4 weeks = 28 days completed in the US. I am not exaggerating when I say that I have lived like a true nomad in these 28 days. The longest I have stayed at one place till now is 5 days. A few of my friends even joke about it saying that I am already living corporate a jet-setting life! I've become an expert in packing and unpacking things, living in all sorts of places, in short - living out of a suitcase.
Let me tell you a little background story here. I was supposed to share an apartment in Pittsburgh with two other girls, also from India. Since we were unable to find any suitable 3 bedroom apartment on the net through India, we decided to come to Pittsburgh and then physically search. Well, they arrived two days before me, did some customary search and ended up renting a two-bedroom apartment for themselves. I was not informed of this development, and got to know when I reached Pittsburgh. So, I had to go on an apartment hunt immediately. As luck would have it, no good 1-bedroom apartments were available from 1 August. The ones that were available were either expensive, located in a bad neighborhood or simply ugly. After much looking I had to settle for the one that was available from 1st September. Then began the long wait and the nomadic lifestyle. Here's a list of the various places I have stayed in since I arrived in the States, with a short description of each.
July 29–July 31: I was in Cleveland, Ohio, living at a relative's place. It is a nice house and I had a bedroom to myself. Very enjoyable and homely atmosphere.
August 1–August 6: I stayed in Bridgeville (a suburb of Pittsburgh) with a family friend. He lives alone in a small 2-bedroom apartment. He is moving out in December so his house is scattered with things here and there. My bedroom was quite small with a lot of his things lying around. But, somehow I managed to make room for my hefty baggage and other stuff. Then, he had to go out of city for around 2 weeks and since he lived quite far from the campus, at a place where there was no public transportation, I had no way to get to college on my own. hence, I had to move again.
August 7–August 8: I was transported by him to the place of some girl he knew. She is doing her PhD from University of Pittsburgh, and lived close to the CMU campus. Well, she was a stranger for me. Also, now she lived in the basement of an apartment building. Her apartment was just basically a very small room with a tiny kitchen and bathroom. That's it. No bedroom, closet, etc. On top of that, she had another friend from India staying with her. Thus, we were three people living in that miniature room. On top of that, the female who owned the apartment loved cooking and used to cook meals for all her friends. So, everyday during dinner time we used to have 1-2 more people joining in. It was a chaotic situation!
August 9–August 12: I went back to Cleveland because i did not have anything to do in Pittsburgh over the weekend. Also, I was feeling really really homesick and was almost ready to fly back to India, leaving my MBA behind. Again I was back at my relative's place, back in the comfort of family. Once again I enjoyed my stay there and went to visit different places.
August 13–August 16: I was back at that female's place, living with her and her friend in the cramped room. These four days were pure torture, because the girls would come home really late (around 12 AM) and there was nothing to eat in the house. Also, being a newcomer in Pittsburgh, I did not know about the eating joints. I ended up not eating dinner for 3 days, and once I survived by not eating anything for 36 hours at a stretch! I was a wreck and made innumerable calls to my folks back home to call me back to India, as I could not exist here.
August 17–August 19: My family got really worried with my phone calls and called up my relatives in Cleveland, who again sent me a ticket to visit them during this weekend too. So, I traveled to Cleveland for the third time. I just ate and slept there, and did not do anything else.
August 20: My uncle came back from wherever he had gone, and I moved back to his place.
August 21–August 24: During the weekend I was in Cleveland, there was a new development. One of my many uncles staying in New Jersey, one uncle called me and insisted that I come and visit them during the next week, so that I would feel a little less lonely and homesick. I refused, but he was insistent, and sent me a flight ticket. So, I flew to New Jersey on Tuesday (August 21) and have been staying here.
It is not over yet, because I have another week to go through before I get my own apartment. I don't know how many places will I end up switching in the coming week!
I leave New Jersey tomorrow morning, and so have to pack. Will write more later!
Signing Off,
The Nomad!
Let me tell you a little background story here. I was supposed to share an apartment in Pittsburgh with two other girls, also from India. Since we were unable to find any suitable 3 bedroom apartment on the net through India, we decided to come to Pittsburgh and then physically search. Well, they arrived two days before me, did some customary search and ended up renting a two-bedroom apartment for themselves. I was not informed of this development, and got to know when I reached Pittsburgh. So, I had to go on an apartment hunt immediately. As luck would have it, no good 1-bedroom apartments were available from 1 August. The ones that were available were either expensive, located in a bad neighborhood or simply ugly. After much looking I had to settle for the one that was available from 1st September. Then began the long wait and the nomadic lifestyle. Here's a list of the various places I have stayed in since I arrived in the States, with a short description of each.
July 29–July 31: I was in Cleveland, Ohio, living at a relative's place. It is a nice house and I had a bedroom to myself. Very enjoyable and homely atmosphere.
August 1–August 6: I stayed in Bridgeville (a suburb of Pittsburgh) with a family friend. He lives alone in a small 2-bedroom apartment. He is moving out in December so his house is scattered with things here and there. My bedroom was quite small with a lot of his things lying around. But, somehow I managed to make room for my hefty baggage and other stuff. Then, he had to go out of city for around 2 weeks and since he lived quite far from the campus, at a place where there was no public transportation, I had no way to get to college on my own. hence, I had to move again.
August 7–August 8: I was transported by him to the place of some girl he knew. She is doing her PhD from University of Pittsburgh, and lived close to the CMU campus. Well, she was a stranger for me. Also, now she lived in the basement of an apartment building. Her apartment was just basically a very small room with a tiny kitchen and bathroom. That's it. No bedroom, closet, etc. On top of that, she had another friend from India staying with her. Thus, we were three people living in that miniature room. On top of that, the female who owned the apartment loved cooking and used to cook meals for all her friends. So, everyday during dinner time we used to have 1-2 more people joining in. It was a chaotic situation!
August 9–August 12: I went back to Cleveland because i did not have anything to do in Pittsburgh over the weekend. Also, I was feeling really really homesick and was almost ready to fly back to India, leaving my MBA behind. Again I was back at my relative's place, back in the comfort of family. Once again I enjoyed my stay there and went to visit different places.
August 13–August 16: I was back at that female's place, living with her and her friend in the cramped room. These four days were pure torture, because the girls would come home really late (around 12 AM) and there was nothing to eat in the house. Also, being a newcomer in Pittsburgh, I did not know about the eating joints. I ended up not eating dinner for 3 days, and once I survived by not eating anything for 36 hours at a stretch! I was a wreck and made innumerable calls to my folks back home to call me back to India, as I could not exist here.
August 17–August 19: My family got really worried with my phone calls and called up my relatives in Cleveland, who again sent me a ticket to visit them during this weekend too. So, I traveled to Cleveland for the third time. I just ate and slept there, and did not do anything else.
August 20: My uncle came back from wherever he had gone, and I moved back to his place.
August 21–August 24: During the weekend I was in Cleveland, there was a new development. One of my many uncles staying in New Jersey, one uncle called me and insisted that I come and visit them during the next week, so that I would feel a little less lonely and homesick. I refused, but he was insistent, and sent me a flight ticket. So, I flew to New Jersey on Tuesday (August 21) and have been staying here.
It is not over yet, because I have another week to go through before I get my own apartment. I don't know how many places will I end up switching in the coming week!
I leave New Jersey tomorrow morning, and so have to pack. Will write more later!
Signing Off,
The Nomad!
