Phani at the University of Cincinnati

Hello World.

Ha ha , I couldn't resist that one. After all , programming is my profession (read: Hobby) . I left India on the 29th of July (My home state was bifurcated into 2 regions as we began our ascent) and reached Cincinnati on the 30th.  It was an entertaining journey on Air India , and I watched 6 movies back to back. Seeing the clouds for the first time from above was a was a wonderful feeling  :)

Contrary to my expectations, Cincinnati was nowhere close to what I had imagined it would be. It was not filled with skyscrapers, it was not full of people, and more importantly, it was not cold .(YET) . I was provided temporary accommodation  at two places ( Thanks to all the people who made my stay pleasant).

I finally moved into my apartment on 7th, with Yuvaraj, Arun and Abhilash. What a feeling it was, to be some place HOME finally. College started on 26th, and we had a couple of orientations along the way. My team and I won the "Best Communicators" award (Thanks, Hope Schneider) in the communications workshop.

We (International Students) had an trip to the Ohio river, and lunch on the boat ( where i accidentally ingested a small quantity of You-Dont-Want-To-Know-What  from a vegetarian's point of view) . It was an enjoyable experience as we traveled through the downtown area of the city.

We also had a Ropes Course(Team building Event), where I got to know people from various teams, and nationalities.  It was really worth it, and I had to walk blindfolded on a tightrope (a few inches off the ground, of course :P )

I bought a new laptop (Acer Aspire V3-772G-9829) , a Targus Drifter II backpack, and a Sony MDR-ZX100 headphones.   Everything is expensive in USA ( He He, Dollar to Rupee conversion mode is still on).
Met old friends and made new friends here.

I went to the International Friendships Inc , where I met several american friends. Had a great Indian meal  there , and that night, we saw the fireworks celebrations at the university. WoW. I also met with the University president Santa Ono there ( He was very Cool :) )

The library at UC is the one I loved the most :) There is a large (read: HUGE) collection of reference materials there . We can even borrow projectors (he he, picture my wicked Grin) , cameras, and Laptops (miniature ones).

I speak to my family twice a day (on SKYPE only) , and so far, i feel comfortable. Hoping  for the best :D