I was very apprehensive of getting Mother to US, thinking how she will find it, will she get bored, what will happen if she falls sick etc. etc.
A close friend of mine, Archana, who was staying with me then, helped me make up my mind and made me plan getting mother to US. Since my work load was going to be less, felt this was the best time.
On another friend's advice, took apartment in a residential complex surrounded by lot of greenery. I saw Houston through fresh set of eyes this time, it never seemed so green before.
The commute to office was with my dear friend Srimant, it was nice talking on different things in mornings and evenings, mornings we would talk sober stuff listen to devotional songs, in the evening it was either talking about dilemmas in life or listening to filmy music.
Last time when i came, i realized i could not commute much on my own as the public transport was bad. Interestingly this time, i found lot more avenues to do that, making me realize when you think of someones happiness over yours, you sure can move mountains(saying literally only :)).
It was nice visiting the local attractions in Houston and visiting San Antonio. In the trip to San Antonio, we stayed in a hotel which has a small Bistro. We did not like much of the outside food, the Bistro in-charge was a sweet guy, who cater to our requests of things not in menu(milk, toasted bread etc). In the sight seeing day trip, we met lot of other people, who had come to San Antonio to escape the winter, among them were 2 sisters in there late seventies, who came from two different places to just spent time together, was amazed by their spirit to see places even at that age.
On co-commuter, bought coffee for mother and gave it to me, saying its for your mother and say Namaste from my side. This gesture made me realize my misconception that people in other countries are not that warm. At the hotel, we met an african cab driver, who had stayed in Rajashtan for some time, she spoke bit of Hindi with us and promised us to come back on time to take us to the Mega Bus stop. It felt nice seeing the warmth she bestowed on us, she was thrilled when mother gave her a Bindi packet.
At work, it was nice meeting the clients again Tim and Katie in specific, it was nice working with them again and also see the processes being finalized for development. It was great learning experience seeing agile in action. Near the last month, i was asked to phase out, it was tough not being that active, but felt that's what is the best thing i can do for the project.
Once the assignment was over, spent time at my cousin's place in L.A. Had a great time with everyone, it felt great part of a big family and being taken care off. Though had been to Disneyland earlier, one can never have enough of it i guess.
We made a short trip to Phoenix to see the Canyon, we went there with a group of 5 women, the guide cum driver was 78 years old, one could never guess his age from his fitness. Sedona was breath taking, was amazed to be there...on our way to Grand Canyon, it started snowing...though we could not see much of Canyon...was happy that mom could experience the snow, it was one of her wishes to see.
The last leg of the journey was in Bay area, it was nice meeting my cousin kids and my grand children. One day we decided to board the hop on hop off bus, it was a journey reaching the union square from the caltrain station. I lost the way and we had to walk a bit before we could finally find a cab. You can really feel lost in US. Thanks to smart phones, i could download a taxi cab app and call a cab. We were too tired to venture out, hence mainly sat on the bus and saw.
My cousin's son took a day off for us and took us to Muir Woods, it was amazing being with nature, nothing more filling and refreshing than that. We all three sat peacefully on the bench, hearing the whispers of nature.
We finally came back to Houston, stayed with my good friends Lalitha and Deepak, would say missed their company even when i was with my relatives.
Thanks to Jagadish and Anitha's sons' birthday, could meet everyone before getting on the flight.
I am grateful to this trip, as it showered so much love and affection. Came back to India with lots and lots of Memories.
A close friend of mine, Archana, who was staying with me then, helped me make up my mind and made me plan getting mother to US. Since my work load was going to be less, felt this was the best time.
On another friend's advice, took apartment in a residential complex surrounded by lot of greenery. I saw Houston through fresh set of eyes this time, it never seemed so green before.
The commute to office was with my dear friend Srimant, it was nice talking on different things in mornings and evenings, mornings we would talk sober stuff listen to devotional songs, in the evening it was either talking about dilemmas in life or listening to filmy music.
Last time when i came, i realized i could not commute much on my own as the public transport was bad. Interestingly this time, i found lot more avenues to do that, making me realize when you think of someones happiness over yours, you sure can move mountains(saying literally only :)).
It was nice visiting the local attractions in Houston and visiting San Antonio. In the trip to San Antonio, we stayed in a hotel which has a small Bistro. We did not like much of the outside food, the Bistro in-charge was a sweet guy, who cater to our requests of things not in menu(milk, toasted bread etc). In the sight seeing day trip, we met lot of other people, who had come to San Antonio to escape the winter, among them were 2 sisters in there late seventies, who came from two different places to just spent time together, was amazed by their spirit to see places even at that age.
On co-commuter, bought coffee for mother and gave it to me, saying its for your mother and say Namaste from my side. This gesture made me realize my misconception that people in other countries are not that warm. At the hotel, we met an african cab driver, who had stayed in Rajashtan for some time, she spoke bit of Hindi with us and promised us to come back on time to take us to the Mega Bus stop. It felt nice seeing the warmth she bestowed on us, she was thrilled when mother gave her a Bindi packet.
At work, it was nice meeting the clients again Tim and Katie in specific, it was nice working with them again and also see the processes being finalized for development. It was great learning experience seeing agile in action. Near the last month, i was asked to phase out, it was tough not being that active, but felt that's what is the best thing i can do for the project.
Once the assignment was over, spent time at my cousin's place in L.A. Had a great time with everyone, it felt great part of a big family and being taken care off. Though had been to Disneyland earlier, one can never have enough of it i guess.
We made a short trip to Phoenix to see the Canyon, we went there with a group of 5 women, the guide cum driver was 78 years old, one could never guess his age from his fitness. Sedona was breath taking, was amazed to be there...on our way to Grand Canyon, it started snowing...though we could not see much of Canyon...was happy that mom could experience the snow, it was one of her wishes to see.
The last leg of the journey was in Bay area, it was nice meeting my cousin kids and my grand children. One day we decided to board the hop on hop off bus, it was a journey reaching the union square from the caltrain station. I lost the way and we had to walk a bit before we could finally find a cab. You can really feel lost in US. Thanks to smart phones, i could download a taxi cab app and call a cab. We were too tired to venture out, hence mainly sat on the bus and saw.
My cousin's son took a day off for us and took us to Muir Woods, it was amazing being with nature, nothing more filling and refreshing than that. We all three sat peacefully on the bench, hearing the whispers of nature.
We finally came back to Houston, stayed with my good friends Lalitha and Deepak, would say missed their company even when i was with my relatives.
Thanks to Jagadish and Anitha's sons' birthday, could meet everyone before getting on the flight.
I am grateful to this trip, as it showered so much love and affection. Came back to India with lots and lots of Memories.
1 comment:
Nice to know that you took your Mom to USA. In my time, I had taken my mother to OOty ! Stories of a guy and ladies at 70s inspired me...I still have time.
Post a Comment