Mumbai to Los Angeles

Mumbai to Los Angeles

So as we all know that I am currently in the United States of America (USA). Studying at Houston Community College, Houston, Texas. During my mid-year break, I got a chance to travel some other beautiful parts of the US. Such as Las Vegas, Los Angeles (LA), San Francisco, Boston, New York, New Jersey, Buffalo, and Arizona.

The entire trip was amazing. I felt nothing better than that before, visited many famous, non-famous places, traveled through different modes like bus, train, and airplane, ate unusual food, get involved into weird activities {for example gambling in Vegas ;) }, lived in different time zones, experienced from baking hot to freezing cold weather, took thousands of pictures, and met best of people: some were new and some not.

As a reader, you might be wondering why I put Los Angeles in bold, and with a link... because LA was or I say is my favorite part so far. And there are many reasons for that.

First, it is one of the most beautiful cities in the US. It is connected to the Pacific Ocean. Which I love a lot because I grew up near the Indian Ocean, and I never thought that one day I would be walking on the sand of the Pacific Ocean. Every evening in LA is a wonder of nature with a beautiful sunset.

Second, it is the center of the nation’s film and television industry.

Third, I have visited so many famous places like Hollywood Sign, Hollywood Walk of Fame, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, Griffith Observatory, J. Paul Getty Museum, Santa Monica Beach, Malibu Beach, Sand Mountain, Points Dume, Venice Beach, Walt Disney Concert Hall, and many other places.
(I am sorry I forgot some names) ;)

...and...

The Fourth and my favorite reason is, that I met someone whom I knew from India. "Carly", and she is behind the all other reasons. Ok! let me clear this. Why I like LA so much is because I lived it to its fullest, and without Carly, I wouldn't have done all those things. I wouldn't have visited all those places, and I wouldn't have eaten all those new food I ate. In short, my experience would have been different had it not been to Carly.

So it is my BIG THANK YOU! to my friend Carly.

"Thank You, Carly,"

Now again you might be thinking who is Carly, and how I met her or how I knew her back from India. Right?

Well, a short reminder, in India I work as a tour guide in Mumbai. So when she visited India about 8 or 9 months ago I was the guide for her group in Mumbai, and that's how we met. I took her around the city, and I hope she liked it. That is how we became friends.

One good thing about me or annoying thing about me is that I never leave my friends ;) I often keep them updated about my life what I am doing how I am doing and all. And in situations when I need them I try my best to reach them out. Same thing I did when I was planning my mid-year break trip. I tried to reach out as many people as I could. So that I would get another chance to meet them, to hang out with them, and to explore through their eyes. Because I believe, often a local knows more and in a better sense than a visitor.

Let's get back to LA and Carly. I gave her a one day tour, and she returned it with six days. She drove for me everywhere, took me to the places to visit: the places where I would never be able to go. I did not even knew that those places exist, paid for certain things, gave me accommodation, and we also cooked food. After few days we also went to Disney Land in LA: who doesn't like Disney Land? Come on!

This is my small note to Carly for being such a great, helpful, humble, kind, funny and amazing person. I thank you for everything you did for me, all the help, all support I get from you, your advice and your precious time and energy you spent with me.
Thank you for turning my small trip into an unforgettable memory.
Thank you for being kind and accepting.

and the most important one
Thank You for trusting me...

I hope one day we will meet again maybe in LA, Mumbai or somewhere at the different corner of the world. I hope someday I will get a chance to repay you not monetarily but in some other form that you would like. I hope will be friends forever.

Thank You, Carly!

Coming to America

United States of America, it is a land of opportunities, land of migrants and land of dreams.

            

Who would have thought that one day I will be studying here, in the United States of America. 
Last year when I visited to New York, I was amazed with the things, people and lifestyles I saw there. I was in NY only for 7 days and I knew it is very far from the place I was born and grew, but  still I promised to myself that, one day I would come back to USA and for longer stay.

Today here I am...

Though I made it, but coming to the USA was not something which I easily got. It required long term planning, hard-work, Community College Initiative (CCI) process, helped from people and my favorite one- my hunger to learn.

From the day of my returning to India, I started looking for the ways through which I could come back. Money was one of my concerns. so I started making little extra saving by cutting off all my unnecessary expenses.

