It hardly matters...

Does it make a difference whether you are in Bangalore or in the United States? I would definitely say no. The general lifestyle tends to change but not to a large extent. Life trudges along the same mechanical lines. The limits are very clear. You tend to do what you have been doing the last twenty years albeit with a touch of independence and measured self-confidence. If Bangalore was all about studies for a student, life here in Rolla encompasses other things too. Cooking, washing, cleaning, reading, surfing, blogging and maybe studying, form the daily chores.

What is this talk about International community and overall exposure? Be it a Graduate Students meet or International Students meet or any other meet, the major chunk of the guys tend to be Indians. International students do exist, but it is largely overridden by the vast majority of us, that they other nations form a miniscule of the student population. I many times, feel that I stay in an Indian colony in Bangalore. The apartment is such that it is filled with Indian students and form typical Indian neighbours!

Human beings are deceptively a coherent unit at home. We fight, shout, and yell at will while in our country. But once we are thrown into the vast unknown, indecisiveness, insecurity and apprehension brings out a lot of cohesiveness and bonding in us. You realise the importance of community and friends. Adjustment and flexibility become new adjectives in your life. Self-dependence and self-reliability forms a crucial part in transforming your personality. We are the birds that flock together. Yet, it is highly mesmerizing when we retain our identity in a group.

Studies are studies in any part of the world. But when studies are just a part of the overall syllabus that life throws, you realise that it is not studies alone that holds the strands of life together!!

The initial days are generally filled with prolonged confusion. Is it all worth it? is the question that hits your mind pretty frequently. But once the daily routine gets embedded in your lifestyle, all these things are just normal. The mechanical element in life gets its introduction and stays on!! That's when you realise that life here is no different than in India. Just as one cannot find out that distinguishing factor between sunrise and sunset, the beginning of a new lifestyle is just as same as the previous one.