Travelin circus

I love airports. That may seem odd to some, but I love the whole concept of airports. Everyone in transit, every culture and race gathered in one location, snippets of foreign languages floating through the air, browsing through bookstores, the anticipation of a long journey snuggled up with a good book. My mind always wanders imagining the lives of the people I see milling through the airports. Are they visiting a loved one they haven't seen in years, nervous about a business trip, returning from a funeral, ecstatically waiting for their honeymoon to begin ... the possibilities are endless. I realized the other day that it's been over a year since I've been on a plane. That hasn't happened in nearly 10 years. I remember soon after my 25th birthday I made a promise to myself ... read more

The past 15 months that Homyar and I have been in the U.S. have been one amazing ride! Every few months I ask him to describe the best experience he's had so far. As of last weekend, our whitewater rafting trip took first place by leaps and bounds over the rest. Catapulting to the head of the line deserves a blog post :) My brother and sister-in-law joined us for what was sure to be a fabulous weekend trip. Soaking up the sun in the Central Valley was the best way to combat the dreary weather we've been having in San Francisco. We drove 3 hours north-east past Sacramento to the little town of Coloma and found our resting place for the night. Our camp site was nestled among the trees just steps away from the ... read more

After 2 years of living in India, my stay is coming to an end. As a first generation American, there has always been a tug of war between the traditional and the modern, the East and the West. As I’ve grown (more mentally than physically), I’ve learned to balance the two, which hasn’t always been so easy to do. These past 2 years in India have been an educational and cultural experience beyond my imagination. I’ve gained a deeper knowledge of my culture, developed a greater understanding of my parents’ idiosyncrasies, cultivated a new appreciation for my own personal space (3 feet in the U.S. has shrunk drastically to less than 3 inches in India :), learned to laugh at the ever-creative use of the English language, found a husband I adore, unleashed a fighting spirit ... read more

As usual, when traveling in India, waking up at the crack of dawn to beat the city traffic is a must. Early (very early) Wednesday morning, we joined our friends Kashmira and Dadi for a much needed getaway trip to Pondicherry and Kodaikanal. Kodaikanal is one of those honeymoon-destination type places in India so I was intrigued to see what all the fuss was about. It was set up in 1901 by an American (the only hill station in India to be built by an American) as a retreat from the heat of the nearby towns. After leaving Chennai, we stopped for a day in Pondicherry to enjoy the fabulous Western food :) then on to Kodai. The winding roads through the mist-covered mountains were beautiful. This time of the year is off-season (because of the ... read more

I’ve visited India many times over the years and I’ve always noticed how crowded and noisy the big cities are but it never bothered me so much. Probably because I knew that I would shortly be returning to the quiet of the US. I took it all in as just part of the experience. Now, since I’ve been commuting for the past month, I’m wishing that I could go back in time and stop GM from adding the device known as the horn to its first car. If the makers of the horn only knew the way it is being overused and misused, well, I guess they would be proud that their invention is so valuable to so many. In my experience, the horn is reserved for emergencies. If a child is running in the middle ... read more

All the animal activists and general animal lovers out there, this posting is not for you. Please stop reading and go do something else because this is something that I’m sure will not appeal to you. For Indians (and other people living in third-world countries), this is likely a run-of-the-mill every day occurrence. But for me and my fellow Americans, this story is one worth sharing. We, as Americans, live in very sterile environments. If we see a tiny spider or a fly in our homes, we chase after it until it’s expelled out the door. Now, after traveling in remote places and living in cockroach-infested hostels, I’ve learned to accept the fact that these creatures inhabit this world with us. While I don’t like seeing creepy, crawly insects, I don’t get so queasy anymore at ... read more

I’ve been working in Corporate India for about 3 weeks now. Some things are very different and some things are not so different from Corporate America. The one thing that strikes me every day as I walk into the building is how everyone looks the same. The men come in 2 varieties: with mustache and without. Everything else is identical from their hairstyle to their dressing sense to their accents and mannerisms. As for the women, they all wear the typical salwar kameez with their long, black hair slicked back and braided. As I stand at the back of the elevator scanning the crowd, I recall all the other jobs I’ve had over the years. The plethora of skin colors, every shade imaginable, the hair colors, the many different styles of dressing, the uniqueness that every ... read more