10 months hence

ok, actually i'm now back in the US, on a temporary visiting scientist position for a few months. I was quite looking forward to this since i'm able to escape the chennai heat for a while and also work a bit more efficiently with my collaborators who are in the US. In addition, i now get to stay with my wife till November, and she is due to finish her PhD in December, so we wont be apart for as long as we thought we would.

How does it feel to be back in the US? I get asked this a lot. Well, its only been a week here, and 10 months in India was not long enough, so I think the US feels pretty much the same. The one thing that's really nice - the clean streets and neighborhoods, and the lack of obvious destitution. I didn't think this would be such a big deal, but it is. I dont care about dollars vs. Rs, or work here vs. work there (i'm lucky to have a great work environment in both the US and India) but cleanliness and the fact that average people just live way more comfortably here is nice to see. and the lack of crowds everywhere (except at places i dont go to anyway, like baseball games and rock concerts) is something i like, though some may prefer the hustle and bustle of indian streets, and i do too on rare occasions.

I do miss family (mom and dad) but being with my wife and friends makes up for it. Someday, we shall all be together, and that is pretty much the ultimate aim. However, i think one's first responsibility is to one's own spouse and kids, parents are next in line, harsh thought that may sounds in the indian context.

For now, my wife has to get a job somewhere after her graduation and we shall see how things go. I would say 10 months in India is not enough to give it a chance, specially if you are not mobile and really like a lot of things about India from the get-go. I have yet to deal with any big practical problems in India - just minor irritants like arguing with autowallahs in chennai, people spitting left, right and center, general uncleanliness and apathy towards the same, and specifically for chennai, the heat. not much one can do about these things except not let it bother you too much - in other words, become apathetic yourself! Hey, at least the food is great.

what our plans are in the long run and how they will develop remains to be seen - watch this space!