Thursday, December 23, 2010

Adventure, not a journey.

The very misconception and misinterpretation of the terms "Adventure" and "Journey" is profoundly seen in most of the averagely literate human beings. At one point I also had the connotation that these two words carry an identical meaning/definition.

The day I was selected as one of the Royal Government of Bhutan (RGoB) scholarship candidate, who will be studying in the Hiram College, Ohio, United States of America, I felt the heaviest heartbeat ever and a whisper that kept panning around my ear lobes. I tried knowing what kind of weight summoned upon my heart that I never felt before. The harder I tried, the more paradoxical it appeared. The paradox of studying abroad for four consecutive years. The paradox of being self guidance. The paradox of incorporating with a new culture, surrounding, people, food, and most importantly advanced technologies.     It was no different than a fire. The harder you blow, the wider it spreads. On the other hand, the circling whisper around my ear lobes were no better. The whispers of terror from various people that majoring in Mathematics could sometimes lead to a psychological effect, is a field with less scope in the job market, and blah blah...At that very moment of despair, I had the choice to turn my back onto the opportunity that I never thought would be bestowed upon me out of the hard work that I put myself into during last few months of the year 2006. But I didn't. I knew and fore-felt down the long run that something awaits for me. Something that will take me to the other end of the world and resurrect "me" to a "new me". Something that will implant a new vision, feel, and say about the world. Something that will leave an immense of adverse bits and pieces of objectives, which when plaited together will generate a whole new level of "future me". 

I still remember the early morning of 19th August, 2007, cleaning myself, dressing up, and hailing towards Paro Airport, Bhutan. I was already apprehended by the travel from Bhutan to the United States of America. And to make the situation uglier than it was, just as I was about to check in, I found out that my flight ticket wasn't registered but in waiting list. The flight attendants and the check in services kept me warming the chair that I have been sitting for past 1 hr with all my luggage heaped before me. May be that very moment of wait was only the time I, for the first time, started running out of thoughts and says. I ran out of thoughts for I wasn't prepared to confront such desperate situation. And I ran out of says for I didn't have anyone close to me to talk about how that moment of wait was infuriating and haunting my quest of traveling to America without having to face such (or any other related) situation(s). 

After a prolonged and anxious wait by the check in service, finally a fine voice came hailing across the desk saying that there is an empty spot and I must hurry up to board. Within a flick of second all my apprehensions, anxieties, and mazes disappeared like a smoke in the air. Everything went so fast that they didn't even let me bade farewell to my beloved families/relatives, who were still outside waiting to watch I safely take off from Paro Airport. All I got to do was wave my left hand and pan my eyes through their faces. Their faces spoke no word but care, love, and wish for my safe travel. I was, once again, incarcerated in the midst of pain that otherwise could have been avoided for I was pessimist when it just started. 

After approximately 5 hrs in the air, I landed in Suvarnabhumi International Airport, BKK. I had a night hold at Hotel Bangkok City In, opposite of World Trade Center, and another flight waiting the next night (20th August) at 11:55 p.m. Although for the first time in BKK, I toured extensively during the day and purchased lots of non-essential commodities for I was ignorant of what "new me" will require to accommodate amongst the "old them". Anyway, that night I flew from Bkk and after approximately 8 hrs, I saw myself flying over yet closing into Tokyo, the capital city of Japan. Eventually, I landed in Narita (NRT) Airport and had to wait about two hrs in lobby as I was taking the transit flight to O'Hare International Airport (ORD), Chicago. In addition to the 2 hrs of wait, after approximately 11 hrs of flight from Tokyo, I finally landed in Chicago airport. By then, I was both mentally and manually drenched into fatigue. There are moments in life when "downs" keep weighing more than "ups" and "surprises" are synonym of "panics". And that was the exact moment. I followed the crews from the same flight, saw them claiming their luggage--I did the same but with some hesitation yet I still kept following them until most of them settled at the port. Again my wait for was about 2 hrs. I kept reading the time. At first, I thought they were flying in the same flight. It wasn't until last few minutes I asked a guy sitting next to me if he was flying to America. For some solid 10-15 seconds he stared at me and uttered no word. Then, slowly, he said, "This is America". All of a sudden, my eyes, thoughts, and all those patient waits ran into maze. I think by the look in my face he knew I was new to America, to which he added, "Chicago is in America. It is one of the largest city in Illinois. Where are going?" I quickly pulled out my itinerary from my back pack and showed to him. His eyes scrolled down the page and to the next. Then he said that I was not supposed to be there and shouldn't have claimed my luggage. I started panicking but the guy was kind enough to point me to the customer service. I hasted my way to upstair, rushed to the customer service explaining what happened, and the lady at desk handed me a map and to follow the direction marked with red ink, which would lead me back to check in. I don't know how but I got at check in quicker than I realized. Now, even to worse the check in lady goes, "Sir, I am sorry. You are late. Your flight has been boarded." In despair, all I managed to do was request again and again, "Please...please....please...please....I have someone from College waiting for me at Cleveland airport. If I miss this flight, then I won't be able to get to college. I am new to America....please please please...." May be the check in lady couldn't stand there watching "poor me" begging to board, then she said that she will see if I can still make it. She dialed some numbers and after talking for few seconds hung up. She said, "You are lucky. You have about 10 minutes to get to the terminal."

Finally, after flying approximately 25 hrs from Paro (Bhutan), here I am now in the Senior year eagerly excited to see my beloved ones after four consecutive years of studying in Hiram College, Ohio, USA. 


6 comments:

Pema Wangdi said...

Welcome to the Bloggers' World!! lol....

Read the first half, and certainly a nice reading. Will try to finish reading when time permits.

In the meantime, keep writing.

Cheers! Happy Vacation!

Tea Pea said...

Thanks buddy. It's nice to have something where you can write down what goes in and around you.

Happy Vacation to you as well.

letro said...

an exciting, daring an dworth cherishable experience..,
nice reading..

Tea Pea said...

Indeed! It has been a life time adventure.

Dottie said...

Tea, I can't even imagine the panic you must have felt when you thought you couldn't board the plane to Cleveland! I would've been crying. LOL. Very interesting reading. Tell us more about your experiences after arriving.

Tea Pea said...

Dottie, thanks for going through my blog. It's always encouraging to have people read and comment in my blog...As you suggested, I will be writing about my experiences after arriving. So, keep visiting my blog every day :)