Going to the same place daily, getting your coffee from same place at the same time everyday and staring at your computer screen daily from nine to six everyday makes your life monotonous and unexciting. Just as I began to think there was no end to this circle, I was informed about my chance to visit the US office for two months. I consider myself very fortunate that I got the opportunity to do the same work but from a different location.
My journey started on 27th of February 2017.
It was the first time I was travelling alone to anywhere and I had feelings of excitement as well as fear. I wanted to make the best out of this opportunity and experience as much as I could. After 27 hours of travelling with strangers, I was finally relieved to see the familiar faces of Abanish and Sangita who came to receive me at Boston Logan Airport. We headed towards Smriti’s place where I would be treated like a member of their family for the next two months. Smriti’s place was like a home away from home. She was very caring and made me feel comfortable in every possible way. I became very good friends with Pratisma (Smriti’s daughter) too.
The next day, we headed to our Lexington office. I was excited to meet everybody and get the experience of working at Deerwalk’s onshore office. Everyone at the office were friendly and cooperative. However, I found the working environment to be very different from that of our Kathmandu office. I thought the office at Lexington was too serious. I really missed my team mates from Kathmandu who made work fun.
During my stay at Boston I really looked forwards for the weekends. I was never left feeling alone or bored as the seniors from Deerwalk always accompanied me or took me to visit different places. We visited famous places like Harvard University, Quincy Market, Boston Harbor and Aquarium to name a few. took time to explore the historical city of Boston. Sometimes it’s only far from home that you realize you’ve got the abilities you’ve never knew you had. Travelling alone seldom brings them to the surface and makes you smile with satisfaction. I happened to encounter such situation when I travelled the historic city of Boston alone by following the self-guided Freedom Trail, a red-lined route that led to 16 historically significant sites.
My trip was then scheduled for Chicago, to visit the clients.
Chicago was a jaw dropping experience for me. The city, its buildings, its architecture and its thoughtfulness in design were mesmerizing.
I was taken aback by the sheer size of the city and pace at which the people in the city moved. Thankfully I had a few friends to calm me down.
Meeting the people face to face with whom you had only interacted via email, skype, and phone was surreal. We had couple of meetings and trainings together. Though very short I got to truly understand their perspective of working. I got to understand how our actions at Deerwalk affect the outcomes of our client. This experience will surely help me handle the everyday work better. During my time at Chicago, I stayed at Bill Higgins’ beautiful house and got to know his family and their culture. Travelling helped me expand my awareness and introduced me to a variety of cultures. Meeting people from different cultures taught me that the way I’ve been looking at the world isn’t the way everybody else does.
During my stay in the US, I also got an opportunity to reunite with my brother and sister who lived there. I went to visit my brother who lives in Minnesota, the state has large number of lakes, and is popular with the name City of 10,000 lakes. I was amazed to see the largest mall of US, the Mall of America with 520 stores, 50 restaurants, the nation’s largest indoor theme park and attractions like Nickelodeon Universe.
Sooner than expected, the last week of my trip had arrived and I went for a vacation with my sister. This was the most awaited destination of my trip- New York City. Times Square was the most happening place of New York City. It was an amazing experience to witness the madness in the city that never sleeps. It was flooded with people of different nationalities and colours, with many shows taking place on the roadsides. I was overwhelmed and excited by the energy of the surroundings. It was astounding to see the city so vibrant and lively even at midnight. The next day we took the ferry from Liberty Island, New Jersey to the Statue of Liberty and then to the Battery Park in Manhattan.
On the very last weekend of my trip, we went to Washington DC. Due to rain we were forced to limit our visit to museums. We did however manage to see the White House (from a distance), World War II Memorial Fountain and the Washington Monument.
I enjoyed every moment of my trip. This trip was meaningful both professionally as well as personally. Professionally I gained an insight on how various projects are run from the Deerwalk office at Lexington. It was also a great opportunity to interact with the clients face to face and understand more on the objectives of project that I am working on. Personally this trip was about discovering the confidence I never knew I had. Overcoming the fear of travelling alone, managing the hectic work schedule and experiencing the fast paced lifestyle and culture alien to me has broadened my perspective on life.
I am very grateful to Rudra and Milan for providing me with this opportunity. Smriti, Bill and Barbara for their great hospitality.Sagar, Bipul, Rosina and Manish for guiding me through the city and the entire Deerwalk Family in Boston for making my stay memorable.
