THE USA

The US Visa got approved :) Background I am not kidding when I say that there is a different kind of adrenaline rush when hear "Congratulations your Visa is approved, wish you a safe travel to the US". But there is a lot more behind this scene. It does happen to most of us that we start preparing for the US travel just after we get the visa interview date. Same happened with us. Oh, did I mention that I was travelling with my husband as a dependent? This piece of information makes a lot of difference, trust me. Emotion: When you know you are leaving behind everything to be with your soulmate, it feels different and amazing. I never looked back. I never wished I had a job rather than having to come to the US as a dependent. Getting back to the main topic , my preparation started when my husband got an approval notice from USCIS. What do we usually do when we start preparing ? We start looking for what others have to say about it on google, and it did help :) Se

I will directly start with the topic as we have covered the introduction and rest in the previous section. Please keep in mind that the below draft is from a house makers point of view :) What to carry? Universal travel adapter A step up transformer if you are planning to get any electric appliances from India  Would not suggest this unless utmost necessary, its better you purchase appliances here Bed sheet and pillow covers (Expensive in US) Under garments ( Not sure if we can get a perfect fit + they are costlier here) Swimming costume - Even if you don't know how to swim, please carry it as we have cool places in the US for non swimmers too Traditional Wear ( Not more than 2-3 if you are struggling with the luggage weight ) Umbrella (MUST, you never know when it might rain in the states) Only get home made masalas (red chilli powder etc) You get literally every food item in Irving/Dallas that you get in India  Ready to make for initial couple of weeks  Ric

Country, Motherland, Parents, Relatives, Friends, Colleagues, Neighbors, Air, Water, Shelter and everything around you is bidding farewell. Yes, this is exactly what you feel on THE DAY. I am not kidding when I say I didn't sleep for more that 5 hours couple of nights before I was going to depart.  When you are preparing, you are very happy about visiting a new country, knowing new culture, working in a entirely different protocol, but. . This day, the day you fly, will fill you with mixed emotions.  The thought on how much you will leave behind just keeps growing every second. The clock ticks faster on this day than usual, every person around you looks at you with an unnamed emotion. The things important on this day are to ensure you are not forgetting anything, placing the important documents safely, rechecking if all the bags are under the weight limit specified by the airline, checking the weather conditions to start your way to the airport etc But I remember

You are lucky enough when you have someone picking you up from the airport and you know where you are going to stay.. Cheers to my husband's and his friends efforts that we had rented a house already. Yes, these become THE most essential things once you land. The day we landed: This was Saturday, 4.30 pm. Fortunately my husband has super fantastic colleagues, now friends. 3 people landed and we saw 4 people at the airport to receive us. This made me feel so lucky and not home sick at the very moment we landed. We saw our community ( Society for us in India, remember?). The house was on the third floor (2nd floor as per Indian std.). Without a lift it seemed impossible to carry our 32*4 kgs + 17 kgs of luggage upstairs. You won't believe if I say I didn't carry a single bag upstairs. This only happens when you have a bunch of kind and gentle men around you. It felt like I knew them since ages :) After that, my husband's manager called us for a tea which was am

It was our 1st weekend in the US, we visited a club called Al-Amir with our friends :). Al-Amir plays Bollywood songs to dance on, it has perfect ambiance and a very talented belly dancers. Between 1st to 4th week I met many more people who are our friends now :) We owe our comfort, settlement, non home sickness and every other positive to our friend circle here. We never enjoyed so much in India, but here it didn't feel difficult. People who stayed in our community are our family, and yes trust me, just a weeks time was enough. This is the phase when we get to know the importance of having people around us. People with similar wavelength and frequency are very important. I will list few experiences in this time frame which can help the readers: Laundry: Our community has a common laundry system. In the US there are separate washer and dryer units. One round of laundry takes about 11 coins  - 25 cents. You will get these coins in the bank. Be aware of the money eat