The Unfamiliarity

A new destination, a new road. (Image from Pixabay)

Through out my life, I have always been on move; never sticking to a place for long and trying to adjust to new surroundings. So when I needed to move to Irving, Texas in early 2016, I just packed my bags without any thoughts. After all, I had lived across six states in India while surviving through different schools, colleges, and jobs. "It’s no big deal," I said to myself.

I was wrong. The moment I came out of the airport, it took me a while to realize that the cars on the road were driving on the right side. Back in my country, we drive on the left side of the road! Right there, I froze. It was definitely not love at the first sight.

Whenever I start residing at a new place, I try to look out for some elements in my surrounding that were common at the places I lived before. Funny as it might sound but it brought me some comfort on staring at a tall, rusty, dimly lit streetlight standing next to the apartment that I called ‘home’ for the next one year. That streetlight sweetly reminded me of something about my parents’ house.

While there were a ton of unfamiliar stuffs around me, I focused on finding out the similarity. Of course, the familiar outlets of Subway, StarBucks, and Pizza Hut assured me that all was well. The hot Texas sun, the cool night sky, and sparrows visiting my patio soothed me and reminded me of some of my favorite childhood memories. Halloween seemed familiar; customs to remember the departed souls exist in every culture. And Christmas was more cheery with cakes, hot chocolates and snowfall. Did I mention that the snowfall was new to me and still I loved it?

But the most important were the people around me; some friendly faces who welcomed me with open arms and hearts, and friends who made me feel at home. I have moved on again, to Union City, California. A lot of things look familiar now. And I’ve realized that the beauty of the nature, and smiles and hugs from people remain the same across geographical boundaries.

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