Back2School@45

22nd Feb 2020 (Saturday) Craig came up to me in the morning and asked about my plans. Of course I had none. He suggested we could go to watch a fight that Ciara was participating in (she is into Brazilian Jiu Jitsu) followed by another pro fight at a different location. This reminded me of Portland where I had gone to see a roller skates game where one of our colleagues, Emily, was participating. As it turned out Emily was quite popular.  It was an interesting experience - the sport was rowdy, fans were rowdy - screaming, swearing et al. Emily was quite meek, soft spoken at work! Talk about split personalities.  Anyway, I was excited to see Ciara on stage with an opponent older and much experienced than her. Craig knew she would lose, 'It is more about experience', as he put it. The stipulated 5 min fight lasted 70 seconds! She lost.  And I couldn't figure how.   Apparently her opponent locked her and she had to submit and bow out.   Our next event w...

One thing that I am really proud about India, is its food. The Italians come close but the rest of the world is so oblivious to this pleasure. For a foodie, lack of good food can be a downer! So when I had my first Indian tea after many days, it was a delight! I went and bought ginger from the super market, had carried tea from India (loose, specially curated by my brother Bunty and brought from Cuttack) and let it simmer gently till it was ready. What a pleasure! Thanks Bhai!👌 Today I made prawn curry and par-boiled rice. This special fish masala was brought by Rupali from her close friend (Leena, thank you👍). And it turned out to be awesome! Take a look at that omelette! I challenge you to replicate its colour, shape... and of course flavour 😋 Chocolate croissant and chai...Hmmm!

17th February Today we had the orientation organised by Massey for international students. A full day of workshops and lectures on safety, assessments, assignments, English language, cultural nuances etc. With more than 500 international students from across the world, this event made a lot of sense. Besides of course Indians and Chinese, there were students from Vietnam, France, US, Iran, Malaysia - at least those I could interact with. But more than two-thirds were either Indians or Chinese without counting those Chinese that weren't able to come because of the Corona virus alert. Few things I learnt today: 1) One can visit the library and fix a time with a consultant to get help on assignment writing. 2) There is a full fledged clinic on campus, free for students, offering all sorts of advice and care. 3) There is a strong plagiarism check on assignments 4) That NZ has two different numbers to call cops - 111 for emergency and 105 for non-emergency (past event, non ...

15th February, 2018 So Maya wants to take me to a birthday party. Of a 6 year old! He is the son of Sahar, one of her closest mates, and Maya told her that she will be getting her home-stay along. Maya is like that. She announces! I am feeling a bit low and have nothing much to do and since I have not stepped out of the house for two days, I join Maya and CJ (her 6 year old) and we head to the birthday party. We drive 40 minutes to Sahar's house which seems like on the other side of town. We are the first to arrive and I feel awkward. Thank god I picked up a decent gift on the way. There are three other couples besides us, mostly from Iranian origin as Maya(Farsi as she pronounces it and not Parsi as we Indians call it). The hosts are hospitable (we didn't offer them much choice, did we?). Besides Iranians, I meet an Assamese couple who are in NZ for five years. The husband does something that you would never be able to imagine. Oh common, he is not a porn artist. He ...

13th  February I decide to pick up my ID card from the University today. There is also some grocery shopping to be done. I don’t know what I intend buying but I guess this is what we do when we travel international. We shop for groceries.  At the Pack-n-Save , Maya is armed with a list and we go separate ways. Eggs - $4 for a score. The Indian ever calculative judgemental brain starts working the math. That’s 10 rupees per egg. Not bad. That cigarette vendor under Kalpataru, that opportunist, sells for eight. We never buy from him. Pears are $4 a kg. Not the soap dumbo – the fruit. Not bad at all. Almost close to Takhsila prices. Mutton is $30 a kg and I figure it has the highest factor of 2.5 compared to Indian prices. Well, I pick up some fruits and a box of chocolate croissants. Maya asks me dump the fruits as she has already taken plenty and I should share those rather than spending my money. That’s another good gesture which I make a mental note off. She dr...

In the evening, Craig, Maya’s husband, takes me to the beach. He was taking his dog for a walk so he took me along. If he tells his friends about it, he will say I took Darni and our new guest for a walk to the beach. What would that make me? Anyway, I enjoy the crescent shaped beach which has a nice garden with trees, a child play area with swings and slides and plenty of people.  Lots of people can be annoying and assuring. Annoying in a train but assuring in a restaurant.  Meanwhile at the Brown’s Bay beach a Chinese family has got a barbecue. Two girlfriends are sipping beers. A couple is snuggling. A father is playing soccer with his 10-year-old son. A girl swings on one of the trees. Craig is walking his dog and has asked me to be on my own, “You know where the car is… we will take about 10 mins, so you do what you want”, are his instructions. He is frank and practical. On our way back Craig drives me around showing the place – an Indian eatery which is his fav...

  12th February 2020, Auckland, New Zealand I was picked up by Maya, my host for the next few days, at the airport. She drove 40 kms - a service that most hosts would not offer. And this was perhaps one of the reasons she clinched the deal!  Dekh lenge  doesn't work anymore I guess when you are 45 with more than lots of luggage. Airport pick-ups offer assurance, and assurances are priceless in foreign land.  I am here to pursue full time one year Masters in Business Analytics from Massey University. Will be going back to college after 20 years! For the next few days Maya's home will be my address –a standalone house with I guess 4-5 rooms and two bathrooms where lives a couple with their fifteen-year-old daughter and a six-year-old son, a dog and two cats. I have a private room and I share the bathrooms. More about the house and the family later. For now, I am happy to land in one piece with my four pieces of luggage - in tact.  Ya b...