Crossing over

I still remember my first trip to the US very well. I was 27, out on my own, so far away from home for the first time in life. I had lived in a hostel before, but that is not the same because a) you can go home if you want, b) you have friends to talk to and c) you don't have to worry about what you are going to eat for the next meal.

So there I was at the Washington DC international airport, feeling lost in a sea of strangers, kicking myself for having made the decision to come, missing the husband and the family already and at the same time trying to figure out which train to take to go to which terminal. Then something happened. Somebody smiled at me. Another person smiled and yet another said they liked my handbag. And I'm thinking "Wow!  These people don't even know me! Americans must be really friendly people!". Because that is not what you normally see in India. I mean, if you don't know someone, you don't smile at them while passing them by on the street or compliment them. And you definitely don't discuss weather with them. I don't know why we are that way. Maybe because there is so many of us that if we start smiling at everyone we pass on the street, we will probably have stiff mouth muscles by the end of the day. Maybe it is a defense mechanism against the big bad world. By staying aloof, we make sure we don't trust too soon, and don't get deceived by strangers.

However, getting smiled at and receiving compliments from strangers did make me feel better that day. It gave me the comfort that regardless of the awkwardness of my situation, I still somehow fit in. Till date, my favorite people are those who make me feel like I fit right in.

More on my first visit in the next post..

Introducing my brand new blog

'Amreeka' is how people in a certain part of India where I come from, refer to America as. In that certain part of the country, some people could be so obsessed with the idea of making it big (or even small) in this land of dreams and opportunities, that they name their sons as Amreek, possibly in the hope that he will somehow live up to his name and go to Amreeka one day.

So this blog is about how an Indian sees Amreeka, about our hopes and aspirations, challenges and struggles, the void in our hearts which somehow starts filling when we are sitting in a plane looking at the flight map every two minutes to see the little airplane inch closer to the place we call home no matter where we live in the world.

It is also about things we love about Amreeka and Amreekis. Things that we would miss dearly when we go back home and talk about years later. "In 2011, when I was in America...".  Things that we don't love so much, will not miss when we go back but will still talk about years later.

What this blog is not - a judgement of what is right and what is wrong, or a pointing of fingers at any one way of life, and I sincerely hope it is not interpreted like that. Because it is all in good fun, and more than that, it is a tribute to my life in Amreeka, the people I got to know, and the friendships I will miss when I go back home to the place which is and will always be my favourite place on earth.