Experience In, Philosophy Out

As mentioned in my previous blog, I love to travel and the fun of exploring new destinations always excites me. Fortunately, life has always bestowed upon me the opportunities to travel and to embark on adventures that call for exploring and understanding new cultures and societies. Very recently, my husband and I got the opportunity to move to US for higher studies. US being one of the most coveted places for higher education, we immediately took the offer and decided to take the leap of faith. US was never a culture shock for us as we had already stayed in 
Dubai which again is quite cosmopolitan and international by nature. US focuses a lot on extra-curricular interests and achievements which according to me is very significant because such activities build your character and enrich it. Such auxiliary stress-busters are very important for our psychological well-being as well. After coming to US I had a strange realization as well- because of the hustle bustle and the hectic life schedules we never ever get the opportunity to comprehend and reflect on our life's interests and motivations. We tend to underestimate the power of hobbies and interests which should ideally form a major chunk of our lives. Only after I quit my job in Dubai and set out on this adventurous stint to US, I realized my potential and interests in other lateral activities. In October, the college here in association with the International Business Association organised a Food Festival. This was an inter-country food competition although the primary objective which I thought was to bring all the ethnicities on one canvas so as to understand the importance of their culture and food habits and to have their multifarious flavours represented on a multi-cultural mosaic. Since it was a team effort, every country had to have teams representing that particular nation. Even we made a team and represented India. Our menu was as mentioned in the pictures below- We decided to have a couple of street food items, a tangy drink and a traditional dessert on our menu.

Since, we had to prepare the food items at our respective homes we could not choose a very elaborate menu but instead decided to have an indianness in all the food items. We worked really hard and eventually were able to put some really good work out there. Although we could not personally visit all the countries' food corners but according to the people Turkey and Japan did a really good job. The reach of their flavours was reflected in the overall results. Turkey secured the 1st place, Japan stood 2nd and India came 3rd. We were extremely proud of our victory not only because we were one of the winners but also because our food was scrumptious enough to arouse the attention and enthusiasm of the crowd present there. The fact that we were able to connect to their expectations and could satisfy them in terms of the variety and the flavours we had, left us highly obliged and elated. It was a team effort and it further fortified my belief in the fact that 'Together Everyone Achieves More'. Also, the profound feeling of patriotism and the pride of representing our country and bagging a prize for our efforts took all of us on cloud nine. Above all, It helped us realise our true strength when it comes to cooking because we had made that feast for a 100 people or so. a daunting onus on our shoulders which we successfully completed with flying colours.  Well, US is really a wonderful country. The fact that there are a plethora of cultures living under the same roof makes me appreciate its diversity all the more. Its the perfect blend of various cultures, ethnicities and hence the thought processes that make it what it is today- The most powerful economy of the world. Although we are miles and miles away from our country and we are walking on the shores of challenges but the journey and the experience is worth it. I would like to quote my pursuit in the words of Mr. Robert Frost- The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep!