Life away from home...

It’s been not too long and I find myself traveling again.. to a new place with a new work in hand.. to a new city and a whole new world.. n this time's it South Africa, Jo'burg.. it lies to the west of India, always traveled east, so for a change I ask about my mum's lunch and she asks about my breakfast :-)..

Jo'burg's a nice place.. one of the first things that you notice is the amount of wide space this city has.. coming from a place like Bangalore which is cramped even for air, this place looks so big it almost seems a little devoid of civilization.. winter's almost coming to an end now.. but the weather's been nice with a nip in the air.. the houses here are big with well kept gardens n a lot of trees.. it’s a pleasure to be in such a green place..

In the first week of my stay here, I came across a typical South African woman who’s been through the hard and bad times and come out stronger.. it’s amazing to see the resilience and resolve of this woman who has seen the worst times this country has ever faced.. lived through times where she could not even go visit her friends all because they lived in parts of the city where she wasn’t allowed to go.. but despite all this she’s says she’s had a good life… I was pleasantly surprised.. here, the government seems to pay for kids if you are not able to afford it.. but this woman has brought up her son with a lot of pride without depending on the government coz according to her, the kid is hers and she’s responsible for him and not the government… hats off to this woman who manages to smile in the face of all the challenges life has thrown at her till now..

Until I heard this lady speak I never realized the different worlds we come from and all my definitions of happiness and sadness came under scrutiny.. my problems seemed so infinitesimal in front of what she’s seen and been through.. but then again, to her maybe my problems would seem bigger :-).. all about how one perceives life.. n to understand this I didn’t have to come so far.. now, I speak for myself.. maybe because I’ve had a life with a lot of ups and downs, seen my entire world turn topsy turvy at times, I judge my problems based on these experiences.. if it can be taken care of, I just stop worrying about it.. extremely simple philosophy.. if I lose something that can be replaced, then that’s done.. but the problem arises when u lose something or do something that cannot be changed or replaced.. I guess this is when people have to apply some thought about why they do what they do including me.. coz sometimes, n it’s only sometimes that it’s as easy as buying a new cell phone when the old one’s gone for a toss :-)…

Talking of cell phones, I don’t consider myself to be a gadget freak.. but this place has forced me to try everything new with my phone.. the telecom industry in Jo’burg makes truck loads of money thanks to the way they charge any call or SMS that you make.. so calling home or even messaging anyone is enough to leave huge holes in your wallet.. so there come the new age 3G phones to the rescue.. thank god for all the great features which let me use the phone to access internet and talk via the cell and the PC.. makes life a whole lot easier… sometimes I think maybe it’s not even the fact that mobile charges are so high that’s making me do all this.. it’s just that I’m missing home.. family.. friends.. everything back home including my treadmill... n very badly :-(.. this place makes you eat meat almost all the time which meant I had to sign up for some good exercising in a gym.. so the treadmill’s kinda outta my “miss” list now :-).. but haven’t been able to make up for any of the others.. I don’t think that’s ever possible.. so until I go back, this is me saying cheers to Jo’burg..