5 years...and...4 days

Wow...5 years...hard to believe that it has been that long since that fateful day since we became a family. Sometimes it really feels that it was just yesterday. I want to write a lot but these are busy times. I cannot believe that in 4 days, we will move from the area which has been home for such a long time. It has been hard to dismantle the world we put together, but home is where people are and atleast we are together!

There is still a bunch of things to do before we say goodbye to America at 6 PM on July 27. But God has brought us so far and I am sure He will take us through to the end!

6 days

Today is Thursday, July 21, our last Thursday in this country. We finally sold our car today. It was quite a drama with Tugba and Cem but finally God helped us get a good price. That was a major thing off our head. Prachi got her letter today that she has completed all requirements for her PhD and so she is officially a doctor now. Bhumika also heard about her acceptance into Electrical Engineering with funding, which we celebrated at Lamberti's. So it turned out to be a pretty good day!

7 days

Today marks the last full Wednesday in the United States. We fly out next Wednesday at 6 PM from JFK airport in New York. It is kind of incredible that I will fly out of the same airport where I first set foot in the US back in 1996, thus bringing the American decade of my life to a full circle. It was a little less than 9 years ago that I and Amit flew Kuwait airways and landed at JFK on 22nd August for a semester at UMass, Amherst. That was a great visit and I still have many fond memories.

Our preparations for this flight out are drawing to a completion. We are readying the stuff to be shipped and stuff to be taken. It is really hard to decide what to take and what to throw, and I know we will end up losing most of the things we have collected over the years, some of which we will regret later. But there is probably not much that can be done at this point.

My love affair with the road...

...continued for one last time this past weekend. Bhuvan flew into NY (JFK) Friday morning and I drove up there at 4:45 AM! (Originally, we were all going to travel Thu. night but then we changed our plans and I decided to go alone) I arrived at the airport around 7 AM and then searched for my brother in the enormity that is JFK. After finding him finally, we set out for Manhattan. I originally wanted to take him over the Manhattan Bridge into downtown but due to the magnitude of traffic, we went in through the toll Midtown tunnel. Then we drove around for a while around Manhattan (good practice for India, I must say) taking in the sights, sounds, and smells of the city. We drove past Central Park, down 5th avenue, and many other thoroughfares. We finally decided to find a parking spot and we parked in a lot around 39th and 8th. Then we walked the 8 blocks or so towards Empire State, and gobbled the breakfast sandwiches before we headed inside to begin our climb to the tallest building in NY. There was no wait (it was 8:30 in the morning on a weekday). The only bad part was that the visibility was not that great. After that, we took the subway down to South Ferry station to go to Statue of Liberty. However, we could not get inside the statue and could only visit the grounds. The best part was the ferry ride with a great breeze and views of downtown. We roamed around Liberty Island, and then decided to skip Ellis Island and head back to the city. We made a little stop on Wall Street and saw the Stock Exchange and Trinity Church and then headed towards Jackson Heights. We saw Grand Central Station on the way. Bhuvan really loved Jackson Heights which really makes you feel that you are in Delhi. After that, we met Rajul at Starbucks and then headed out into the dreadful Friday evening traffic through Lincoln Tunnel towards New Jersey. We were at Tanu's place for a while to give them some stuff (which totally did not work out in the end) and then headed back home.

Saturday we were just in the area. We went out to lunch at Olive Garden where Sudhaker and Bhumika also joined us. Then we went shopping where we bought gifts for each other and then we stayed home and chatted, and then slept as we all had an early day ahead. We left home at 5 AM on Sunday as Bhuvan's flight left at 8 AM (thankfully from Newark). Then we went to my uncle's place and spent time with them. Then we went to see Angelica and Rahul and then Manak and Rishu. We came back and met all my cousins (It was great of them to come by!). Then we went back and met Tanu on the way (It never worked out with Shweta).

I also wish to write about what I thought would be our last long road trip in this country. We ventured on a Pittsburgh trip a couple Fridays ago. Sangeeta also agreed to join us. We only discovered Thursday evening about the heavy rains predicted that day, but in any case, we thought we will go as there are a lot of times that these predictions do not pan out. But this time it was not to be....

We left at the ungodly time of 3 AM. The rains were not too bad. So we thought we will be OK. But almost as soon as we got on the interstate, it started pouring down hard, very hard!! Near Baltimore, a 16 wheeler swerved into our lane, and our little car was pushed to the shoulder. The reason he did that was ahead of him, there was a car lying horizontal, its parts spread everywhere. No signs of the occupants. That was one scary thing! So, almost before leaving the US, we got called 911 for the first time to report the accident. We continued on in the rain and we had driven more than 2 hours when we stopped for gas. There we made the decision to call the trip off and go back! Prarthna had cooperated, but the rains had not! So we turned around and went back, taking the slower US 40 from Baltimore. There we witnessed another accident, so we were kind of glad that we had not continued...

