reason they are so powerful is that they have abundant petroleum resources. Where I stayed the beach was nearby. The seawater was black, probably oil spills. I stayed in a flat, fully air-conditioned. Almost all the buildings were high-rise apartments. There was a store beside the apartment, from where we could buy gas cylinders to almost everything but at a high price. 

So on the weekends, I would go to this place called "Mangaf" which has big supermarkets, and the price was less there. I really do not understand how the rest of the world does not know about auto-rickshaws. In Kuwait, the only public transport is a taxi. The buses are there I think in the city center, which was very far from where I lived. You can see diverse cultures there. Though an Islam-dominated country, it is a quiet place. The people, in general, mind their own business and do not interfere with yours.

The weather is always hot and there is sand everywhere. Sandstorms are very common.  

I worked at a private institute. There was a home pick up and drop service and the driver was very friendly.

It is a very small country and getting drinking water is a huge thing. Everyone drinks packaged drinking water. For household purposes, we get desalinated water. Desalination is where you convert the seawater to useable water. 

So basically we need to buy water. They come in packets of 12, 1 liter each. Who is going to carry them - Me 😀, yeah the cab or taxi driver was a help.

They are so rich that everything is imported from food to clothing. What is the one thing which is not available in Kuwait - Alcohol. Strictly forbidden. So what do the people do, the next best thing, smoking, by which I mean cigarettes. We humans simply gotta have some addiction. 😉    

The USA - Land of Immigrants

Getting the VISA

Everyone is aware that without a visa you cannot enter into another country. I put my next target as the USA in the year 2008. Why? Because at that time that was the best thing to do. I had finished under graduation in the UK and my ego was on top of the world. I felt I could achieve anything. I felt the need to leave India as it was no place for an egoist like me. I dedicatedly went to the classes of GRE and TOEFL. I wanted to score well to get into a good university. The tension while giving the exams was enormous. I scored well. The consultancy people gave me five universities to pick from. I even got a scholarship from Oklahoma, but the tuition fees - high. 

I called the consultancy again and asked for a cheaper tuition fee university. Then they gave me, the University of South Alabama. Till then I never heard of this university. Apparently, the states in the south of the USA have lesser fees compared to the rest of the USA. Then started my loan application and visa date confirmation. At that time, the interview was in Chennai. I had to travel to Chennai and on my visa interview date, stood in a long queue with all my documents. After a long wait, my turn to face the interviewer came and it was a lady. She asked me few questions, what my parents did? and which course I applied for? Pretty straightforward. I on the other hand was so tensed, it took me a while to say that my parents were doc... doc.. doctors. My first stammer. She took my passport which means I got the visa. After few days, my passport came in the post with the VISA stamped for five years, to study at the University of South Alabama, up to this point, I was not even aware of where this university was situated in the USA. 

Mobile, Alabama, USA

The place the university was situated was a small city called Mobile, not to be confused with mobile as in mobile phones. The state was Alabama. I booked my ticket and had that time "Orkut" was there, we did not have Facebook. I contacted the "Indian Student Association" and they sent the leader of the association to pick me and three others who were along with me. We stayed in his two-bedroom apartment. We went way before our course started. Mobile was near to the seacoast and the weather was so sultry. Away from home, I never really missed home. But Mobile was a very small city. We lived near to the university. I did not have a car or any means of transport. So, I walked around the campus and nearby stores. I made new friends. I got a mobile phone. I enrolled myself in the course. I really like my department, small but with all facilities.

I took Computer Information Systems for my Masters. The only thing was I had no clue of programming, I could not even type fast as others, which I improved on later on though. There was a bus that used to pick students up to go to Walmart, the giant supermarket in the USA. The bus used to come on every Friday. Basically in the USA if you do not have a car you are totally impaired. After shopping at Walmart then I realize who should carry the covers, me. No help from anyone. I have to clean my room, do the dishes, do the laundry, get the groceries, and then when I open the book to study, I get to sleep. The laundry there, we have a common washing machines area, where they have installed five washing machines. We need to put four quarters, 1 quarter = 25 cents, then the machine runs. We live in shared apartments so we need to do in turns the toilet cleaning also.

It is like imagine your maid does not come and you need to do everything and also do assignments, study, understand the subject. Of course, it was all too much. But, when all the hard work pays off you get an A grade, it's all worth it. After all, you came to the USA to study. All of us used to depend on our seniors a lot, why? because they had cars, our weekly transport to Walmart. 

Needless to say, alcohol is sold in Walmart, you need to carry your passport though to show you are above 21. The guys and girls who are bold enough try new things, try them. As long as things do not go out of hand, everyone is fine. 

Through my personal experience, I don't think I was ever ready to do all that. I honestly did not know what to expect from my journey to the USA. But I learned the lesson of life the hard way.  

