Arrangements and Displacements

Before I start writing, I might want to warn that for now, I have plans about protecting the privacy of my friends. I will either change the names or use initials or key letters in their names . Of course, I won't spell very juicy gossip either.

Summer greeted me yesterday in a funny way. My otherwise toned down makeup was slightly stronger, and I hope it did not look too dramatic for the day.

I was testing how would it feel like to write inside of a moving train. Lesson learned: the city trains are not good places to write.

This weekend was more socially intense than my average week in Chicago. First, I met KK and Bh, two Telugu guys living in Chicago who I met in the camp I went to in New Jersey. And on Sunday, I visited a married couple of friends.

One of the clear signals that I am in a big metropolis was surrounding me while I was waiting for my friends: the quantity of people and cars, people with extravagant makeups; a whirlwind of activity in other words. For someone who lived in rather smaller and quieter college towns during my first decade in the US of A, this signal hit me full force. Weekends in South Carolina tended to be more shut down.

Anyway, KK, Bh and I walked to the lake, all the way to Navy Pier. During a break of the lake, I noticed some wonderful and weird bicycles (too bad I could not take a picture). As soon as we arrived to Navy Pier, the guys bought tickets to Kung Fu Panda, and then we went to eat in an italian restaurant there (Name forgotten!). I was very curious about the cheeseless pizzas, so I asked for one, and I shared it with the guys, while trying KK's pizza (also without cheese. Plenty of tomatoes instead).
Kung Fu Panda is the first movie I watched in an I-Max theatre. And really, the quality of sound and image was good... But the content of the movie left a lot to be desired, even for a Hollywood production.
After the friend I was going to hang out with me cancelled plans, KK and Bh walked me to the closest Brown Line station. Unfortunately that left me wonder, when will I see the nightlife of Chicago? Then again, I am also wondering when will I see the musical scene of Chicago. I would love to go to Loolapalooza and the Pitchfork festival, but I doubt I will be able to go this year. Maybe next time.

As for Sunday, I visited Radha and Nashu. They are an absolutely awesome couple, and it was nice to see them cooking together. This also made me confirm that arranged marriages can really work for some people. Now, I am not one to recommend everyone to take this path, nor quantify or generalize about people who partook this. As a matter of fact, I have witnessed both sides of the coin when it comes to this issue. But in some people, when done right (meaning, getting to know the person and having a say in the partner), can succeed at times.

One theme arrived in conversations this weekend. Yesterday KK and Bh told me about their intentions to return to India, a theme that re-appeared in today's conversation. See, I am a foreigner who has been out of Venezuela for 10 years. The first few years I wanted to return, but I also visited often. Because of a combination of circumstances, I had to abruptly stop visiting, and that, combined with the political deterioration of my country made me loosen my connection in some levels. Nowadays, I tend to advice others that if they want to return to their countries, to do so while they are not used to America (or whichever country they are at), so the transition is smooth. Such issues as marriage, jobs and, in my case, getting used to how things work in this country and the lifestyle I "created/adopted" here, can make the transition more difficult. I, for one, have lost all hope to go back, although I will still identify as Venezuelan (more on this in future posts. I am sure this will be a recurrent theme). To be honest, this is one constant pain in my life, but I have learned to live with it.
Nashu brought this up when we were talking, because Radha says he did not see dramatic differences between here and India. Nashu said that one of his colleagues went to visit in India and then said that, while she loved it, she was glad of being back in America. Although he also said that, in his experience, transition can run more smoothly when you visit your home country very often.

Ahh tomorrow I will be back with the same studying routine. I return to New York next thursday. Hopefully by then I will be ready to take the licensure text.