From Spring to Fall...

There’s a green, a faded yellow and a bright lemon. A deep maroon looks down upon me and a sudden bright red peeks out from the corner and surprises me. Sunlight falls on one and it lights up in a magnificent golden. There’s a mehndi orange, there’s a pumpkin orange and an orange the colour of mahogany furniture. They mingle easily with the tangerine yellow and the yellow the colour of corn… the rust gives way to the more assertive vermillion red, which overpowers the others… As I look out the window, there is a profusion of colours, each distinct yet existing in harmony… the number of shades on the leaves of all these trees is awe-inspiring! And even though the branches will soon be bare and look lonely, it seems as if they are enjoying the present in a celebration of colours and of life itself!

Fall is here. I moved here in Spring. I remember I wrote about spring, of hope, of blooming of life. It’s been 6 months since then. And with another milestone coming up in a week (those of you who know what it is, please treat this as a reminder that if nothing else, I want at least calls/emails!), I’ve been doing some self-analysis and have reached some conclusions… but that’s for later… What’s striking me the most right now is the mind’s ability to adapt to circumstances, situations, new places, new phases and new faces at rapid speed!

For example, I am amazed at how quickly my brain has adapted to driving on the right side of the road! In fact, the other day I was watching a Hindi movie and for a second I thought, ‘why is this guy driving on the “wrong” side of the road?’!

In 6 months, I’ve learnt to say “we” instead of “I” in office. For example, even if it was only me who worked on a document, I say “we drafted this”. This is the culture here, and I think it may be more of a CYA strategy rather than a display of teamwork, but in any case, in Rome, you got to do as the Romans!

Traveling at 85 km/h has become more the norm rather than the exception now! In fact, sometimes I have to speed up more to avoid slowing down someone behind me…

Standing in lines patiently, awaiting your turn is more pleasant now since I don’t have fat uncles or bullies who shove their way to the front of the line before me…

I’m drinking tea from a teabag, adding milk later! (God help me on this one! I’ve no idea when I got accustomed to this, but I miss the Indian chai like hell!)

I find it easier thinking in Fahrenheit than converting into Celsius and then figuring out how hot or cold it is or would be… (this may have something to do with my abominable math skills too!)

And in these 6 months, I’ve learnt that distance is a much bigger healer than time.

But, I still can’t adjust to this – how Americans have a name for every ailment that ever happened to anyone! They have a syndrome for every condition you ever thought of! The best yet is the ‘restless legs’ syndrome! And of course there’s ADD – Attention Deficit Disorder. And everyone is self-diagnosing it and shouting from the rooftop, I have ADD. I can’t concentrate on one thing for a long time. Hmmm. You need a spank, not a drug.

But I know I’ve become addicted to blogging more in these past 6 months than before as a means of expressing myself, sometimes as a means of self-discovery, sometimes for entertainment, sometimes to vent my feelings and sometimes to share my joy. And I know that you all have been with me through this ongoing journey, and I’m glad and grateful for that!

Because it’s been quite a journey, these 6 months. Quite like any other previously. It was different in Paris, different before Paris. But these 6 months have been a real mix of the good and the bad, intertwined so intricately that I can’t distinguish the good times from the bad! Which is just as well, because it means that it has all turned out good. Thank God for that.