Coming to America

I got accepted by every college I applied to in the United States.  Among them were Amherst in Massachusetts, University of Wisconsin, I forget a couple of others - and Fort Lauderdale College.  Why Fort Lauderdale college?  Well, the colleges were picked by my buddy who wanted to come to the US - I was just playing along.

So why did I decide to come to Fort Lauderdale college?  Two reasons really.  One, they offered admission to the summer term - and I didn't necessarily want to hang around in Bombay for any particular reason.  And two, because a couple of days before I made the decision, I saw a Police Academy movie that was shot in Miami.  It seemed like a pretty place - so why the heck not?

When I accepted admission to FLC, they offered to come pick me up from the airport.  I kindly declined.  I have no idea why.  So, I land in the airport.  Everyone else on my plane left, and I am stuck.  I go looking for a cab, and I am told that they don't arrive for a couple more hours. So, I hung out at the airport cafe.  I had $20.00 cash, and some travelers checks.  I wasn't sure how much the cab fare from the airport to the college was.  I could use cup of coffee - so I asked the person behind the counter (it wan't like he was busy).  One of the guys sitting at the counter heard my story and ended up buying me breakfast!  I still remember it - blueberry muffin and a coffee.  It was the biggest muffin I had ever seen - and it was the first time in my life I had tasted blueberry.

So, I take the cab to the dorms.  It's Saturday, about 7:00a.m., and the office at the dorms is closed.  The dorms were right next to a Park.  So, I decide to go for a walk in the park.  I had just landed in the country, after having been on a plane for more than 20 hours.  I am sure I was a sorry sight.  I realized just how sorry when a woman who happened to be jogging at the park came up to me and handed me 20 dollars.  I was surprised, and I declined, of course.  But she wouldn't have any of it.  She told me that she didn't know what trouble I was in, but I looked like I needed help.

So, here I was.  In my first few hours in the U.S, someone had bought me breakfast and handed me money.  The office finally opened, and I was in my room - for the first time in my life.  Yes, I had a roommate.  But in India, I slept on a couch in the living room, and I certainly did not have a closet.

I was in America!