The change is inevitable. The change in life, the weather, the need, the perceptions and even ideologies changes with time although it has not been reflected so much inside and outside. It has been more than a month in Carbondale and still I am wondering about my past life and things I passed through. Each day is a new beginning for me with new sets of experiences and the life continues to be adventurous. The feelings of snowfall, walking in the snowflake, being a commuter in the university bus and just wondering in the middle of the class about my presence – being only the one international student in most of the classes were things that were happening so frequently and repetitively.
It is very usual for the temperature to go below the zero degree and life goes on even in extremes. We don’t feel it, people talks too much about weather and climate but again nothing is going to stop for the everyday business. The central heating system of the building won’t make you feel that the temperature is freezing outside.
I was lucky to get in touch with new friends and I have plenty of American friends. The assignments keep on bombarding and spoiling the precious time I am supposed to enjoy. The job has been so far very easy as my American friend is very friendly and she is teaching me so many things beside work. She is truly a friendly girl who has also been to India. She wants me to go to church with her some day. I am just trying to learn American perspectives in life, not trying to change the perception about religion that I have been adhering for long. Interestingly, there was first meeting of the secular humanist community and I took part in the meeting as I always dreamed of being member of larger community.
We went to the theatre in Carbondale to watch the Tourist. It was fun watching movies, it was not a big theatre but they were showing up many movies at a time. Going to the grocery every weekend has been part of the life. Buying online from Amazon has been something very easy and cheap. I was more excited when I got my first pay stub it made me feel that I am worthy somewhere globally and spatially – in geographic perspective. The other evening we had chance to watch another movie in the community center of our housing. The movie talks too much about Christianity but again it was a kind of new experience and had chance to meet many people’s from other part of the life.
Morris library and the recreation center were most amazing things of this school. When I went to the library for the first time, I was totally surprised, amazed and curious. It has so many resources and when you can reserve the book online it makes the life easier and feels how technology can help us to make our life beautiful. We often go to recreation center. Sometimes it’s fun to run in the track but most of the time we are playing badminton. It was beyond my imagination how these resources are made available to the students as I came from the resource crunched country.
The course sustainable development was really bringing lot of discussions and ideas among all of the participants. Most of the time, we were very busy working on assignments and reading papers. Truly, Sustainable Development really needs to be invented sustainably – still lacking fundamental and operational pedagogy to act somewhere in real world Sustainable development course was a course that needs lot of discussion and attention in the classroom. It really stimulates the intellectual debate and it makes me very busy as you have to read lot of materials. The other two courses are bit technical so it was not so difficult to adjust in the frequency.
Some of the interesting things have already happened, I didn’t know how to use the ATM Cards in McDonald, and the lady taught me. I am so grateful to her. Something very amazing thing happened when I went to student center on one of the chilling day; I saw that ATM machine was asking me for the next transaction? I was wondering what the heck this is. Then I clicked NO, then suddenly ATM card popped out from the machine, I was quickly looking for the lady who has just used that system. She was in the elevator down the way; I raise her hand and shouted. She realized that she missed it but was confused and nervous to use the elevator to come up that is going down. I signed her to come back from the other side of building. Finally, I got beautiful smile, she got her card. She must be from Asia Pacific.
Eating habit has been changed completely and I am wondering how it’s going to change after couple of months. So the changes are going on and on and I am just feeling and passing through it, some are very subtle, some are delicate, some are not coming back and some you feel that you can’t describe merely in words, it needs to be felt at the tributaries of your mind and its goes on and on…
It is very usual for the temperature to go below the zero degree and life goes on even in extremes. We don’t feel it, people talks too much about weather and climate but again nothing is going to stop for the everyday business. The central heating system of the building won’t make you feel that the temperature is freezing outside.
I was lucky to get in touch with new friends and I have plenty of American friends. The assignments keep on bombarding and spoiling the precious time I am supposed to enjoy. The job has been so far very easy as my American friend is very friendly and she is teaching me so many things beside work. She is truly a friendly girl who has also been to India. She wants me to go to church with her some day. I am just trying to learn American perspectives in life, not trying to change the perception about religion that I have been adhering for long. Interestingly, there was first meeting of the secular humanist community and I took part in the meeting as I always dreamed of being member of larger community.
We went to the theatre in Carbondale to watch the Tourist. It was fun watching movies, it was not a big theatre but they were showing up many movies at a time. Going to the grocery every weekend has been part of the life. Buying online from Amazon has been something very easy and cheap. I was more excited when I got my first pay stub it made me feel that I am worthy somewhere globally and spatially – in geographic perspective. The other evening we had chance to watch another movie in the community center of our housing. The movie talks too much about Christianity but again it was a kind of new experience and had chance to meet many people’s from other part of the life.
Morris library and the recreation center were most amazing things of this school. When I went to the library for the first time, I was totally surprised, amazed and curious. It has so many resources and when you can reserve the book online it makes the life easier and feels how technology can help us to make our life beautiful. We often go to recreation center. Sometimes it’s fun to run in the track but most of the time we are playing badminton. It was beyond my imagination how these resources are made available to the students as I came from the resource crunched country.
The course sustainable development was really bringing lot of discussions and ideas among all of the participants. Most of the time, we were very busy working on assignments and reading papers. Truly, Sustainable Development really needs to be invented sustainably – still lacking fundamental and operational pedagogy to act somewhere in real world Sustainable development course was a course that needs lot of discussion and attention in the classroom. It really stimulates the intellectual debate and it makes me very busy as you have to read lot of materials. The other two courses are bit technical so it was not so difficult to adjust in the frequency.
Some of the interesting things have already happened, I didn’t know how to use the ATM Cards in McDonald, and the lady taught me. I am so grateful to her. Something very amazing thing happened when I went to student center on one of the chilling day; I saw that ATM machine was asking me for the next transaction? I was wondering what the heck this is. Then I clicked NO, then suddenly ATM card popped out from the machine, I was quickly looking for the lady who has just used that system. She was in the elevator down the way; I raise her hand and shouted. She realized that she missed it but was confused and nervous to use the elevator to come up that is going down. I signed her to come back from the other side of building. Finally, I got beautiful smile, she got her card. She must be from Asia Pacific.
Eating habit has been changed completely and I am wondering how it’s going to change after couple of months. So the changes are going on and on and I am just feeling and passing through it, some are very subtle, some are delicate, some are not coming back and some you feel that you can’t describe merely in words, it needs to be felt at the tributaries of your mind and its goes on and on…
