100 Reasons I love America: People
I tried to think about the memorable moments I experienced in this country and the people behind those moments, to complete my 20 reasons to love America as an Indian immigrant. People make you fall in love with a country and people help you build your little home of sun-kissed dreams and precious little memories in a strange country far away from your first home. My post today is dedicated to all those people who invited me into their lives and made my life in America a little better:
#16: The man at the airport
“So, you got this dirty old luggage from India that broke and you want to sue us now?”
The lady behind the counter glared at me through scary looking glasses. She looked like Umbridge to me. I had just set foot in this country and had travelled alone all the way from India. My torn suitcase lay beside my feet, its contents — my personal belongings, peeping out through a neat rip on the side. I swallowed back tears. Just then, this kind old gentleman tapped on my shoulder and pointed to a roll of plastic wrapper. He helped seal my suitcase with several layers of plastic wrap and before I had a chance to thank him, was gone to help another person at the airport. You, dear old man, are my reason #16 to love America.
#17: My Physics professor
I have wondrous memories of Thanksgiving dinners at my Physics professor’s house. I worked as a research assistant in the Physics department then. Each Thanksgiving my professor and his wife would welcome us into their homes and we would join them for a hearty Thanksgiving dinner. They are a reason I loved being in this country as a FOB. Thank you, Steve and Eva for the most beautiful Thanksgiving celebrations in your home!
#18: My Masters project professor
“The density of red is too high on this page. Rewrite.”
My heart sank seeing this comment on my Master’s project papers. I thought I was good at English :/ My professor was a legend in the University. He knew to read and write almost all the languages that existed and taught (and possibly created) Computer Science. It took me 11 revisions before he deemed my submission ‘acceptable’. One day, I sat in his office complaining about the lack of documentation for the .NET (I know!) project I was working on. The next day, I happily declared that I had figured out the problem.
“So, did you share back the solution in the .NET forum you mentioned?” he asked
“Umm, no.” Darn it. Why hadn’t I done that.
“So you consume information, not contribute.”
It was a statement, not a question. It also taught me a valuable lesson. Thank you for that, Dr.Finkel. You are a reason for my growth in this country.
#19: Preschool teachers
My daughter’s preschool, Red Apple Montessori, was just as precious as it looks in this picture. But, what made the small school special was its teachers. Every day I picked my daughter up, her class teacher would tell me how her day went and include little details that only held relevance to me. About how my daughter wouldn’t take her nap that afternoon because she kept playing with her lovey (Simba from Lion King), what tricks she had used to convince my daughter to finish her lunch, how well she wrote her words that day. The small things that hardly matter but matter a lot. Thank you dear Ms.Leigh and Ms.Sarika for being a part of her life and mine. You are a reason to love the school and this country.
#20: Nanny
My daughter wouldn’t go to Lauren, her new nanny, the first few days, or for that matter, weeks. Lauren even got tips from her mom on how to get a shy but energetic toddler to play with her and not run to her parents all the time. But, in the end, Lauren turned out to be the best company for my wilful toddler. She never tired of my daughter’s antics, was smilingly patient, took a heavy dose of spiritual talk from my mom with interest and was pretty much the best person I could ask for for our family. You, Lauren, are my reason #20 to have fallen in love a little bit with this country. Thank you!
