31 January 2020. I woke up in the wee hours of the morning. Before leaving for the US, I had attended the engagement ceremony of Nabindra. Our flight was scheduled at 2:00 AM on 1st February, so I had to head towards Tribhuvan International Airport by 10:00 PM 31st January. As this was my first long break with my family, it was hard to bid farewell.
After 4 hours of flight from Kathmandu to Doha (Hamad International Airport) and 2 hours of transit, we (KR Dahal, Niraj Dai, and I) continued another 14 hours of flight to Boston (Logan International Airport). In Boston immigration, they took KR Dahal to further queries, so we waited for him to head toward an Extended Stay. After reaching and taking a rest at the Extended Stay, we went to the Market Basket for grocery shopping with Suresh Dai. The weather was freezing because of the wind, but that could not stop us from exploring Boston.
Monday (3rd February), I went to the office with Abanish Dai, and all the staff in the US team welcomed us. At 9:45 AM, during regular standup, three of us introduced ourselves to the US Deerwalk members. During the office time, we attended meetings and discussions with Sanshila Didi, Rob, and Ed. Also, during my visit, I got an opportunity for providing support on an immediate issue and feature discussion for an upcoming release.
I would like to thank Dave and Abanish Dai for providing an opportunity to watch the Basketball match of Hawks vs Celtic. We had a wonderful time in TD Garden and our first experience traveling by train. As Awanish Dai was waiting for us for dinner, we returned by Uber and train ride. During the 2nd weekend, we traveled to Boston downtown and captured some best moments.
On the 3rd weekend, my journey to New York City began. Because of the broken vehicle, we reached NYC at 1:00 PM. And in NYC, my friend Tanchen was waiting for us at the Bus Station. As we were hungry, my friend took us to Jackson Heights for lunch. We ate Nepali food and roamed around the city. My friends planned to have dinner together. My friends took us to the Himalayan Yak Restaurant for dinner. We had a lot of fun while gossipping. Live music of Phiroj (members of 1974 AD Band) added more flavor to our enjoyment. On Sunday, we visited Brooklyn Bridge and the World Trade Center. At 4:30 PM, we left NYC and returned to Boston.
From the next day, we continued our work. We visited Burlington Mall and New Hampshire after the office time. In the 3rd and 4th weeks, Nepali Deerwalkers called us for lunch and dinner. We had a unique brand of beer almost every day. Also, I would like to thank Rudra Dai and Muna Bhauju for inviting us to lunch.
I was much excited during my last week in the US. As the Corona effect had started spreading widely, we had to face a Corona Test on the Tribhuvan International Airport Arrival section.
I’ve been pleased to work with so many wonderful stars throughout the years. This has been an amazing journey. I hope it continues. A huge thanks to Deerwalk for providing me with such a great opportunity.
[Suresh Ghatuwa, Senior Software Engineer at Deerwalk Services Pvt. Ltd. Nepal, visited Deerwalk Inc, USA, from January 31, 2020 – February 29, 2020]