My Initial Days In The US
Chaitanya S
I've been in the US for almost 50 days now and I have gained a lot each and every day. This country makes you realize your potential to grow and I have been taking advantage of it. As I look back to the day I arrived here, I truly feel I have changed and grown as a person.
But more about my weight later.
One of the first things that struck me was the kindness of the people here on campus. When I went for a routine medical check up, the kind lady at the reception asked me sweetly, "Are you an athlete?". I looked down at my perfectly portly frame and gave her the sweetest smile I've ever given anyone. "I'm not an athlete. But thanks for the compliment", I replied.
Out here, people have a fascination for drinks. No wonder I have been able to integrate myself so well. Though I haven't touched a drop of alcohol since leaving my homeland, I have not lost my empathy towards fellow drinkers. Once a drinker, always a drinker is my credo. When I accompanied a group of friends to a pub, we were asked for age identification at the entrance. Out here you need to be above 21 to even enter a pub. Trust me, when you are 26 and in the "matured" bracket, you take such questions as compliments.
When questioned on which degree I obtained in India, I am tempted to say B.E (Mech) + MS (Electronics) + Phd (Maths). With the number of times I've taken the Electronics and Maths exams during engineering, I think I'll be eligible for a masters and a post doc in those subjects respectively.
I think Americans have started identifying sacred places where one has to remove his shoes before entering. Though how airports and the ferry to the Statue of Liberty qualify as holy places, I am still trying to figure out. But I overheard someone standing in line to the ferry, pointing in our direction and saying, "it's because of them". I think he was talking about the integration of Indian culture in American society on the lines of yoga and meditation.
Back to my weight again and I've started applying my MBA principles to try and reduce it. I've compared my body to an industry, which is over staffed and needs trimming down to make it more efficient. I've read somewhere that trimming starts from the top. Some shedding has to be done pronto. My body is following the same pattern and the MBA has caused my hair to start shedding already. Maybe a bit of intelligence as well, but that's something I don't want to dwell upon.
I was playing racket ball the other day and it's a great stress buster. The game requires precision of timing and anticipation of speed to hit the ball well. The constant bouncing of the ball off the walls while smashing it back and forth was like a "Eureka" moment. Thankfully I didn't celebrate the moment like Archimedes. The cold evening air was not highly conducive to run naked in.
I took cue from some of my Ph.d friends here. Then, using my own experience and feedback from friends back in India, I engaged in some complex calculations to came up with a theory. It's called the "Rebound Theory".
It's a method which helps us realize the best time to approach a girl after she has broken up. Usually guys approach a girl when she has broken up and they have to hear "I'm not ready yet". That is so disappointing for them. By applying my theory, we can calculate the best time.
"For every 6 months of a relationship, rebounding will start after 30 days. The subsequent calculations can be done by direct proportion by splitting the time into years, months or days". For example, if a girl has been in a relationship for 2 years, she'll take 120 days to "move on". So approach her after 120 days.
All those who do not understand my theory do not deserve to try it. Those who do, try it out, it really works !
All the best !
P.S It doesn't work on guys !!!!!!
My Initial Days In The US
RSS:
- Subscribe to RSS 2.0 feeds for:
- » Comments on this article
- » Culture
- » Culture: Travel
- » Culture: The Writing Life
- » Culture: Satire
- » Culture: Humor
- » Culture: Desi
- » Desicritics.org articles by Chaitanya S
- » All Satire articles
- » All Desicritics.org articles











Temple Stark
URL
July 1, 2008
04:27 AM
Round of applause. Very nice.
Sacred places :-)
"But more about my weight later." he he, great twist.
Aditi Nadkarni
URL
July 1, 2008
05:38 AM
Welcome to DC Chai!
If you've gotten a good look at the dead serious nature of discourses on DC (Kashmir protests, dowry laws, traffic rules and what have you) you will get a fair idea of how much of your humor we could use here to keep us from taking ourselves much too seriously.
...not to mention its always heartening to see "portly frame" and "modeling" in the same vitae :D
Keep 'em coming!
Seema Dhindaw
July 1, 2008
05:40 AM
Hahaha, very nice. It reads like a stand-up routine!
commonsense
July 1, 2008
11:05 AM
ha ha! thanks Chai! as Aditi points out, your piece is such a (cliche alert!) breath of fresh air no DC! Thanks!!
Chaitanya S
July 1, 2008
11:43 AM
Hey Commonsense,
Your multiple thanks remind of my parents thanking me profusely for finally passing engineering school...Absolute nostalgia ! :-)
Chaitanya S
July 1, 2008
11:47 AM
Hey Temple, Aditi & Seema,
I'm still getting used to posting here. Being a slow learner, I think the first one didn't go through.
Just wanted to thank you for your positive feedback and say that for a change my ego has "out bloated" my body. If only trimming fat was as easy as trimming ones ego !
Ashish
URL
July 1, 2008
10:17 PM
Nice article. I thought it is a serious article before starting to read, and turned out to be a classic case of good humour.
Deepti Lamba
July 1, 2008
10:17 PM
Welcome to DC :)
Chaitanya S
July 2, 2008
01:06 AM
Thanks, Ashish and Deepti :-)
temporal
URL
July 2, 2008
01:08 PM
chaitanya:
welcome to desi:)
keep contributing your insights
Chaitanya S
July 2, 2008
02:03 PM
Thanks, temporal, I definitely will.
temporal
URL
July 3, 2008
04:39 PM
nights?
Chaitanya S
July 3, 2008
05:38 PM
haha if you are talking about my theory, you can count nights if you want to (provided that the data is available)
temporal
URL
July 3, 2008
05:48 PM
was referring to # 11 AND My Initial Days In The US
:)
Ritu
URL
July 3, 2008
06:30 PM
nights?
----------------------------------
For that angle Chaitanya, let me recommend this excellant bit of advice from wisened soul in the blogosphere.
http://greatbong.net/2005/01/18/gentlemen-of-the-class-of-2005/
From the other-side-of-the-fence view (albeit from the Indian campus experience and many years back) let me say, this works only in the first year. By second year most girls wisen up to the modus operandi. So make hay while the sun shines.
And welcome aboard :).
temporal
URL
July 3, 2008
06:43 PM
ritu:
p t branum that maha-guru of niche marketing would point out "most" (in #15) does not mean "all"
and to dampen the glee here is another view:
the enabler in the heavens is an equal opportunity disappointer mahajirzadeh
Chaitanya S
July 3, 2008
10:00 PM
Hey Ritu,
Thanks for the welcome. I don't know what modus operandi you are talking about. If you are talking about my theory, it's a science ! :-) It's not a method to cheat anyone hehe
As far as your link is concerned, the info is helpful for students coming for the first time. Thankfully I have no problem integrating in any country since I've traveled the world extensively over the past 20 years :-)
Add your comment
(Or ping: http://desicritics.org/tb/7912)