Mid-air celebration of Diwali

[JUSTIFY]17 years back, on Diwali day, my wife, son and I left Chennai to migrate to the United States. When we left for the airport, we noticed several rockets being fired by many households in our neighborhood. My parents-in-law came to see us off in the airport along with a few of my friends. My son was 7 years old at that time and he did not know what was in store for him when he enters the United States. One of my friends, who came to see me off, bought a nice aircraft toy as a gift for my son. My son was already carrying his teddy bear without which he never went to sleep. It was past midnight when Lufthansa airlines took off from the airport.

None of us had ever traveled overseas prior to that trip and interestingly our maiden trip overseas was to migrate to the United States. My son went to sleep right after boarding the plane and my wife and I were talking for a long time as we did not know what would be our future in a new country. She was suggesting that we should attempt to make a living in the US for at least 2-3 years and if things didn’t work out, we should return to India. The next day morning, we landed in Frankfurt and within 2 hours we boarded another aircraft to fly to Atlanta. After sleeping the entire duration of the first flight to Frankfurt, my son became very active in the flight from Frankfurt to Atlanta asking lot of questions about how to operate television in front of his seat as well as details of lunch menu. I hooked him up to music and calmed him down until the airhostess came and offered him ice cream.

We landed in Atlanta in the afternoon and we had never seen an airport of that size ever in our life. The immigration clearance took very little time and we rechecked the baggage after passing through customs. I walked up to a customer service representative and asked him how to catch a flight to go to Tampa by Delta airlines. He asked us to go underground and catch a train to change concourse. My son enjoyed that short raid to another concourse evaluating all the fellow passengers in the train. We got into the escalator and moved up to find our gate. As soon as we got near the game, my mind started worrying about how I would find a cab to go the hotel booked for us to stay in Tampa until we find an apartment to live. We had 6 pieces of checked in baggage and 2 hand baggage. The flight to Tampa took only 55 minutes and as soon as we landed in Tampa, we found 3 of my colleagues waiting for me at the airport. It brought smile in my face. They came in multiple cars to transport us as well as our baggage.

The fresh air coming from the backwaters gave me a great sense of feeling and I looked out to watch the surroundings. The car was moving on a long bridge for about 10 miles with either side covered with backwaters of Gulf of Mexico. Within 30 minutes we arrived at the hotel and my colleagues took off after promising to pick me up for work the next day. They also brought nice dinner for us to eat that night and I thanked them for that.

After the hectic travel and mental tension, my wife and I wanted to go to bed right away. My son who slept so well in the plane was wide awake asking us serious of questions about the country we had just migrated. The next day, I went to work leaving my wife and son in the hotel after breakfast promising them that I would bring some lunch for them later in the afternoon. Within 4 days, we found an apartment to move in, learned driving in 10 days and obtained driver’s license, bought a brand new car with one of my colleagues guaranteeing that I would pay back the car loan. We rented some furniture for our home and began our life in the United States with plenty of debt and no credit history. I can never forget Diwali ever. I wish all ILites a very happy Diwali let this day bring the best for you.
[/JUSTIFY]

 

Dear Mohana,

Thank you for your response and kind wishes. I am so happy to hear that I contributed for your happiness on this auspicious day. Let the compassionate Lord bring happiness, prosperity, health and wealth to you.

Viswa

 

Dear Sushma,

Thank you for your response and for your kind wishes. I am sure many had similar experience of migrating to another country. Since I traveled on Diwali day, I thought it is appropriate to write about it. My best wishes to you and yours for a very happy Diwali.

Viswa

 

Dear Uttaraa,

Thank you for your wonderful response.

You have perfectly listed the challenges we face such as a) starting from the scratch, learn things as and when needed and blend culturally. Despite all we have accomplished back in India, moving down to the US with a few dollars in hand and starting life with debts was a great challenge. My son who was 7 years old was asked to attend a special class to understand US accent and culture as an international student for 30 days and being a child, he grasped those things pretty quick. My wife and I learned from our mistakes.

What a profound statement. It is indeed how our mind adapts to the change makes life lot easier than preparation. If we pierce the veil of limitations, sky is the limit. Like you had mentioned, I ended up traveling to many countries in my job for many years after I migrated in 1995. I was no longer intimidated by the language and culture.

Viswa