My trip to America was scheduled for 14 February 2018. I hopped on the flight that Valentines evening, bound to Qatar, where I spent 8 hours in transit. Another 14 hours flight and I had landed in Logan Airport, Boston. The customs went smoothly and I was glad that all the chowchow I was carrying came through. When I stepped out the airport, the air was nippy, a precursor to the snowstorms we would be experiencing in the next few weeks. I took a taxi and headed to office as Abanish dai suggested. Office hours was almost over almost so we headed home.

Ashay dai and the lovely Ekta bhauju were hosting me at their home. I had Sangita dd as my roommate for the first 10 days of my stay. She would show me around the house, office and the town. We had Sushant dai as our close neighbours who would also help us with our office commute.

My trip to US can be split and categorised into office days, weekends and celebratory events in between.

Office days : I got to meet in person so many people who I have communicated only in emails or have heard names of. They were all so welcoming. I was pleased to see so many familiar faces as well. I got to observe how the offshore office works and how tasks are prioritized. The office hours are typically 9-5 but the work hours go beyond that. US folks take on client queries during the day and mornings and evenings are utilised communicating with Nepal team. My appreciation for the effort put in by US team has only grown. Having said that, it is not all work at the office. I miss the lunch hours at the office, where everyone would bring their Nepali lunch sets, the walks around the campus after, the occasional popcorns and the casual snow fights. And I ofcourse miss the work from home option during the snowstorms.

I got to observe how the offshore office works and how tasks are prioritized

Weekends : During the weekends we would go shopping to the nearest town centers, spend the day building snowman with Suresh dai’s beautiful daughters, grab lunch out, make momos at home. We went to Bostons discovery center and watched a short movie that covered Nepal 2015 earthquake. We watched Black Panther on imax. We visited Downtown Boston one weekend and another weekend, MIT and Harvard Campus. We visited many factory Outlets and shopping centers. This one evening, Dave took us out to Liberty hotel to give us a taste of Boston’s night-life. I extended one of the weekends to go visit friends in New York. The weather was absolutely brutal, it was raining, snowing and the wind was fierce which did not let us do outdoorsy activities. But nonetheless, it was fun because of the people.

Celebratory events in between: In the Thakur household, Feb-Mar was a special time. We celebrated Ekta Bhauju’s birthday, their wedding anniversary and Ashay dai’s birthday as well. We also celebrated Kayena’s birthday at Suresh dai’ place. Needless to say, I had a lot of cake that month. Oh yes, Muna bhauju threw this amazing baby shower for Zoey. Congratulations to Zoey and Trilok dai on their baby boy. Yay, more cakes!

I must say that my stay in the US was more pleasure than business. I did learn a lot about how the onshore office works. It has certainly helped me see the bigger picture. But I still call this trip a pleasure because everybody was so accommodating and kind. I really appreciate how they went out of their way to make me feel comfortable and make the most out of my stay. They would drive me around, take me places, have me over for lunches and dinners, do touristy stuff together with me. All in all, I am grateful for YOUR company and THE company for arranging this trip.