Disclaimer:
Folsom is not a fictitious place. It's the lovely town in California I was relocated to. Also, the writing here will not be fascinating as 'Malgudi Days' by R K Narayan; it's just that the title is apt for what I am going to scribble down.
I have started packing and my last day in Folsom is round the corner. I came to Folsom in early last year and since then my stay kept on getting extended. Folsom is around 15 miles from Sacramento, the capital of California. Landing on Sacramento airport felt like I am back to Bhopal, notably when you have transits at Changi and LAX airports. Not too flashy a terminal but tidy and well-maintained. Very few people aound, all well-dressed and good-looking.
It's past-midnight and I have to get the car from Hertz. The terminal bus dropped me at nearby Hertz rental. Picked a Nissan XTerra as ride to distant places would be comfy in a big SUV. So this is my first drive in US. Right hand drive, people driving at above 120 mph. Everyone in a hurry, but not showing it by honking or racing. Entered the destination address of Marriott courtyard in GPS and the beast was ready to take me there.
I took highway I-5 South followed by US-50. Driving in US is a lot easier than in India or may be it's easier to drive anywhere else in this universe than in India. Went berserk on open highway at midnight. After a while I find a sherrif car just behind me.. holy crap I was caught speeding on the first night itself. Dude you are in trouble.. gotta do something. Parked the car on shoulder. The cop is a Mex and thinks I am his compatriot. Yells at me in Spanish.. "Why the heck were you speeding?". I plead him in Spanish for amnesty. The guy takes out a ticket and is about to scribble a huge sum in dollars to penalize poor me. Explain him everything again. Sir this is my 15th minute on highway.. I got overwhelmed, couldn't see the speed limit sign and all I could to save 300$. Had heard a lot about heartless Americans. May be he is just like any other yankee. Uncle Sam doesn't speak for a while. Perhaps testing my comm skills in Spanish, his mother tongue. I don't give up. He listens everything, records this conversation and the words that finally come out of his mouth are.. "You better be careful young man, am sparing you this time". A precious lesson learnt not so hard way. Anyways I was glad to have a conversation with a cop on the 15th minute of my arrival. I'm gonna have a rocking time.
Jet lag had its effects and night went sleepless. Got up early and headed to my new office. Sprawling and beautiful campus with seven huge buildings. Fifth one will be my workplace for more than a year. Met John and Andrew, my managers. Cool chaps. Gave me a warm welcome. Took me around the campus. Entire team went to BJ's for lunch. Found my new work and team-mates to be very exciting. Some real R&D stuff every engineer would be proud to do.
In the evening my friends took me to Folsom premium outlets. Bought some merchandise. For dinner went to the neighborhood Applebee's. Relished on lobster ravioli and the heavenly Italian dessert Tiramisu. Tiramisu is a cool, refreshing dessert that once tasted, leaves an indelible impression on you. It's around 8:30 PM and we hit the freeway for a long drive to Napa. In about 45 minutes we are there. Just last night I was about to be ticketted and here I was speeding again... Old habits die hard. It's dark but can feel the beauty and immaculate landscaping of this gorgeous place. Grabbed a chardonnay from a local vineyard 'Sattui'. Got to know about something called wine tourism. Decided to come again.
It's 11:30 PM by the time I reach my hotel. The place looks so deserted at this hour. No one seen walking. Very few cars on freeway and none on streets. The place is serne, perhaps to an extent to drive you nuts and make a layman write like Shakespeare. The eerie, ghastly silence is all around. Compared to Bangalore where there are traffics jams even at midnight, you have to be very lucky to have a glimpse of humanity after 8 PM. Never thought this town will be my home for next eightneen months.
Recollecting everything is not easy, just that my stay began with a bang and ended even more thunderously. Enjoyed each and every second of my stay. Visited almost every destination worth a dekko on the west coast. Be it distant Las Vegas, Seattle, Los Angeles, San Diego, Portland, Crater, Grand Canyon, Death Valley, Rocky, Utah or nearby Tahoe, Reno, Napa, San Francisco, Monterrey, Santa Cruz, Stanford, Yosemite. Made very nice friends who continue to remain in memories. Few misbeliefs were washed away. Americans are very warm-hearted, broad-minded people. Never got to witness anything wrong with their attitude or a sense of supremacy of being white in them. And that explains this cosmo culture of America. Everyone is welcome here. Very helpful as coworkers, truthful as friends.
My team was epitome of diversity.. American, Indian, Chinese, Hispanic, Russian, Korean and Greek.. a great working experience indeed. We used to do pot lucks every other week. And then you get the feeling how small the world is. People bringing delicious stuff of their respective cuisines and us chomping them overnightly with Zinfandel and the shots of tequilla. I put on a lot, thanks to the delicious American cheese, meat and wines. Also worth a mention are those quarterly parties at intel. Every quarter the entire division goes partying. First one was a day long rafting at American river. Second one hiking at Mt. Lassen, the next parasailing at Tahoe and the last, skiing at Sierra Nevada. Always had regard for America's professionalism and energy and would continue to respect as I wasn't proven wrong by anyone anytime.
Yes America is a great place, perhaps the best to be in when you are young.. a land of opportunities. But it's not everything. You miss your motherland, you realize her greatness only when you are away for a long time. Yes the American lifestyle is cozy but at the same time mechanized. You miss that Indian thrill you have all the time. I am going to miss Folsom but I am happy to go back home, Bangalore. Feels bad to leave all these good friends but excitement of meeting family and old friends outweighs. I enjoy packing with the help of my friends. We exchange parting gifts. I will come again for sure.. let's see when?
