#AmericanAdventure

“You are going to have the time of your life” declared every enthusiastic human who learned about my Student Exchange Program with the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign. Even after having relentlessly endured the perpetual distress, four years of law school had in the offering, equanimity was formidable as the complexities of an entirely new episode which was about to unfold, perplexed me. 

Four months down the line, as I make a conscious choice to stay home on a Saturday night courtesy exams approaching, a couple of lines from the Coldplay’s song “Scientist” is constantly buzzing in my ear. I continue with the onerous errand tagging my friends in memes on social media as “Noone ever said it was easy, No one ever said it would be this hard” unexpectedly sound relatable to my ongoing state of affairs.

To anyone reading this, before you jump to any conclusions, I am not for once regretting this decision of crossing continents and oceans and coming to a phoren land for what people describe as an experience of a lifetime.

Pretty much like how despite the constant crying and cribbing, I haven’t scanned through the past evaluating my decision of joining law school and pursuing law. (So, what if every semester concludes with probing my inner-self with a “Look! what you made me do” retort)

Essentially, I am not contemplating my resolution of undertaking a challenging experience rather feeling overwhelmed at my commitment towards “almost” making it there. Not boasting of my enhanced sense of self- worth, I would take this opportunity to clear the air to people who’ve been led on by means of social media to believe that this life is all fun and games.

Friends, Romans, and Countrymen! There is more than what meets the eye.

I’ve monitored multiple Snapchat stories and Instagram uploads of people who’ve moved abroad for higher education painting a rosy picture of their respective lives, much to the envy of their desi counterparts debating over the release of Padmavati as they inhale the smog in the air even a month after Diwali is over. Again, by no means I wish to deride the credibility of everyone who is living the #firanglife, but having been at the receiving end of the stark realities, let me reemphasize the old saying, ALL that glitters is not gold.

There are countless social media posts about #traveldiaries #partylife #foodielife #friyaying #weekending but there are none about #dishwashing #groceryshopping #vaccumcleaning #floormopping. 

This my friends, is the part which no one tells you about. Where you walk back home with your hands full of grocery bags and try to fit them in the fridge, breaking eggs in the process and spending the next hour cleaning the mess. Having loved cooking since an early age, making my own meals hasn’t been a big deal but deciding what to eat is definitely a task especially when you have to make sure that you eat a balanced diet coz there is no Mommy Monitoring Machine available at your disposal. And god forbid, if you fall sick,  you will have to cook your own khichdi and eat it too.

There are more struggles, Men may dismiss it as superficial by all my beautiful Indian ladies will shake their heads in agreement. Going to parlors is expensive AF. Courtesy, “Desperate times, desperate measures” I’ve recently mastered the art of shaping my eyebrows using a tweezer. This stems from my pure Indian middle-class values which preclude a wasteful expenditure of $10 on something which costs as low as 20 rupees back in India. Keeping up with the cold weather has been as much of a challenge but hasn’t in the least bit deterred my escapades. But, I miss my cute shorts and tanks and Chappals for GOD’S SAKE not to forget Salwar-Kurta, bindi, and earrings.

Cutting the long story short, studying abroad is an enriching experience. It makes you a better person and helps you grow out of your comfort zone as you explore possibilities you wouldn’t have otherwise. Having got a taste of what studying abroad feels like courtesy my student exchange program, I have been all the more determined to pursue my master’s degree outside India. As I step into the last month of my stint at the College of Law, UIUC I’d only wished if I had a little more time. But then I look into the mirror and my out of shape eyebrows catch my attention. *Ye jo desh hai mera, Swades hai mera lalallaaaa* starts playing in my head.