This side of the planet

I promised  myself to make a decision by end of 2014 to move back to India. With approaching deadline, I think about all the great things I will miss. Here is my list:

911: First and foremost, I will miss 911. The feeling that help is just a phone call away is great reassurance. It gives me the peace of mind. I feel secure and confident.

Public Library: It was hard to believe that membership at public library was free. Even though, I was never an ardent reader, I made good use of it. Read many books and now we borrow books for kids. Its a nice way to get  a variety of books for them. Although, there has never been a time when we did not pay fine for a book but that is another story.

Roads, Infrastructure and Driving: There is no need to say, I am going to miss the wide roads, fast cars and ability to drive myself. Less traffic jams and easy commute is a great way to explore places. You can rely on google maps  for time and directions while planning for a trip. No need to worry about unforeseen conditions ahead.

No Litter: One of the thing which disgusted me always at home was people's attitude about public roads. Roads are just considered as trash bins and are used to dump house hold trash. People do not think twice to litter on roads. On other hand, people here are expected to clean after dogs. I just love it.

Nature: I was surprised to see the green trees beneath when I first landed at Boston.  It was quite contrary to the typical concrete jungle image I had, from KJ's movies. I have fallen in love with this. I could never imagine the visit from deers at office. Whereas spotting deer or moose is a common and refreshing sight.

Air at home is highly polluted. All thanks to ongoing construction and running factories and vehicles. Side effect of pollution is sky becomes dull. I was shocked to see starless sky on my recent visit to Delhi. But here, I can gaze at beautiful sky full of stars for long. One of my favorite activity with my son.

Weather: Never thought, I would say it. I just hate the SNOW. We get lot of snow here at New Hampshire. But, I am surely going to miss the experience of changing weather. All four weathers have their own charm. Spring brings the life back. I love the chirping  birds and blooming trees. Summer provides a great opportunity to go out and have fun at beaches or outdoors. Fall is very special and brings beautiful colors. And then comes the white snow colored winter and beautiful Christmas. Definitely going to miss it.

People: One of the reason to go back is to be with my own people. I crave to talk to my own people in my language. But at the same time, I know people there are nowhere as polite as here. Its such a delight to even talk to a stranger here. In general people are polite and helpful. You don't need to risk your life to cross the road. Cars will stop for you. You don't have to  fear being crushed  while boarding a local train or bus. Not only I can be fearless while getting out, I can also have faith that if I loose something, I will get it back. I can never forget how I got back my new lost camera or my gold ring (both lost at mall). I even got my lost external storage disk after three years. Thank you all for being so nice.

Online Shopping: Even though, e-commerce is catching up at India but its still in nascent stage. Being a lazy bum myself, I love the convenience of getting stuff delivered at home. It saves a lot of time and energy. I am hopeful that I will be able to make use of local shops at home as its replacement.

Food: I absolutely love Indian food. Being a vegetarian I have limited options in other cuisines. But, I am still going to miss the variety of cuisines I saw here. There is no shortage of my favorite  Italian or Mexican or Thai places or  my less favorite Japanese, Sushi places (pun intended). It provides a great variety for your taste buds.

Freedom and Safety: Love the freedom and respect given to women here. I have never felt so confident and safe being woman. I feel the confidence of achieving anything by being here. I feel safe while going out and do not feel anxious for my kids. This place has taught me that woman is not anyone's private property. She can have her own life, own views and believes. She does not need to always act  as daughter, wife or mother. She can be an individual with her own life and aspirations and should be respected for that.

And the list goes on. I certainly experienced great things here. I will always cherish the time spent. Thank God for giving me opportunity to experience this.