NIAGRA FALLS

Finally I visited a place I had always wanted to,; and Oh My Good God! It lives up to its name, every single syllable of it. N-I-A-G-R-A F-A-L-L-S. The excitement was built up in the 1.5 hour journey and the sight of it from far away just beat the hell out of me. The smaller version is at the American side while the main falls is on the Canadian side. The ferry boat called 'Maid of the Mist', takes you around the entire falls. The boat went near the Bride's Veil (American side) and it was just AWESOME. It is so picturesque and so wonderful that even being in raincoats you want to jump out of it and watch it closer. Slowly the boat nears the main falls and the water "fall" starts hitting you, literally every drop of the ice cold water from Lake Ontario feels like a cold bullet. Then the rainfall turns into such heavy showers that we can not even look up and see the falls because it leaves you blind sighted. The magnanimous white thick wall of water accompanied by the thunderous sound of falls, makes you scared and at the same time leaves you in awe of God's Creation.

After the boat ride, which is like once in a life time sight, we go to the 'Caves'. It goes 17 floors below the actual ground level and to the bottom of the American falls. Here we suit up in a yellow raincoat, pull up our pants, wear cool waterproof sandals and march towards the unspeakable. When we reach the foot of the falls, the enormity of it leaves no words to explain. We end up at a point that's called 'Thunder Point'. If you can stand at this point for 5 minutes then you are a Gladiator in your own right. The water falls on your head and body as if it were wide spread lashes of chill, the sound is deafening and the fun of it is incomparable. There is a sign that says "No Smoking", I guess its a joke because not even a magician can light a spark of fire there.

At the end of this is the sight seeing part, where you can walk and look at the water falls from the top, it looks amazing. You can view the calm part of the lake, the rapids forming and finally the water taking a plunge from a huge height. The best part of the sight is the rainbows that keep forming, especially when it starts at your feet, makes a full circle and ends at your feet :) The whole experience is Mind Blowing and you can never forget it!! That was one helluva trip and I loved and enjoyed every single second of it.......

First Day - First Show!

The house full board was put up even before the movie (lecture) started. Some faces known and some new, but a great culture mix and Indian remixes (NRIs). Its sharp 12 noon and in comes the HERO (read Professor) in the usual American attire -- Khakis and Half Shirt. The titles start... Movie name "Accounting for Decision Makers", Produced by "R.I.T" and introducing "Prof. Karim". Don't try to make a guess..he is from Bangladesh!! Can you believe it? I guess the least number of Asians reside in ASIA. After the customary light moments start the introductions and only a handful of us have had no Business background, rest of them have been working in banks since ages. God! I mean when they have already done it all why come here??

Just as the lecture began, the answers and questions were shot back and forth like Federer v/s Nadal. None ready to give up on their train of thought. Some balls (read technical words) flew way over my head and I didn't have the time to see them fly because the next salvo was already on its way. Where did the first 1 and half hour go by I can not know till now. The next 1.5 hours were like walking on a tight rope. Trying to grab every piece of information and not losing my balance of sanity. Phew!! It was tough and when the class ended we were left with new words in our MBA dictionary plus a great number of assignments to do and a greater amount to be spent on buying the book.......

This is just the start......I guess life's gonna get a lot more exciting in the coming days, so keep reading.......and thanks everyone for your support :)

Ithaca - City

A place is defined not by its geographical boundaries but by the people it has.....

Ithaca is the first city in the US that I explored and I don't know why but I fell in love with this place. A big factor could be the friends I made there and the time I (still) spend there. A city full of life, a downtown that lives upto its name, a live band playing every evening, great places to eat out and a Cornell University Campus to make you smile. The entire city is more picturesque than the postcards we see. The more than 200 water falls, the vibrant and colorful shops, the happy-go-lucky mood of people, the bus loaded with beautiful girls and the happening malls (I guess this city is the miniature of what a big city like New York City would be like minus all the pollution and traffic!!).

A major credit for me loving this place goes to all those whom I met the day I landed in US. All of them being helpful and eager to show me around. I was just mesmerized by the beauty of the 'cute' houses and dried leaves on roads, looked like a picture taken from one of the 'Beautiful Places' magazines. Some times I just wish I had my college in Ithaca......But when I explore more of Rochester I might be able to say the same for it as well and be happy about being in Rochester.

R.I.T. -- College

The first expression that I had when I entered the College Campus was "OH-SOME". To see such a huge place that ceases to cease is like a once in a life time thing. I worked at Infosys and thought it was so great, so big, so clean but then RIT is far too huge and neater than I expected any place to be. God! Here no one wants to thrown things around, it looks so spic and span and you feel ashamed to drop even a piece of paper. I had the campus tour which lasted more than half an hour--in a car!! But I still didn't get to see the entire thing from inside.

Surprisingly, I looked around in the international orientation program and it was less of "International" it was more of "Indian-National". I was honestly put off by it. I mean I have seen these people all my life and I cross thousands of miles to find them again? (Population Explosion at its Best) But then its OK to have those around you who understand your lingo ;) After the lectures in American-Accent-English we had the fun part. Two consecutive evenings of free Pizza, Coke and Music & Dance. I thought of letting my hair down but then I could not do it...alas, the sounds of music were -- Kambakht Ishq, Singh is King, etc!!

The part where I meet my future classmates is next........

Life in U.S.A

"Life is never ever the way we have planned...but then its not as bad as we think it is!"

Landing in a new country and armed with nothing but some foreign currency and the theoretical knowledge is not as easy. I needed to adapt and accept the new customs and rules as fast as possible. I tried my best and the initial phase of home sickness was cut short by the magnanimity of the things I saw. My eyes were lit up by the sights of the big city, the long huge clean roads, the cleanliness and the utter courtesy of the people here.

I was in a state of constant awe and I could lose myself just watching things around me. It was not just different but beautiful in its own way. It's somewhat like living your dream, though the dream of making big in life still remains the main concern. There is so much to explore so much to achive so many heights to reach...the list just goes on and on.......

The college stuff is next...so just keep watching.....