New york again!

I have been in love with Chicago, the affair started after my first conversation on the phone with Dr.J. He confirmed me for the rotation in May. It was the first day of my 2 week rotation in Peds Neuro at NYP and I had just left for the day. Checked my phone, saw a missed call and dialled back. Tried a couple of times more, got through and had a most memorable conversation interspersed with humor, standing on the sidewalk, just outside NYPH at York Avenue. I had a great evening with new friends that day.

Three weeks later I knew me and Chicago were getting along. 2.5 months later, getting ready to head home, I knew I was as much in Love with Chicago as I was with Borivali and that was quite something. I had to come back a few months later, and I knew I had to be here than any place else. So Chicago.

This post was supposed to be New York. It still is. 6 days in New York.

My first 3 months in US happened in NYC. In the heart of Queens and along the banks of the East River in Manhattan. It had been the most unexpected surprise life had thrown at me, an opportunity, a window and I was changing at an incredible rate. I wasn’t ready. I didn’t want to embrace it. I could have been happier. I would have done better but I was sulking! And even as I grew tremendously each day due to everything that New York taught me, even though it excited me just as much, even though I remember every single day by the second, I was ‘uncomfortable’ ‘miserable’ and ‘sulky’ the moment I stepped out out of the precincts of Weill Cornell Medical college and NYPH after the day ended. As long as I was in the hospital, I was like Alice in her newfound wonderland, never growing tired of all that surrounded her and then on my way to Jackson Heights, I felt as miserable as ever.

As I left NYC for Chicago, I was confident, I was making a new beginning and I did well, and I did well for one reason alone. The experiences that NYC gave me. And the comfort that Chicago gives, it allows me to shine.

Back to NYC. This time was different in a million ways. I was with people that I have unknowingly come to love. I felt safe. Protected. At the same time, I was more in sync with my partner – my mum. We travelled to all the programs  together. She was my pillar of strength, and I was as caring as I can possibly be. I have my limits :). To add to it, I was calmer. And well, before I knew it, I was thinking to myself – Hey, Ruch, Are you falling in love again? Maybe I was, maybe I have. It is crowded, disorganized at times, confusing, but at the same time, it’s fast, it has energy, it flows, it lives with its people, it’s bustling, it teaches, dazzles….. it cares…. it’s brazen at one moment and shines a bright smile at you the next moment…ready to help you find your way. It has a million colors, with a quite a few shades of grey but grey doesn’t look prettier in any other place as it does here.

At take off, from La Guardia, a clear sunny day, I saw the most spectacular view of Manhattan and Ellis Island that I could ever imagine. It was a dream like vision. I was transfixed. I could have cried but I didn’t want to blink. I knew what it was all about. I knew I was never getting over it.

P.S. – 3 hrs in the flight, I kept listening to the most romantic and happy songs on my phone. Then I saw the lake, frozen in parts. I saw the coastline of Chicago, covered with snow. Beautiful and Pristine. I was glad I loved New York. I was glad I was back to Chicago. I remembered how comfortable and happy I had been during my short while in Charleston. I appreciated it. I will always value Nashik. And Paris will never stop mesmerizing me. I miss Mumbai, she is home. I am lucky I have seen so much and luckier that I fell in love with all of it.