2nd June, 2014
It is made of alluminimum she said. No it is carbon fiber reinforced plastic said the other. Whatever it is we were all trapped inside it with nowhere to go said I. It may be hours before we could see sunlight or would we? This place was probably designed to accomodate the likes of Hitler, one that demands for an arm rest. The seating made sure at least one part of you body would be sore if you remained there another minute. May be it was planned that we must freeze to death, begging for the rains to come so it would be humid later. Once in a while there would someone who tiptoed into this place in order to, what I believe, see if any one was dead or to take away crying babies. Well they say where there is sun there is shade. On the other side of the partitions is heaven where the well to do enjoy the company of beautiful staff who make their day or night what they choose to have delightful. Well this may be what most people call the long haul flight experience. I've lived the same moments quite differently I would like to claim.
So I was in a flight trying to get myself to sleep but excitment of flying over the Pacific kept me up. Ahh all thanks to the the friendly seniors who wont let me pass through to the aisle because they were asleep for the last 11hrs. Well cant say how much patience and discomfort it took to wait for 8 hrs just to use the stretchroom or restroom facilities. Lesson 1: Never choose the window seat because the you can see the beautiful world around you. No no..what you see costs you a broken neck and a lot of painkillers. The seating arrangement just right so you can constantly feel discomfortable if you are as restlestless and eager as I was to reach, you would surely scrape your knee off if you didn't wear jeans. Lesson 2: Live experience of how the airlines make sure long haul flight's economy section is a little discomfortable so people who are willing to pay for comfort end up choosing the bussiness class ticket which empties your pocket to let you feel like a princess for the whole 24 hrs you are seated in the flight, doesn't feel so great. Well I think it is a generous bargain if you are used to accepting people serve you at your command but if you aren't used to asking favours or to having conversations with stewards I think this is your downward spiral.
This ride came to an end one day later but I reached SFO on the same day as I started from HYD almost as if I didnt lose a day just 12hrs. Funny how this confuses you when you land. Sleep deprivation, exaustion, hunger, excitment you name it its all in your mind now but you still have to walk down take your luggage and then go home. Somehow your body thinks I gonna punish this kid for keeping me in this state and diarrhea kicks in at the right time when you are half way on a shuttle to Stanford Campus with your sister. Lesson 3: If you are a germophobe and you are about to take flights that last a day or more, you should just choose liquid diet on the flight and a day before the flight too or have more than 4 hrs overlay between flights. Then we reached home in 3 hrs I think mostly because my sleep overpowered me on the way. The day I gained conciousness was one and a half week later. I don't know if I was the only one who slept for this long or many first timers do face this issue but it sure bought time in perspective. I realized I could lose anything and gain it back but the one thing I ever will not is time. I couldn't fathom sleeping for a week and a half that way, it was somewhat a sleeping beauty moment for me.
Then for the next one month was about trying to understand what the campus was about. Then I was physically unfit. One hour of walking and I was down sleeping for 2 hrs just to recuperate. But I got better to the point where I just slept for half an hour by the end of 2 months. I used to sit in my sister's room accesing internet on her laptop and I dunno what I watched most of the day. I would wait for her to be home we would cook food together and eat and sleep and repeat. It was the most laid back time of my life I think. Before I could get any better with it one month was done and I was on the move to Munger, the housing where most of the law school students lived. Why did I go there?
I got an admit for Summer Institute for General Management, 2014 in Stanford University: Graduate School of Business and Munger Residence was our housing. It took me more than a day to digest the fact that I was going to be there at Leland Stanford Junior University joining a summer course to learn about the world I was about to step into after college. This was my first time in an institute I've dreamt of being in. It was beautiful sunny morning when I and my sister tugged the luggage along reached there. There were a lot of us from many other countries, 86 to be exact, trying very hard to shake off the jet lag as I had. It was probably the first time I felt welcome but I couldn't get myself to speak. I was awestruck. I think the interactions I had that day was the only actual way I learnt geography but as I was getting into the setting my introverted self surfaced.
