8216;I would always convert the dollar price into rupees8217;

I spent the first 18 years of my life in Haldwani,Uttar Pradesh,the place I most identify with.

I spent the first 18 years of my life in Haldwani,Uttar Pradesh,the place I most identify with. The Himalayas flank Haldwani in the north and give it a distinct character. I like its bustling markets with fruit and vegetable vendors,and the trucks that pass through the city with supplies for the towns in the plains.

I was 30 when I first came to the US for higher studies in 2003. Earlier,I had studied in Nainital,Kanpur,Bhopal and worked at Seva Mandir in Udaipur.

On March 13,I received an email from Woodrow Wilson School,Princeton University,informing me that they had admitted me. I was working at a health survey office in Udaipur when I got the news. I was very happy and immediately told my friends and colleagues. Later,I called my family at Haldwani. Despite being happy,they expressed it in a relatively understated manner quite a normal thing in my family.

My mother packed a small container of homemade mango and jackfruit achar. To ensure my safety,she also packed a Hanuman Chalisa,which I still have in a bag at home.

On August 12,2003,I landed at the New York airport and then took a connecting flight to Boston. I vividly remember our American Eagle plane landing at the Logan Airport,the Boston skyline and the waters of the Boston Harbour.

I was soon struck by how people had a strong sense of space and did not mingle as easily with others say in a subway as they do in India. What also left me awestruck was the beauty of the rural landscape,which was a surprise.

In the film A Beautiful Mind,I had seen some clips of the campus at Princeton. But when I reached there,I was spellbound by its Gothic architecture and streets lined with maple trees. Among the Princeton buildings,my favourite was and still is the Alexander Hall. On my first day at school,I lost my way. I didnt mind it because it was beautiful whichever direction I went I ended up being at the Princeton battlefield!.

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A major concern for my family was the physical distance. When I was in Udaipur,I was able to visit my family once a year. When I was at Princeton,I was able to stay connected with them through telephone but I couldnt visit them for two and a half years,as I could not afford it. There were times I felt helpless especially when I was not able to visit a friend who was very ill. I missed being able to speak in Hindi,being able to celebrate Indian festivals with the same gusto,and home-made Indian food.

The people I met at school carried varied impressions of India ranging from India being a country full of rich and intelligent people to India having rampant poverty and being a deeply divided caste-based society. Both these extremes bothered me. During my first year at school,some of my professors had difficulty in understanding my accent. I found it annoying,I felt they were not making an effort to listen carefully.

Among the small irritants I faced,I had a difficult time figuring out how different types of water faucets functioned. Feeling too embarrassed to ask,I would dare to use a new type of faucet only after ensuring that no one was watching. I would also always convert the dollar price into rupees and then decide everything was too expensive. It took me some time to get comfortable with the idea of having a 12 haircut I would have had about 40 haircuts at Haldwani for the same price.

I now work with the Global Environment Facility at the World Bank in Washington DC. After eight years in the US,in many ways,I am the same my experiences in India are still very much part of who I am and what I do. But I have become more liberal and accepting of people from different backgrounds and with different interests. I feel some of the industriousness and openness of Americans has rubbed off on me.