Krishna Raj Dahal’s US Visit

The journey changes you. It leaves deep marks on your memory, your consciousness, your heart, and your soul. With every journey, you take something with you. Hopefully, you also leave something good behind. Filled with this idea, I was more than thankful when I was provided with the opportunity to visit the Deerwalk’s Lexington office.

The day finally arrived. It was the 31st of January 2020. I along with my colleagues, Suresh Dai and Niraj Dai, left TIA for Boston. Five hours’ flight to Doha was smooth. I watched some movies, looked outside the window, and enjoyed the meal. The view of city lights over Sistan and Baluchestan was beautiful. We landed in Doha for transit. After a 14-hour-long flight, we reached Logan Int’l Airport via Doha at around 4 pm. I had to face additional queries from immigration authorities as they had to verify the documents provided by the Nepal office. They finally let me go. We took a cab to Extended Stay America which was our home for the next month.

I was wrong about how winter would be in Boston. The weather was chilly; the temperature would go below 15 Fahrenheit. As the first-ever experience, I liked that snowy and bitterly cold weather. I joined the Lexington office on Monday, the 3rd of February. Afterward, my actual purpose for the visit started. I was very excited about my first day at the Lexington office. Everyone welcomed us with a big smile and warm attitude. The days at the office were mostly occupied with meetings and daily client issues. There, I learned more about the client-side issues that helped me to groom my skills of managing and handling the data management in a new way. The working pressure was at its peak, but it’s well said that “If you always do what is easy and choose the path of least resistance, you never step outside your comfort zone.”

We usually got to the office before nine in the morning. This would provide us some common time between the Nepal office and the US office during which I had to confirm on concerns shared by the Nepal team, provide sign off on different stuff, and get into client calls and requirements. The US office practiced stand up meetings as well, in which we discussed major and generic issues across products and clients. I could see client calls and meetings happening all across the corners of the office hall. I also got myself engaged in some of them. Uncommon emotions across people’s faces were visible over time because of different issues, client complaints, and compliments. Work pressure was also different there, and even when I was sleeping, I felt like I was sleeping with some load on my head.

The most important thing I learned during my stay was to get into client requirements and expectations as well as help them with the issues they face. This involvement helped me provide clear guidance to the Nepal team. This also helped clients learn about the process, limitations, and status of work being done. This eventually built a reciprocating relationship between clients and us. And I am always thankful to Neeraj Dai for involving me in this.

I am also thankful to Neeraj Dai/Prabha Vauju, Mukta Didi and family, Sagar Dai/Anita Bhaju, Kishor Dai, Bipul Dai/Rojina Didi, Rebika Didi, Sangita Didi, Smiriti Didi, Manish Dai, and Bhauju, Awanish Dai and Bhauju, Sanshila and Suman Dai, Suresh Dai/Bhauju, Namita Didi for being awesome hosts during my stay in Boston.

I am also grateful to the following hosts during my travels and for showing me the respective cities.