COUNTING DAYS
Its 29th December today. Two days to 2006 ... but more significantly just a month till I reach home!!
It all seemed such an innocuous statement inserted as a concluding paragraph in the first mail I received from my manager. It went like - "At the end of the 11 weeks you will recieve a well deserved two week vacation" ... little had I realized then how well deserved it would be.
I remember reading somewhere that the adjustment process in the States or Canada comes in 3 phases. Stage 1 is that of excitement, where the adrenalin rush of seeing new things and discovering new degrees of freedoms, overshadow everything else. Stage 2, the most difficult of the three, consists of falling into routine and generally getting bored with life, trying to compare with all the good things back home and complaining about life (or the lack of it!!). And Stage 3, when you accept what you get and slowly come to terms with a new culture and a new life. The last few days has probably been my transition from Phase 2 to Phase 3.
Looking back over the past week or so, time seems to have blurred all memories ... so many things in so small a span of time .... whew, amazing.
It started with the upcoming mid-term test. Given that we had a legacy from our seniors (a mesmerizing pass record of 35%), we were pretty nervous about it!! Needless to say we discussed more about it than actually study, nevertheless the hype was there. This was followed by the mid school appraisals, which we all thought would be a nightmare. Only it turned out to be a real quick affair, getting over in a day and a half. However, a note here that, I was amazed at our instructor's ability to judge us ... he was spot on for almost all of us [maybe because all of us were told we would get D - the worst grade, if at all graded ;-)]!!
Then came the much awaited break of 2 days and the Christmas party. Its rather difficult to describe it in words n so will just phrase it as "absolutely fabulous". Arabic and Spanish music, a "dance floor", with Indian/Thai/Chinese cuisine to go with an array of drinks arranged by yours truly and gang, in a 3 floor mansion provided the perfect setting for a diverse group of 22 people from all over the world to get together and party away the Christmas eve. Only to add to the pleasure was the unusually warm weather due to the Chinook winds.
Other than the aforementioned aspects, the party had another special significance ... it brought out the humane aspect in everyone, which we all strive to contain in ourselves. Given that most of us were drunk enough to be talking all sorts of things; but even people who did not touch alcohol were pouring their hearts out and it felt wonderful to be able to share their company and identify with their problems. The diversity of culture, language, race, origin all seemed ever so non-existent!!
With two days of holidaying over, it was time to get back to the same old drudgery ... that old truck and the same well whose characteristics we can recite off without looking at a log!! And as I write this post am waiting for the phone call to tell me to rush down to the Learning Center to start my operator shift!!
Its 29th December today. Two days to 2006 ... but more significantly just a month till I reach home!!
It all seemed such an innocuous statement inserted as a concluding paragraph in the first mail I received from my manager. It went like - "At the end of the 11 weeks you will recieve a well deserved two week vacation" ... little had I realized then how well deserved it would be.
I remember reading somewhere that the adjustment process in the States or Canada comes in 3 phases. Stage 1 is that of excitement, where the adrenalin rush of seeing new things and discovering new degrees of freedoms, overshadow everything else. Stage 2, the most difficult of the three, consists of falling into routine and generally getting bored with life, trying to compare with all the good things back home and complaining about life (or the lack of it!!). And Stage 3, when you accept what you get and slowly come to terms with a new culture and a new life. The last few days has probably been my transition from Phase 2 to Phase 3.
Looking back over the past week or so, time seems to have blurred all memories ... so many things in so small a span of time .... whew, amazing.
It started with the upcoming mid-term test. Given that we had a legacy from our seniors (a mesmerizing pass record of 35%), we were pretty nervous about it!! Needless to say we discussed more about it than actually study, nevertheless the hype was there. This was followed by the mid school appraisals, which we all thought would be a nightmare. Only it turned out to be a real quick affair, getting over in a day and a half. However, a note here that, I was amazed at our instructor's ability to judge us ... he was spot on for almost all of us [maybe because all of us were told we would get D - the worst grade, if at all graded ;-)]!!
Then came the much awaited break of 2 days and the Christmas party. Its rather difficult to describe it in words n so will just phrase it as "absolutely fabulous". Arabic and Spanish music, a "dance floor", with Indian/Thai/Chinese cuisine to go with an array of drinks arranged by yours truly and gang, in a 3 floor mansion provided the perfect setting for a diverse group of 22 people from all over the world to get together and party away the Christmas eve. Only to add to the pleasure was the unusually warm weather due to the Chinook winds.
Other than the aforementioned aspects, the party had another special significance ... it brought out the humane aspect in everyone, which we all strive to contain in ourselves. Given that most of us were drunk enough to be talking all sorts of things; but even people who did not touch alcohol were pouring their hearts out and it felt wonderful to be able to share their company and identify with their problems. The diversity of culture, language, race, origin all seemed ever so non-existent!!
With two days of holidaying over, it was time to get back to the same old drudgery ... that old truck and the same well whose characteristics we can recite off without looking at a log!! And as I write this post am waiting for the phone call to tell me to rush down to the Learning Center to start my operator shift!!
posted by Souvik at 6:27 AM
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