Why is it called Land of the Immigrants?

The USA was discovered by who? you know and since then the land never belonged to one human race. It is open to all, but yet the laws are strict. It is not easy to get citizenship unless you are born there.

Think carefully, it is like but any other country and people struggle there also to get through day to day lives. It is a free country. This also means you cannot just get away with wrongdoings. Every country is different, every country has its own set of rules. 

Though it is called the land of immigrants, I do not see the proper justification for the words. Mostly dominated by Caucasian or African descent races. The other races in the country hardly have any say, I feel so.

         

United Kingdom - The land of values

I went to Britain in the year 2005. My engineering batch mates and I landed at London Heathrow airport in the month of August. It was two and half hour bus ride to Wolverhampton, a city in the West midlands. The weather was not cold, not hot, it was just right. We all were put up in the campus accommodation for a week. I was pretty excited to be in a developed country.

The transport

Britain is very well connected via roads, railways, and flights. The different transport systems include buses, railways and of course cars. The way their public transport is built is far superior to any other country. The roads built are so structured. The traffic rules are strict and very nice to follow if you are a  near perfectionist freak like me. When the road sign says speed to be followed is 30 km per hour, it very well means that and expects you to follow it. There would be cameras installed if you break any traffic rules. You need to be in the lines and they look like they have been drawn just to fit a car or a bus. Even the curves, you can feel how smoothly the roads are built. While changing lanes you need to give the indicator way ahead. Sometimes I feel that Brits are simply obsessed with perfection. 

Why it's the land of values

I do not want to brag about it, although Britain is not my country, I respect them. Why? Because they give importance to the common human being, above everything. Once while I was working, I had to get up early in the morning and catch a bus to work. I walked down the lane on the footpath and I stood there at the zebra crossing. As soon as I stopped walking, the two cars which were coming in either direction stopped, that was the sign for me to cross the road and it shows that they respect common human rights. I did not run or hurry, my pace of walking was normal. As soon as I crossed, they resumed to go, I waved as a show of gratitude. We all learn that we need to give way to people crossing the road at a zebra crossing, I wonder how many actually follow it. 

Snow - the bliss and the trouble

Soon it was winter and it snowed heavily. At first, I was excited because I never saw snow in my life. The excitement slowly died. I still remember when I first felt snow, it was an experience. I ate fresh chicken bake from Greggs, the local bakers. It was cold outside and a hot dish was very welcoming. Days passed by and every day there was snow outside. The footpaths were filled with snow. The local authorities put Grit to melt the snow. Grit is like big chunks of salt to dissolve snow. It is not that pretty and is always cold and the days are shorter. You sometimes can feel sad.

The loop

Every student faces a problem when going for a job. There is something called the national insurance number or id. Everyone needs to have it. When applying for part-time jobs, they need the national insurance number and you cannot get national insurance unless you have a job. So kind of a stuck situation. I worked in numerous part-time jobs. Hey, no one said standing on your feet is going to be easy.

The scenery

I do not know how they do it, but whenever I go to central park, there are always new flowers during springtime. In winter though the snow covers the greenery of the park and everything is white. The buildings are old but they seem to have a solid foundation. I do not know how, but every tree I see is straight. Does it grow straight or do they cut it such that it grows properly? still remains a mystery to me to this day. It's like taming nature. The houses are pretty, the roads are pretty, the footpaths are pretty, it's a pretty country.

Malaysia - Truly Asia

Hi there!

Welcome to my blog.

I travelled to Malaysia in the year 1996-2000. I know it seems like a long time ago. I went to Malaysia because my dad was working there. We lived in Kuantan city, which is the capital of Pahang state. 

I must say I loved living there. Initially, as an expatriate, I thought I would be attending an International School. But the cost of the international school was expensive.

Instead, I joined in a local school. The curriculum was not in English. Everything was in the Malay language. English was only one course. To communicate with the people, the language was a barrier, so I learnt Malay. Malay is simple to learn. The script is in English, only the arrangement of words is different and the pronunciation is different. 

For example to say "How are you?", you would say in Malay "Apa Khabar?".

Soon I made friends at school. My parents who were working at that time would leave for work early in the morning. My School started late. The bus was punctual. 

What I love most about Kuantan is the food. When I tasted "Nasi Lemak", which is coconut flavoured rice with sambal, the sauce made of dried prawns and roasted anchovies, it blew by mind away.

The other foods that I tired are satay, murtabak, ayamas grilled chicken, Kenny rogers roasters, KFC, McDonald's, and A&W. A&W used to serve, curly fried, which were to die for.

Besides food, I loved nature, a good place for trekking, and the beaches were superb.

It is a bit laid back, not as developed as Kuala Lumpur, all in all, a peaceful place to live. The people are very friendly.