While interacting with people and looking into the resources, I got to know about CCI from Robin Chaurasyia ( the founder Kranti Organization). She not only helped me through the entire process, but also introduced me to Devika. Devika helped me in writing. Sounak Mitra helped me in mailing and assignments process.

A big THANKS to all of you for helping me to make my dream comes true.

The process of getting selected into CCI was not simple and short. It includes first application, Phone Interview, English test (which includes listening, reading and writing), Medical Examinations, rewriting of the applications and some other forms, and finally visa process and pre-departure orientation. Therefore for me it was one of the longest process I have ever experienced. It took around seven months. It was also very hard, because they not only checked our social background, but also tested our passion for the society through different tests to make sure that we are capable for this opportunity.

I believe all the above process worked out only, because I have a hunger to learn. I have this one good quality that, I am always ready to gain more and more knowledge and experiences. For me US is one of the greatest ocean of knowledge and experiences.

Though I have come here as an exchange student to study Entrepreneurship as my major, but I am going to gain more than just academic achievements. During my stay in the US, I will be doing lots of volunteer work and some internships too which will help me in gaining more knowledge about my field of study as well as the global environments.

As I am living with 17 different people from different parts of the world, CCI becomes a platform of opportunities which will help me in gaining firsthand experience about cross cultural environment, business specific understanding and absorb the diverse perspective- cum-cultural preferences. At the same time these cross culture interactions will also help me to improve my communication skills, team building efforts, language and networking as well as enhance my confidence and knowledge in business.

Further, my journey in America will not end here. There are lot more things to do. I not only want to fly the highest peak, but also want to dive under the deepest ocean of America. This includes eating the authentic food to wearing American attires. In short I have a desire to explore as many places as I could, to meet and interact with end number of people, to eat best of American food and to live the life of an American.

Coming to America was not an easy task because, I went through different process, which were hard, long, competitive and challenging. But yet I believe that this hard work will pay me off with lots of knowledge, experiences, learning and  memories, I made to this point after being helped and supported by so many people and organisation. Therefore I promise to them that one day you all would see me and would say that “ Yes we have invested on a right person”.

It was a Friday morning....

It was a Friday morning....

And for me Friday was the luckiest day at Signal...

I not only began my career as a book seller on Friday...

But also sold highest number of books in one day on Friday...

Broke my own records of selling books on Fridays...

My one day highest earning was also, happened on Friday...

Some were good and some were not…

But most of the Fridays I enjoyed a lot…

Yes! It was a Friday morning and I was doing my regular job…means I was selling books at the traffic lights at Haji Ali.

The traffic was high till National Sports Club of India (NSCI), the people in the buses, in cars or on the motor cycles were honking, I think they were exhausted, were getting late and were not familiar with this kind of traffic like us.. the book sellers.

During this time at signal, “The argumentative Indian by Amartya Sen, Maximum City by Suketu Mehta and The World Is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman”, were some of the best-selling books.

I went to a car in which a foreigner was sitting with an Indian man.

I showed my books and tried to convince him for a purchase.

He was ready to buy but didn’t had any Indian money to give,

I asked the Indian man to pay on behalf of him, he refused….

The foreigner was ready to give me the British Pounds…

I thought, How could I take it, I haven’t seen such kind of money in my life and what, if this would turn as fake money….?

Who would pay me for the book at least the cost price ??

I had two options, One I would take it and two refuse it,( The unknown foreign money)

If I take it then I would also have to bear the risk of losing, both my money (the cost price) and the profit which I usually make by selling in Indian rupees.

The foreigner told me this is 10 Pounds, you would get at least Rs 800, now the choice is yours

I thought again and again and this entire dealing took approximately 30 to 40 minutes and from NSCI I reached Jaslok Hospital by running behind that car…

 Finally I took that money.

I took the risk of losing my input as well as my profits.

I took that risk which no one had taken since that time, the risk was just accepting the unknown money.

At Haji Ali signal, I was the FIRST person who accepted the foreign money, And

after that I sold so many books in Dollars, in Pounds, in Euros and even some other unknown money.

Due to which my friends started calling me the ANGREZ meaning the FOREIGNER. I never felt bad about all these things I think I loved that.

Now today, almost every one accepts all sorts of unknown money, I don’t know because of me or not but I think, maybe, somewhere I stared something new for everyone.

THANKS FRIDAYS