Chicago

I have been a lazy bum(some people think I always am) for the last few days and that's the reason there haven't been as many postings. Well the only that has happened is that I finally made it to Chicago and I really loved that place ... I don't know if it was because I met a few of my old friends or because the city's drivers reminded me of India. Driving in that crowded snow covered city brought back memories of my hometown of chennai. The crazy drivers ... The narrow lanes ... people just going haywire ... constructions all over the place ... I was in heaven. It was as if I was back in Chennai and only difference was that it was covered with snow. Now practically there is a one in a million chance of that happening. But hey I have the right to dream.

I had gone down there to attend the graduation ceremony of a friend. Which gave me the opportunity to see a couple of my old friends. Nanda and I go way back to middle school. We were soccer buddies in high School and hadn't seen each other in 3 years. The other friend was Vidhya a student at UIC and as free spirited as they come. Honorable mention to her cool roommates.

It was breath of fresh air to talk in Tamil after quite sometime with all the slang that only the college students would know. Spending the last 2 and half months in social isolation it was a welcome change to break free albeit for a brief moment.

Now that I have rattled off on about Chicago, here is a bit of fact ... I have put 7000 miles on my baby(car) in the last two months. And I am not likely to stop anytime in the future. Next stop is Dallas if everything goes well.

I just love driving in this country. Its so much fun and its so easy. If it was India I would be spending a lot of time in just finding the route. The Indian equivalent of a yahoo map or mapquest is the pedestrian on the road. And more often than not, if you ask two people for directions, you would get pointed in two different and opposite directions.

Long distance driving is not common place in India atleast till I was there. But my family was an exception. From the time we bought our first car we have made atleast one long distance drive per month. My parents liked the flexibility that a car provided compared to a bus or a train; My dad could maintain his mobility in the villages while my mom could visit her brother everymonth. We kids just didn't care as long as we didn't have to do our homework.

The best drive I have had so far is through Virginia and North Carolina. Those rolling mountains ... man they are a sight to see.

Young traveler

"Who lives sees much. Who travels sees more." ~ Arab proverb