Three conversions later .......

Hi friends! What better time to resume blogging than having just got over 6 hours of hysterical rejoicing over India's world cup victory, and thus bearing witness to history as it got created on my 15.6 inch laptop screen, on an innocuous TV channel streaming spurts of live action. But this blog, unlike 99% of the others being written right now, is not going to be about the cricket!

The reason I am back after this longish break is primarily the hectic last few months, a slice of which experience I want to share with you here. During this time, I had shifted between different kinds of work, bought my first car, went on a memorable family vacation to Dooars (North Bengal Himalayan forests) after 5 years, returned to barely get my papers done before I had to fly over to the US on a project! Hectic, isn't it?

But the funny part is, of all the places in the US, my destiny brought me over to a sleepy town called "Kalamazoo" (sounds like Timbaktoo! - far from American) in the heart of Michigan, the American mid-west! And, as every Indian professional, I also boarded the flight from the dazzling IGI airport with 2 important CONVERSIONS (besides a ton of luggage) - dollar to rupee and "EST daylight saving" to IST! But by the time I got off at K'zoo (probably the smallest airport in the world), after immigration ordeals at London and Chicago, 10 inches of ice added a third CONVERSION to my list - fahrenheit to celsius!

Now, the American mid-west is a bit like the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, with nothing really famous/iconic about it that the outside world might know about that country! But at the same time, the heart of any big country is often the most bare representation of her society, culture and character - and K'zoo, unlike the New Yorks and LAs of the US, embodies in many ways the true average American way of life! As a result of interactions with a large number of very friendly and warm locals, it was fascinating to observe, understand and get familiar with the American psyche.

One of the first things that struck me was that Hollywood / CNN / Washington / other American icons are VERY DIFFERENT from what average America is and its normal population are. Michigan was the erstwhile seat of the US automobile industry (with Detroit being the cradle of GM, Ford and Chrysler), before recession devastated it, primarily caused by the crash in the real estate market all over the US. This state, having one of the highest education levels for all of America, its people are very aware of current affairs and quick to point out to you the flaws of their own govt and at the same time inquisitive about things outside the US. For much of the Mid-west, it is the same human concerns, fears, hopes and aspirations that ring throughout most societies of the world .... unlike the American IMAGE we are familiar with! Now coming to my CONVERSIONS which I brought along with me, I have gradually realized that these conversions throw up some interesting facts about this country.

First up, the "dollar to rupee conversion" - it is easy to say that this implies things are likely to be more expensive in the US than in India. True, but not always! Using this conversion, there are some things EQUALLY expensive in India as the US - non-veg, dairy, drinks, fuel; some actually MORE costly in India than the US - electronics, cars (same category), houses (not flats) and other so-called luxury items. Everything else like fruits, veggies, manual labor, transport, education is cheaper in India. This means that our so-called essential items are more expensive in the US, middle-class items are largely equivalent or slightly cheaper in the US, but luxury items are way cheaper in the US! That partly explains why the American middle class finds it easier to afford luxury items, compared to their Indian counterparts who have to take a bigger jump!

The second CONVERSION of time is also interesting, as it explains why most Western cultures have dinner (and NOT supper) - simply because the diurnal 24 hours get realigned as much as possible with sunlight time, to trigger an earlier start to the "working day" and consequently an earlier close, often with the sun still out in summer! That also means I had to fight against my "IST" habits to leave for work when it's still dark outside, and go to bed just 3 hrs after sunset! Apart from the daylight saving, another challenging aspect to contend with is the multiple American time-zones, which can create logical impossibilities like me getting on my return flight at 1:30 pm from K'zoo and reaching Chicago ALSO at 1:30 pm (1 hr flight Westwards from EST to CST)!

The third CONVERSION of temperature was not only the hardest to calculate mentally, but also difficult to reason with while in India - I mean, why would anyone take such a rational reference of 0 degrees celsius (below which water freezes) and twist it into something as non-intuitive as 32 degrees fahrenheit? It deviated significantly from the core outlook of the American society - trying to make things simple and intuitive (from english spellings to gas station instructions)! But then I arrived in the middle of the freezing K'zoo winter - and I have since realized that 25 fahrenheit sounds much warmer than -4 celsius, and might be significant for people to carry on psychologically through the 8 month Winter!

In all, it has been a fascinating and educating experience with the REAL America for me - from mexican cuisine, burgers, barbecues and hot dogs, to Ice hockey, bowling and Nintendo; from tight schedules and long hours, to online and retail shopping; from left-side driver seat and right-hand driving, to marvelous traffic discipline and 75 MPH (120 KPH) on highways - all along the way befriending some really nice and helpful people!