There are times when people just have to return to blog (read brag! 🙂 ) about their experiences and what better place than this…Well, during this monologue (Yeah, I have got all the time in the world!), I will enumerate the different phases of my trip… Before, I forget to mention, all these will not have been possible without the Microsoft Travel Grant ’08, CSIR(Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Govt. of India) and ab0ve all the strong alumni support through the BITSAA Travel Scholarship ’08…Thanks are also due to DST (Department of Science and Technology) who decided to fund my airfare a day before I was about to leave (Yeah, Yeah, the Indian Standard Time is skewed at some government offices!)…
For those of you who think Air India service is poor, wait till you get to an American Airlines flight (Ooh, that is if the Delhi airport doesn’t suck the life out of you before you reach your seat!). The Video screen didn’t work and I spent my 14 hours 55 minutes gazing at my neighbor’s screen (and yes, sometimes at the pretty brunette attendant!) which showed the aircraft cruising over Scandinavia (It’s all daylight in here these days!). And yes, they make you eat mayonnaise by the kilos as if they were nectar. No wonder 64% of the Americans are obese! (by which I mean they would ideally require two aircraft seats!)
Well, Chicago turned out to be exactly what I expected! There was snow blanket all over the place and I got my first taste of a “true international airport”. Believe me, you can never get lost in the United States! You can test your IQ through that because , IF YOU DO GET LOST, either you don’t know how to read English or you were born a retard! Everything is systematic to the core and people are courteous…You will be greeted with “Hi”‘s and “Wassup man?”(if you go down south) even when you make just an eye contact…
I reached New Orleans by noon and it was sunny like back home! It is on the way downtown that you get to see the true effects of Hurricane Katrina (wrecked houses, deserted streets, et. al.) and also of George Bush Ju. (Well, the first question that Americans everywhere ask you is your opinion of Bush-even outside the White House!). New Orleans is one of the largest ports of the Americas and has a strong French influence (more about Orleans later!). It gave Americans two ingeniously developed things (which are rare!) they are very proud of- Jazz and Voodoo! I was staying at the Sheraton New Orleans thanks to BITSAA and the view of the Canal street (the Hub of New Orleans!) was amazing from my room. With the sun spiraling downwards, I couldn’t resist the effects of the Jet Lag and forayed into slumberland…
to be continued….
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