The Entry

After the lengthy Flight experience (both in terms of the flight as well as the narration ;) ), the tired and weary traveler in me finally gets the chance to get off the seat and walk outside the humungous aircraft which was the gateway to the United States.

Even though visibly tired I was full of excitement thinking of the wonderful feeling of finally being able to make it till here. The airport where my 'Port of Entry' was the John F Kennedy International Airport, New York. I am sure the term originated from the times when travel across countries was mainly through sea, and as the technology advanced they would have thought of just retaining the name. And JFK was one among the busiest airports in the World and my energy level was high with the very thought of being in NY, true for a person who never traveled to the big cities even back in India. 

Now even though physically in the US, there was another hurdle that I had to cross and that was the final clearance from the Officials at the Port of Entry. Just like the visa interview experience, I had a session of briefing regarding how to get through this hurdle as well from the HR department. One thing they said to keep in mind always was to 'answer to the point' and not to go on explaining why you should be here, that is one thing which I had to get used to as back in India we are pretty much used to the way of describing things in detail. So with all these inputs in mind, I walked towards the officer with much confidence, promptly answering the few questions he asked me and done! My ears heard those magic words again 'Enjoy your stay in the US', so I finally made it and was free (not fully though) to go about in the United States.

With all the official formalities done, I had to get to the domestic terminal from where another flight was needed to get me to the destination. Looking around for the terminal, one of the airport staff guided me to get the train which would take me there. This was another new experience again, back home we had sub-urban trains between different locations but this was the first time I had to get on a train just to reach another terminal within the airport. Following the instructions, I passed through several walkways and escalators to board the train to the next terminal. Upon reaching there the only thing in my mind was to find where my boarding gate was located and I hurried up to the display boards which showed up the gate; pacing towards the gate looking at the sign boards I finally found a seat to settle down and relax.

Within a few minutes of the 'found-the-gate' feeling, my hunger started showing up and it wanted something really bad (despite all the good meals abroad the long flight). I walked up to a food joint to grab a quick snack. Back home the most western cuisine for me were the burgers and pizza, so hoping to find either of the two I looked up the menu options and chose a Cheeseburger. The reason for choosing the cheeseburger was that I was already tired and had a kind of nausea feeling inside me, so not wanting to try anything fancy and non-veg the choice I made seemed to be apt. Though the burger served as the perfect answer to my hunger, only later did I realize that the 'Cheese' burger was a 'Ham' burger topped with cheese! Luckily for me who was a non-vegetarian with no diet restrictions, the realization was not much of a shock. I can only imagine the fate of my vegetarian friends who ever had to confront such a situation.

Next up was the experience with the foreign currency, the currency of the world - the Dollar. Back at Dubai I had exchanged a 500 rupee note for Dollars only to be surprised by the exchange rate and having spent that amount for a calling card, I literally ended up with the $100 notes which was kept as a 'Just In Case' option. So for the burger purchase I had to handout this $100 note to the cashier who should have been surprised with the gesture of paying the $100 for a mere $7 bill. When the change was handed back to me, my hands were basically full! It struck to me that moment that these people have the change for the smallest denomination of their currency and I had instantly gathered a few coins whose denomination was unknown to me; so I had to spend the next couple minutes figuring out that :)

Thrilled with these new experiences, I was all set for the connecting flight to my destination which even though was an hour late did not make much of an impact on me as I had connected my laptop to the airport WiFi and even got a seat next to the charging point (all the Layover time at the terminals made me good at these things by then). With enough of flying experience and my mind slowly getting over the air-sickness, the 45-minute flight to my destination was a cakewalk to me and I ended up at the hotel room past midnight for a good night's sleep.

Now here is the funny part, all of you would imagine that the long travel obviously would have made any traveler tired enough to sleep for 8-10hours; but the reality is more than that. There would come the inevitable 'Jet-Lag' without any prior introduction. 

And the experiences continue...

The Flight

Now that the opportunity was given, the next phase would be the Flight into the foreign country; a land unknown to my mind, pictured from the photos of some Facebook friends living there and a totally new kind of society that I would be into for about four weeks.

The anticipation starts right from the airport while you are being subjected to several rounds of security screening and baggage check. Going by the advices from a cousin who was working at the airport (thankfully to alleviate much of my curiosity on how to board in a International flight) I had packed the baggage which was to be 'Checked-In' to be not more than 23kgs and one laptop bag to 'Carry-On'. The bags which were just a means to carry my stuff while traveling to and from home in Chennai suddenly got classified into two types - one 'Check-In' and the other was a 'Carry-On'. I was told to carry my personal care items in the 'Carry-On' bag along with my laptop (just in case I was bored at the airport, which eventually I was). And then came the strange customs which I was not aware of since then, at all the security check points where your bag needs to be screened; the laptop would have to be taken off it and placed in another box along with all the items in your pocket. Luckily for me there was a friend again who worked at the airport to accompany me and quickly guide me over the security check procedures.

After all the ordeal of the security barrier, I was a free man now waiting in the lounge near the gate for my flight to Dubai from where I would be taking the longer flight to the US. Luckily I had the chance to travel in one of the Finest airlines in the world - Emirates; and it has remained my favorite airline till date. The only odd thing you experience in a Emirates flight (or in most Middle East airlines I guess) is that the announcements are made in Arabic before English :) it sounded funny to me when I heard it first, only to realize that I would be spending more than 7hours at Dubai airport waiting for the next flight hearing the Arabic announcements!

The take off, which I believe for most of you traveling first time would be a scary part with the initial twists and turns giving you a feel that the plane is going to crash any moment :) . Most people on the plane were just relaxing and listening to some songs while I would peep out of the window every now and then to make sure we were safe (guess everyone else were pretty much used to what seemed totally new to me). Then came the interesting part - Food! Many of my friends gave me the speculation that the food served on flights were from 5-star cuisine and were very delicious. I could not wait to lay my hands (like any normal Indian I too thought hands, only to realize later that you had to use fork, knife and spoon) on the meal. I had opted for the Biriyani (a very popular dish in South India) and thanks to Emirates which gave the option to choose between the types of meals. While I was expecting a typical plate of Biriyani, there came another surprise! There was this tray with Biriyani being the main dish and a lot of other sides served along with it. The one thing I found the most strange was a piece of Bun which came along with the meal, I felt it strange all the way through even on my return.

All the time getting used to home-made food and eating them with bare hands without caring about anybody else, suddenly the 'Dining-on-the-plane' experience was a total stranger to me. In the middle of my meal I would carefully watch the fellow passengers treating their meal and slowly learned to catch up with the new setting. The flight to Dubai was not long and we got there pretty soon when compared to the total length of my travel which was close to 36hrs (Yes, you read that correct! I had almost 17hours of Layover). Making my way into the Terminal 3 of Dubai airport I was overwhelmed with the kind of facilities they had at the airport and the amount of people rushing about in every possible direction. I understood one thing - this was one busy airport and I had to spend another 7hours there which is called the 'Layover' (I basically had to Lay at the benches there to get some sleep :) ).

Strolling around at the huge terminal and exploring the Duty-Free shops did kill some time, but eventually I did get bored and had to watch a movie in my laptop; and since the layover was during the night and the next flight was only early in the morning. At the lounge one could easily get a specimen of the world, you could easily spot people from almost all over the world - some hurrying, some walking leisurely, some group travelers (with the same dress code and similar tags on them), some busy businessmen and of course the airport personnel.

As the morning dawned, I was noticeably tired but the excitement of the next flight; which would be the one taking me to the USA. The boarding gates opened up at about 6am and I had to rush through my daily routine to be in time for the boarding. Reaching the gates well ahead of time, I descended down the stairs to the boarding lounge with the Huge Boeing A380 flight overlooking the waiting area; the first sight of the huge aircraft made me all the more excited to be traveling on such a wonderful piece of human engineering. Walking towards the seat on this huge airplane was an experience in itself as I was spellbound seeing the amount of people it could hold. With the same energy I settled down on my seat and enjoyed the breathtaking view of Dubai as this gigantic metal bird soared effortlessly towards its altitude of 40,000feet.

Once again as was typical of Emirates airlines, I was treated to a wonderful hospitality and food relished by my taste buds. There were enough of regional movies to watch and spend the long 16hour duration; but each time I started to watch a movie, sleep would overcome me and lure me into short naps although in the rather crammed legroom space of the huge jet. I now always think as to why they are not so generous about legroom on these long distance non-stop international flights, as all the regional US airlines leave you with adequate breathing space for the legs. As the journey approached the United States people seemed to be more relaxed with a fresh energy flowing through most of them, some of them were obviously tired of the lengthy travel(like me). 

At last the hours of sitting in one place trying to watch movies, taking short walks in between (this was told by well wishers to avoid bodily cramps), watching the flight tracking map progress, getting used to the altitude and motion of the flight - finally the destination was here! The doors to the United States of America were now a few moments away.

The Opportunity

For many of us in India, the USA has always been a fascination. And even before we set our feet into the land of Opportunities most of us who do not have close friends or relatives in the US have our own perception of how the world's most developed nation would be.

A person like me who has only been to the southern states of India the outlook of another country was largely made up with the news, opinions from friends and family. Initially very reluctant to travel abroad, mainly owing to the 'My Nation' feeling (I'm sure most of you would have felt it that way) changed one fine evening when my manager walked up to me asking whether I am ready to travel to the US on a B1 Visa. At that time the word B1 sounded a complete new language to me, and immediately as all the IT professionals do I started a search in Google and found out the answers to all my questions. And here I was, suddenly felt like there were too many things happening at the same time in life; had the interview dates taken, had to prepare for the trip, had to make my wife understand that I will be in touch with her and get ready to meet the American clients to whom I was talking on a weekly basis in person.

The one thing which helped me relax thinking of the fact that traveling to a country which is completely new to me, was the fact that my colleagues (who are called the 'Onsite' team in IT language) were good friends of mine and from South India. So the question of how I will go out there and with whom was pretty much answered as the Onsite guys had been there for quite a long time. At this point like any other Indian youth I was pretty much thrilled to get there and for 'The Entry' into the US, the visa had to be obtained through a visa interview held at one of the Consulate offices. A lengthy process of filling out multiple forms and taking the date of interview, finally I was there standing in line for the interview process with the heavy file in top formal attire.

All the while I was standing in the line waiting for my turn to come, there were a thousand things lingering through my mind. Many had told that recent B1 visas were being scrutinized and only a few granted, so to make me fail-proof the HR manager had given a lengthy session on how to brave the interview and the possible scenarios I would come across. Finally my turn came and I was before this American guy who was to take my interview, when prompted I politely held out the paperwork he asked for and confidently answered the few questions he had asked me. Then, my ears heard those very magical words 'Your visa is approved, enjoy your stay at the US!'; WOW so I finally did it, it felt so great at that time realizing that all the days spent of thinking about how the US would be coming closer to reality.

Within a few days my passport which had been unused from the time I got it came back with a visa stamped on it. Now the things were pretty much clear, on what I was supposed to do there and the things I needed while I would be there. Days flew past swiftly and came the time when I had to leave home to the International airport embarking on a lengthy flight to take me across the borders, across the oceans, across the timezones and finally make it to the land of Opportunities.