If you are wondering why I have cut short on the title above, well.. titles have to concise and I didn't know how to come up with one. The title actually had to be, "One day in the life of an Indian student on a vacation in the Gulf." Pretty long uh!
I had to come up with this probably because the glories of being there was deeply missed during this summer break. Well, not actually deeply missed, but yea, kind of missed it! Why? I am supposed to be a final year student now. So this vacation was meant to be spent to look beyond a life at MIT. Some of you might not agree, but most of you would. To all the GREs and the interns and the blahs and blahs, just want to let you know that our life will be in perfect harmony even without you!
So, what's up with a day in the Gulf?
MORNING : I wake up, well I try to. Somehow, I tend to get up early when in India but get up late irrespective of the time I go to bed there. I still haven't figured out why! If you do, let me know! Next, go straight to the kitchen. Open the fridge. Munch away something. Then, I throw myself on the sofa, settle comfortably on it and the love affair with the laptop begins. High Internet speed, which means no buffering of videos and downloads at a much faster pace. So I take maximum advantage of it and watch video after video and if I like it, download it quickly 'cos I know that I can't watch it with the same pleasure when I get back to India. Browse, browse, browse. Read a lot! Must admit, I tend to read a lot when I am there.
AFTERNOON : I look at the time, it's 12:15. I finish my lunch by that time in India. But I see no signs of anything on the stove now. Not that I am hungry but just that it's time! So, I look at mom and she gives this look, "Do I have to cook? I am on a vacation as well." Hmmm.. I have no answer to that. And then she slowly walks to the kitchen and spends some half an hour near the stove. We have a hurried lunch. You need to move around, do some work and get some sweat to feel hungry right? That hasn't happened. Thus, the hurried lunch. Back to the bed. Get super comfortable in bed with the blanket perfectly fixed, ac on and then doze off. If no afternoon naps, then I have all the freedom to try all the weird stuff. Something like... this!
EVENING : Dad comes back from work. Remember, he has worked, we haven't moved an inch. Now, we get ready to move out. Where? No idea. One litre petrol costs 50 bucks in India while just around 12 bucks(Indian money) out there. Reason good enough to get out of the house? I am not sure if there are any recreation centers out there but there are these MALLS. Every road has one. So just bump into one and spend the evening there. Not necessary that you shop but.. err.. Nope! Shopping is a must. What I love about going to the malls is trying to figure out what the Indians do there.
There are two types of Indian families who come there. The first category consists of those who stay as a family there. The kids study in those schools and so they come to the malls to actually get stuff needed for their house. There is this second category like mine whose dad works there and the kids come there on a vacation. So how do you differentiate between the two. It's easy. There are two ways. Either you can look into their trolleys or you can look at the parents' reactions. Trolleys belonging to the first category will consist of vegetables, a lil non-veg, some other necessary provision stuff and maybe, a dessert. The second category trolleys will consist of junk and junk and more junk. Strictly no vegetables. Now the best part - parents' reactions. When the kids in the former category ask for something the answer is a strict NO while in the latter, the kids don't ask for anything. The trolley just gets filled. Not sure what exactly the parents think. Do they think we starve in India and get to eat only in the Gulf? Whatever be it, why miss the opportunity, just stand afar and watch your trolley being filled. :D
NIGHT : Eat out and get home! Everyone gets to bed. I am still so fresh. Arey! I haven't actually done anything. Not a drop of sweat. Even the shopping was done by mom where I happily stood afar and watched (:P). And so I get back to my laptop. Again, get to reading something or browse through some random stuff and finally force myself to bed 'cos this cycle has to continue the next day! :D
Holidays in the Gulf are weird. Not doing anything all day means I am not tired at bedtime.. I guess I had better do something, well.. no regrets. I like it that way! Another thing about being on a holiday here - I eat a lot, not because I am hungry but food calls out to me from the fridge every time I walk past it. A pretty good situation to be while on a holiday but trust me, it gets a lil boring after a few days. But they were missed this time around. And so this post had to come up in remembrance of the time WELL WASTED there!
P.S : What was eaten and what did the shopping bags contain have been hidden taking into account the best interest of the readers! :P