It is made of alluminimum she said. No it is carbon fiber reinforced plastic said the other. Whatever it is we were all trapped inside it with nowhere to go said I. It may be hours before we could see sunlight or would we? This place was probably designed to accomodate the likes of Hitler, one that demands for an arm rest. The seating made sure at least one part of you body would be sore if you remained there another minute. May be it was planned that we must freeze to death, begging for the rains to come so it would be humid later. Once in a while there would someone who tiptoed into this place in order to, what I believe, see if any one was dead or to take away crying babies. Well they say where there is sun there is shade. On the other side of the partitions is heaven where the well to do enjoy the company of beautiful staff who make their day or night what they choose to have delightful. Well this may be what most people call the long haul flight experience. I've lived the same moments quite differently I would like to claim.
So I was in a flight trying to get myself to sleep but excitment of flying over the Pacific kept me up. Ahh all thanks to the the friendly seniors who wont let me pass through to the aisle because they were asleep for the last 11hrs. Well cant say how much patience and discomfort it took to wait for 8 hrs just to use the stretchroom or restroom facilities. Lesson 1: Never choose the window seat because the you can see the beautiful world around you. No no..what you see costs you a broken neck and a lot of painkillers. The seating arrangement just right so you can constantly feel discomfortable if you are as restlestless and eager as I was to reach, you would surely scrape your knee off if you didn't wear jeans. Lesson 2: Live experience of how the airlines make sure long haul flight's economy section is a little discomfortable so people who are willing to pay for comfort end up choosing the bussiness class ticket which empties your pocket to let you feel like a princess for the whole 24 hrs you are seated in the flight, doesn't feel so great. Well I think it is a generous bargain if you are used to accepting people serve you at your command but if you aren't used to asking favours or to having conversations with stewards I think this is your downward spiral.
This ride came to an end one day later but I reached SFO on the same day as I started from HYD almost as if I didnt lose a day just 12hrs. Funny how this confuses you when you land. Sleep deprivation, exaustion, hunger, excitment you name it its all in your mind now but you still have to walk down take your luggage and then go home. Somehow your body thinks I gonna punish this kid for keeping me in this state and diarrhea kicks in at the right time when you are half way on a shuttle to Stanford Campus with your sister. Lesson 3: If you are a germophobe and you are about to take flights that last a day or more, you should just choose liquid diet on the flight and a day before the flight too or have more than 4 hrs overlay between flights. Then we reached home in 3 hrs I think mostly because my sleep overpowered me on the way. The day I gained conciousness was one and a half week later. I don't know if I was the only one who slept for this long or many first timers do face this issue but it sure bought time in perspective. I realized I could lose anything and gain it back but the one thing I ever will not is time. I couldn't fathom sleeping for a week and a half that way, it was somewhat a sleeping beauty moment for me.
Then for the next one month was about trying to understand what the campus was about. Then I was physically unfit. One hour of walking and I was down sleeping for 2 hrs just to recuperate. But I got better to the point where I just slept for half an hour by the end of 2 months. I used to sit in my sister's room accesing internet on her laptop and I dunno what I watched most of the day. I would wait for her to be home we would cook food together and eat and sleep and repeat. It was the most laid back time of my life I think. Before I could get any better with it one month was done and I was on the move to Munger, the housing where most of the law school students lived. Why did I go there?
I got an admit for Summer Institute for General Management, 2014 in Stanford University: Graduate School of Business and Munger Residence was our housing. It took me more than a day to digest the fact that I was going to be there at Leland Stanford Junior University joining a summer course to learn about the world I was about to step into after college. This was my first time in an institute I've dreamt of being in. It was beautiful sunny morning when I and my sister tugged the luggage along reached there. There were a lot of us from many other countries, 86 to be exact, trying very hard to shake off the jet lag as I had. It was probably the first time I felt welcome but I couldn't get myself to speak. I was awestruck. I think the interactions I had that day was the only actual way I learnt geography but as I was getting into the setting my introverted self surfaced.
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