Transition to Tennessee!

We are in the United States now, specifically in the Great State of Tennessee. It has been a transition month from our life in India to this budding North American version. What a journey to get here, physically, mentally, logistically…and the Rising Family™ is still living out of a hotel as I write this!

At October’s end we were winding up our work and school, packing up our home in Gurgaon, saying goodbyes to the friends and colleagues with whom we had become friends, and starting the Long March of moving and visa paperwork. This isn’t a complaint, it is just fact: it takes many sheets of paper and many millions of bytes to leave India. Yet we were all sad to leave.

Then I had a week’s hiatus with the family in Japan; my time was mostly spent in dark internet cafes (they feel like casinos—time stands still) trying to figure out what comes next. I was out of The Matrix--no computer, smartphone or internet connection. Finally, I received the visa exemption which enabled me to head out to Tennessee, near Nashville, where my job has taken me. I went in alone to get a head start. The ladies in my life followed about a week later.

We’re quite lucky to have another terrific opportunity to see a new part of the world.

Beyond my moaning about how tough moving is, you might be asking, how is the family doing?

Answer: Pretty darn good.

Sure, Lady E. M., and the missus arrived a bit jet-lagged, but the Rising Daughters were excited to hit a new town to explore.

Since then, aside from getting them into a school, we have been getting our bearings in this new, lovely, green place. The girls are intoxicated by the shopping and all the new candy to sample. 

Naomi is eyeballing new furniture and the space we have to play with. Yours truly is parsing new beers, such as the succulent Lucky Buddha beer. Although brewed and bottled in China, I had to venture all the way to middle Tennessee to find it. But I must say I do feel enlightened! 

Courtesy of the Lucky Drink Co. 

Much more to come as I dig into our new lifestyle and outlook. Stay tuned.