(I must say that I am writing this months after it happened, from a whole new country...it is December now...more abt. that soon)

It is final!

We are going to be leaving this country in two weeks. I picked up the tickets today. We are flying Alitalia through Milan (Sorry Boshoffs, the South Africa dream did not work :-( Hopefully, we can find another way to get over there) We had a lot of trouble getting tickets because of various European capitals requiring a transit visa (as Prachi's visa has expired)

I don't know what to feel. I have a very mixed bag of feelings - sadness about leaving an area where we established our home, grew together as a family, where we had our baby, where we have had many many great times, where we met dear friends, got graduate degrees, and much more - exhiliration about going to India after many years, be at the place where I grew up, sharing the baby with her grandparents - apprehension about the monstrous tasks ahead of wrapping up in the next 2 weeks and also about going to an unknown world, although for that I can trust God to bring us through as He has so wonderfully done so far.

We have been trying to wrap various things up. Clear all accounts, cancel extraneous things, decide what to take, ship, and throw, and much much more. It is really exhausting and just a ton of work. Today ended up to a big expense day when we spent $2350! We got a big favor with the paediatrician as they gave us about 25% discount on our bill! The only big thing left to do now is selling the car which is proving to be hard to do! I hope God has a buyer for us.

Prarthna turned 9 months today. She is such a dearie, and it is hard to imagine life without her. We went to Chitra's for dinner. It was a good fun and it was good to spend time with them. Niti had invited us over on Monday and Prarthna was all over their son, Arjun who happens to be a couple months older but is very shy, I think.

We were at Eric and Lis's farewell party at the Elliott's on Sunday. It was great to see many old friends over there. I am not sure when, if ever, will we see many of them again.

Bhuvan comes on Friday, and I think our original plans are in for a lot of change. I will write more about that in a couple days.

The reality is sinking in

I am beginning to realize that our days in this area (and this country) are numbered. Everywhere I go, I feel that it might be the last time. It saddens me somewhat but I am also excited about what awaits us. I met Eric today in what promises to be one of the last one-on-one meetings. Parting from them will definitely be hard but I hope God protects our friendship from the pressures of distance and time as he has done with the Boshoffs.

We started the preparations in right earnest this Tuesday after deciding that we are going to shoot for Norway. Praise God, we have been able to accomplish a substantial amount. Prachi's dissertation has been accepted, and we have fulfilled all the requirements for her degree (We got a lot of favor with that, with Betty willing to give priority to her paper). We have obtained all medical records. We have a booking for travel. We have sold some more things. We have plans for a yard sale this Sunday. Prachi's office has been completely emptied. We have taken care of some other items in the house.

We are planning on going to Pittsburgh tomorrow. It is a longish trip but Sangeeta is going to accompany us and hopefully, we can make it without a glitch.

Prarthna probably does not have much clue about the happenings around her. She is sometimes oblivious to the changes in the house but sometimes we feel that she might miss all the stuff. Our living room is pretty much empty (except for a mattress on the floor and a couple boxes). The dining room area has been converted as her play zone. She stands quite well now, although only with support. She lets go sometimes for may be a second before grabbing something again. She has begun to walk sideways sometimes also. I feel bad for her when I think what she is going to go through soon. Hectic travel, change of climate, new people, and much more. I pray that God protects the little one through all this.

I have got to call it a night now as we have a very early and long day ahead of us.

The view outside the window...

...is sure to change soon. The time seems nigh that we will leave the present apartment that we are in for someplace else. Since my last post, much has changed.

The last week was pretty uneventful. We did not do much over the weekend as well. We had a pleasant surprise when the Deopuras called that they were planning to visit us. I was apprehensive to begin with as our house was not in a very good shape. But Prachi was excited and cooked a nice meal for them (idli and dosa). We actually had a very good time and the best part was a game of cards (they taught us a new one - Jack is my partner).

Life was going on as usual. We were still not sure what the future held for us. Actually, we had received an email from Dr. Wexler that he might be able to fund Prachi from September to December part time and then from January full-time as a postdoc. We were thinking that if nothing else works, we atleast have this. On Monday, I called Inductis but was told that I will not be hearing anything until Thursday. I had had a phone interview with GexCon in Norway last week. They had said that they will get back to me by the middle of the next week.

But I got a call from Norway on Tuesday with the news that I was their choice. It was hard to believe but finally I had something in my hand.

What I have felt since then is hard to describe. I have gone from really excited to happy to worried to sad...it is a flurry of emotions. We are going to be leaving this place soon. We actually have been incredibly blessed that we have been able to sell all our furniture and more. A couple came yesterday and got a lot of baby stuff. So, we have been getting lean and prepared.

But going to Norway is a big step. It is a different language, a new culture, and what not. I am praying and hoping that if God has taken us this far, he will take us there safely and work everything out.