Those first "baby steps" in a foreign country at the young age of 21 were scary enough..but to add to the fear..was the fact that I really did not know anyone in the city I was going to..Los Angeles.
New country, new customs, new school, new teachers, new ways of learning, new job (new to working - having never worked before) , new to handling money on your own .. and all this made easier by new Friends.
One fine USC evening - I was trying to study in a completely full computer lab when I noticed that the boys sitting on either side of me were playing a game of Y! Pool..against one another. They seemed to be having a good time and knew each other well and were talking to each other oblivious to the fact that I was sitting in the middle!
I passed a comment about one of them cheating (later i found out it wasnt really cheating)..and that lead to the three of us striking up a conversation..Dharmen and Kinjal - were both from Bombay as well and that helped me feel a level of comfort with them..like finding another ship mid sea.
These boys were childhood friends and they already had a lot of friends at USC - most of whom they knew from India - whom they introduced me to. Amit, Bhanu, Vishal " Papa", Vishal, Mihir, Pratik, Kamna, Shraddha, Nishant, Kinjal..the list was long..
From then on it was all about - weekend trips, parties, cricket world cup nites and exam fever..- some of us became really close - one of them became my husband :)...we moved out of the Los Angeles area - but we all remained close..meeting often .. everyone got married..the group grew bigger..more friends more fun..
Now one of us is moving back to India..time goes on..but memories are forever..
All the best Bhanu and Krupa..hope the memories you build in India are as fun as the ones we built here together..
