*I didn't mention that we watched the Fourth of July fireworks, sitting next to a lake with thousands of other people. I loved looking at how people treat it as a picnic. They had arrived with picnic mats and foldable chairs and baskets of food and drink, and they had such a good time. We had to wait till 9 15 or 9 30 pm for it to become dark enough for the fireworks to be seen properly. And they were spectacular.
*I saw my first hummingbird that same day. It was surreal. I was sitting alone outside a friend's house, waiting for her to get back. I was looking out at her garden, and all of a sudden, there was a buzz-buzz and I looked around for a bee or something, and then I see this bird. And it suddenly clicks into place. Hummingbirds hover, I'd read that a million times, but I'd not realized that they actually hover and move about like insects, you know. Now it seems like such an obvious thing, but honestly, my mind hadn't made that connection at all. It was fascinating, but I had nobody to share my excitement with at that moment!
*Went to the beach on my niece's birthday. The water was cold. And there were no shells on the beach at all. And the Pacific was a beautiful blue. This was one of those times I thought of myself as a small girl, marvelling about the vastness of the Pacific ocean and wondering if I'd ever see it. And here I was, with my feet in its waters.
*Visited the library. Such a lovely feeling, to be given the freedom to take more books than you can read! The rows and rows upon books all waiting, winking at me, saying, "Me! Me! Take me!" and Puttachi's delight that she doesn't need to choose between two books, and that she can take them both if she wanted! I wish India had public libraries.
*The cars at night on the highway - reminded me of an unending line of luminous red ants hurrying one after another, eager to get to their nests.
*When people talked about "The roads in the US are good" I always thought they meant the actual quality of the roads (perhaps they meant that too) but now I think I know what they mean. The roads, the lanes, the network of roads, the freeways, and the entries and exits from the freeways, the smooth movement of the vehicles, everything in place ensuring that vehicles don't block each others' movement. I know it is probably funny but what I like best is the little island in the middle of the road where a vehicle can stop and wait to turn into a side road, without hindering the movement of any other vehicle.
*I saw my first hummingbird that same day. It was surreal. I was sitting alone outside a friend's house, waiting for her to get back. I was looking out at her garden, and all of a sudden, there was a buzz-buzz and I looked around for a bee or something, and then I see this bird. And it suddenly clicks into place. Hummingbirds hover, I'd read that a million times, but I'd not realized that they actually hover and move about like insects, you know. Now it seems like such an obvious thing, but honestly, my mind hadn't made that connection at all. It was fascinating, but I had nobody to share my excitement with at that moment!
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| Can you spot the hummingbird? |
*Went to the beach on my niece's birthday. The water was cold. And there were no shells on the beach at all. And the Pacific was a beautiful blue. This was one of those times I thought of myself as a small girl, marvelling about the vastness of the Pacific ocean and wondering if I'd ever see it. And here I was, with my feet in its waters.
*Visited the library. Such a lovely feeling, to be given the freedom to take more books than you can read! The rows and rows upon books all waiting, winking at me, saying, "Me! Me! Take me!" and Puttachi's delight that she doesn't need to choose between two books, and that she can take them both if she wanted! I wish India had public libraries.
*The cars at night on the highway - reminded me of an unending line of luminous red ants hurrying one after another, eager to get to their nests.
*When people talked about "The roads in the US are good" I always thought they meant the actual quality of the roads (perhaps they meant that too) but now I think I know what they mean. The roads, the lanes, the network of roads, the freeways, and the entries and exits from the freeways, the smooth movement of the vehicles, everything in place ensuring that vehicles don't block each others' movement. I know it is probably funny but what I like best is the little island in the middle of the road where a vehicle can stop and wait to turn into a side road, without hindering the movement of any other vehicle.
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