Bidding goodbye

I am leaving tomorrow night to the US of A. Although I am very eager and excited, I am still a little anxious. How will I fare in this new country?Will I be able to adapt myself to the US system of education?

A new beginning, a new life. But I will miss Chennai terribly. It is very tough to leave behind all that has been yours for over two decades, but the show must go on.So with a little bit of trepidation and loads of enthusiasm, I embark on this new journey.

I just wish this new chapter turns out to be as rewarding and fulfilling as my life back here.

Bidding adieu to everyone.

P.S. I don't know if I will be able to blog much once am there, but hope I manage at least the occasional post.

To do list

I'll be leaving to the USA in about 10 days and I am frantically trying to catch up on several things I must do before that.

*Meet loads of relatives and friends. Though I have been doing that since the past few weeks, there always seems to be some person who I remember at the last minute, every other day.

*Gorge on Indian food.This is one thing I'll miss terribly, being a major fan of Indian cusine.From paani puri to dahi vada to fruit juices @Juice World to Sunday specials at home, I'll miss it all!!

*Start packing.Now that I'm done with most of my shopping, it's time I begun packing it all in.Hope I do not exceed the luggage restrictions.

*Buy some course books.

*Catch some Tamil movies, esp my long-time favs, just to soak in the stuff of your region. Have to catch JTYJN now that my friends are giving it full marks.

I should stop, really and get down to actually doing the stuff I've listed.This might be my last sane blog entry in a while.

An end to the long wait

Finally dawned the much anticipated (or is it much dreaded?) day. In my case, it was the former because I wanted to be done with it. Too much of waiting had me running out of patience.
I had read in several forums that student visas are pretty easy to land but despite all the positive feedback, I had a faint sense of irrational fear that I may end up being the odd exception to that rule.

Anyways, I entered the consulate with an indifferent attitude, neither was I confident nor overtly anxious. After all the initial screening and sitting/standing in multiple queues, I was placed in front of the counter that I was fervently wishing to avoid(this particular Visa Officer was rejecting visas quite randomly).I had to do something to save myself from this unwarranted predicament.So then I stealthily moved over to the queue in front of an adjacent counter when the VFS volunteer was looking away. The guy in front of me in this new counter was rejected his Visa under section 214(b)(I think)of the U.S. laws!But I wont really blame the Visa Officer, because the guy could barely converse in English and he had applied for a visitor visa, I think, for attending some seminar.After much pleading from his side, he was whisked away from the counter by the same VFS volunteer since he refused to budge.

I was now a little apprehensive, but the VO was really warm and friendly and all my baseless apprehensions were immediately put to rest . After a friendly chat and casual perusal of documents, she said, "The passport will be couriered to you in a weeks time". So, that was my Visa experience. Quite ordinary, nothing unexpected and I really have to thank those who posted their Visa experience in the Edulix forum as well as the various Visa communities. I was familiar with the entire procedure and pattern of interview and this eventually made all the difference.