JULY 27, 2007
and in the midst of all this there splashed a card...' Sujani Weds Dushyant'..I knew neither!!!!
Bride's father is a friend of my uncle's dearest friend...so he got a card and i had to accompany my uncle and aunt for this wedding...

Shift of Venue: Embassy Suite, Albuquerque, New Mexico

the hotel was so posh man!!! then i saw the bills a room per day costs just 200 dollars!!! and this guy who does not even know me booked a seperate room for me for 2 days and my 2 breakfasts costed 50 dollars lunch and dinner 200 dollars...that makes it450 dollars

ooops!!! this guy(groom) spent it all on me and he does not even know me thats one part of it

now I met a variety of ppl in the marriage....

and I was dressed formally, i was having my breakfast and a young gal drops in (friend of the bride) and asks me who I was?? what do I tell?? I am the son of the cousin of bride's father's friend's dearest friend!!!!!

then i remembered sai baba (sataym bhruyat, priyam bhruyat...) i said, "yeah I know dush"(dushyant--> groom) ....

I escaped at last!!! Bride is a doctor, bride's brother is a doctor, her papa is a doctor, mom is a doctor and all ppl invited were doctors...groom was also a doctor all his frens were doctors and i was the only guy who was not a doctor...

so where ever i went I heard terms like ' angena, bone marrow, venal artery, meltonin etccc'
oh! god i thought..i cud talk to none!!!

aand atlast one of theses Doctors came up and questined me ' What are you?" I said ' I am a research scholar in Physics at Clemson'...He was baffled..he said' Oh my goodness, u mean physics'

He called everyone around and introduced me..it was like as if I was some alien just landed from mars in midst of a dosa camp!!!!

July 24, 2007:

.............AA 1389, Terminal 4, Gate C2. DFW to El paso, Texas, The flight was abt to leave and there was an announcement 'Ladies and gentlemen thankyou for choosing american airlines, this is the final call for R powdiela (R Podila, thats my name in killed format) ' and then I rushed in...
next to the window was my seat...I looked down..'God damn it!!!! why am I here ? I thought..crossing the time zones already started to effect me' I thought i will go back to India in another week.do somthing in India itself..in my heart I knew that I had chosen US by myself...I knew I was meant to be a scientist but shit!!! i felt so home sick like I had never felt before..i thought i would jump out of the flying thing

I reached El paso, uncle's place, in the night went to bed and then i dreamt....
my first in US was so damn silent and sad

I came out from the airport and I did not feel home...there was no one rushing towards you asking you for a hire taxi...no noise...no city bus horns...no bikes...no s/w engineers...and it was not India...

I do not know how US citizens live wid out all these.....