From Anna Intl To Philly Airport

The title of the post reminds of movie names !! :-D And yes... this blog too is the collection of my experiences of my travel from Chennai to Philadelphia Airport ..!

February 23rd '08 , 12.30 AM

Here was I, in the Anna International airport ... A couple of hours and I would be flying thousand of miles away from this soil on which I grew, the family I always cherished, and friends whom I met. With a mixed emotions of leaving behind all this and with an excitement of leading a family life I was standing in the Immigration queue .. I saw everyone crying as I was leaving the country.. from Vidya. my dear sister.. to priya my bestest friend and my Janu..!! And I was looking at myself.. why didn't I cry .? I was heavy hearted.. but I also knew crying wouldn't help much , I had to accept things as they are..!!

With all the formalities over, we ( My hubby and I) were in the waiting lounge .. Watching around my surrounding.. and wondering what the mission of the people in the US.. Aunts, young women, guys, Uncles.. G-pa and G-ma's .Would my parents too be waiting here to see me in the US !! Karpanai -O -Karpanai ..! ;-D !! Well..!! I was semi-sleepy.. It was 3.30 AM and my BA flight was at 4.00 AM ..! Awful timing..! Finally made my way to the BA airline.. My first Bon voyage overseas..!! It was a sensitive moment when the wheels took off from the land..A mixture of family sentiments and patriotism were running inside my head.

9 hrs of travel.. We landed in Heathrew Airport. Walking in the airport and watching ,I was wondering if I was really in London..! Blonde hair women, 6 foot men, English speaking people , Starbucks coffee shops.. Was this real..! yup, it is:-P! Cherishing the Indian tea { close to Indian tea :-) } at Starbucks and chatting, we heard the last call for PA airline..! It began from there and we were literally running for more than a Km { Should I say miles ;-) } to reach our gate .We made it through to the flight and sat there with a sense of accomplishment. Another 7 hours of journey to reach Philly ..! I was counting my hours and bit restless.With excitement I slept off. When I woke up , I could see the flight moving over the Atlantic!! I kept watching the map to check the miles yet to reach our destination.! Few hours .. and here I was in " Philadelphia Airport " .There wasn't any "Saravana Stores", or Jeyachandran Textiles" ads going on. People were around and each having their own business and purpose..!
I could see parents hugging their children and welcoming them. People pass by and wish "Hi's " and "Hello's" with an Smile, never mind if u haven't met them in your life earlier, disciplined traffic regulations,the snow { the first ever :-) }...and with a beautiful evening drive,we drove to our home, Ahem..Our Home!!

Stepping in my home, I was watching the wonderful scenery and calm surrounding. With the cooking done and sending off my husband to work..I was reeling back my life ..


.........I was like those 90% fresher who wanted to pursue MS post graduation in the US..! With a GRE score card in my final year and still confused whether to pursue a degree ahead in a moderate University or to re-appear to GRE for a better score [ My dream universities were Carnegie Mellon, MIT ...], I made my way to Bangalore with a post of Software Engineer in a start-up company with project on the HOT-cake , .Net platform. Believe me, I was one who knew nothing other than C, C++ and Linux .. :-P . With a decent salary and a life on my own, I would'nt dare to leave this for a MS degree with educational loans, part-time work,calling cards..Wuak..! I was too tempted sometimes to take a bold venture into it...! But looking at current life and the way I was too contented at it, I abandoned all the thoughts of MS. I was very much happy to see my debit card,the pay-checks,my projects and the 'lead' act in it, my weekend visits to sisters house, my 'Rayil Payanangal' to Madras{ I was one of those loyal revenue providers to Southern Railways :-) }, my shopping to Life style and Landmark...U know, u really feel nice to get your stuff in just a swipe of your card. :-D, blindly sponsoring for my Y.sister's shopping{ I know you miss that much :-p } .
Some times I really used to ponder.. was this really "THE" life I was looking for.. There was a lack of purpose and focus, I mean, it was kinda getting monotonous . And so I was planning for some charity works and the related with my friend but it stopped with planning itself.

A loyal employee , I was offered a H1B , which I politely rejected.. My Manager was surprised at this and even gave me some more time to think on my decision..! I was one of those stubborn decision makers.. never changed my mind on going to US..! I was too happy to earn my Indian bread.I wondered at my own self, I was one of those crazy graduate who desperately felt the necessity to fly to US and now I was the same 'Me' who had rejected an onsite invites.And finally,even prospective US proposals were rejected { Exception, my husband's }.. There were lot of "Cupid Callings" in his I suppose ;-).

And now I am sitting on my couch,in my home in the US .. enjoying my cup of coffee in the way it meant to be..! Somethings in life are really meant for good :-)