Goodbye USA!

The last few days of my stay in the US was very emotional.  I was happy about returning back to India but I was also sad. I had developed a special bond with Colorado Springs and formed new friendships here. It was not easy to part from them all. I took time to meet everyone personally and say a proper good bye to them. 

My Manager took our entire team out for lunch at a Mexican restaurant. Later that evening, he told me that I had done great and he would surely miss me. He indeed is a role model for me as a manager. 

I met all my Indian colleagues and thanked them for their support. Nagendra sure had been one of my best friends in the city and I would definitely miss him. During the last few days of my stay, he had begun to share some of his deepest secrets -  Some of which, he had never shared with anyone. Despite some of it being against my own values and ethics at that time, I seemed to accept him as he was. I invited him for dinner at Mirch Masala and bid farewell to my dear friend. 

One of my colleagues, Fred arranged for a send off lunch for me. Some other colleagues joined. It was hard to say good bye to Peggy. I had dinner with Mike and her. Jonah and I joked that she was our American Mother but truly, she had been no less than a mother to us. She had taken care of me since the day I had first stepped on the American soil. I would always remain touched by her kindness and generosity. Her husband Mike and their tenant Brett have been great friends to me. Brett gifted me a collection of Alfred Hitchcock movies. 

On the 29th of July, my friends treated me with a dinner and gifted me a pen set. It was very nice of them to do so. I felt extremely emotional but hid the sentiments behind a nervous smile. I would miss all of them - specially, Seb and Jonah. However, I knew that they are going to return soon and we would meet again in India. Early next morning (30-Jul-2005) I left Colorado springs and flew to Minneapolis and then to Amsterdam and then to Mumbai. That year, my birthday (31-Jul) was spent flying from the west to the east. 

I am haunted by words and memories that made it hard to bid farewell to this lovely city; this incredible country. I knew I would miss my walks in the cotton wood creek park and around the apartment complex; my long conversations with Nagendra; the view of the pikes peak; the donut shop that Dennis, my Driving instructor got me hooked to; Albertsons, the grocery store where I often shopped and many other small things that had made up this entire year. But life has to go on and I knew that a new, interesting life awaited me in Bangalore. 

I had come to the US as a timid and silent boy but this country has turned me into someone more confident and soulful. Thanks to this country, I began enjoying traveling and driving. I observe a drastic change in my personality too. While I return, I know that I shall go back as a much more lively and confident person than what I was when I left India. 

America allows one to be oneself and not a single person interferes in your life. As I return, I take back with me, the gift of individualism that this country has given me. It is time to explore what I can do with this gift.