Grass is always greener on the other side of the fence!!!

I was reading this short story which was based on “Grass is always greener” saying and I felt how we are always so busy thinking on how green the other side is, that we forget what we have!!! Of course grass looks greener on the other side because it’s the grass that we don’t have!!!! Person working in a big company for 14 hrs a day will look at a self employed person and feel sad that he does not have time flexibility, where as the self employed person will look at this big company guy and think how he would wish to have that kind of job security! It’s like a big cycle that never ends. There is always someone somewhere who has it better, or so everyone thinks.

Often talent and situation of other people looks much more desirable than one’s own. It feels like the whole world is against us when it might not be true in reality at all. Most people desire and value things that they don’t have or can’t afford to have more than what they can afford. So they try to glorify their life by spray painting their grass green so that it will match the one on the other side of the fence!!!! Why do they always seek to be better than the world around when in fact they could be awesome enough just the way they are? And then again perception of the grass is in the eyes of the watcher.

I think that if we stop being unhappy on what we don’t have and try to be happy and grateful for what we have, this whole world will look like such a better place to live in and we won’t even have to spray paint the grass to match the other side!!!

 "The harvest is always richer in another man’s field" -- Ovid, Peter Green

My experience studying abroad

I had heard and read about studying in abroad, but experiencing it is way better then both. There is no substitute for living and studying in a foreign country. It was a unique experience for me studying in USA. There were a lot of “culture shocks” to begin with as the American and Indian cultures are different in many ways (even the education culture like in India we address our teachers as “Sir/Madam” whereas there you address them by their name). Though I did not have any language barrier to overcome, It took me some getting used to their accent, usage of few words that we don’t and their pronunciation.

The education and teaching system is different than what I was used to. Classes are usually smaller. There may be as few as ten to twenty students in a class. In one of the courses that I took there were 16 students and that is the highest I have seen while studying in the university. This gives the advantage of personal attention to students. Each department has an advisor with whom you can discuss and then decide the courses and the number of courses that you would like to take each semester. This was a new experience to me. I also had a mentor who guided me, which was an invaluable resource.

There is no University prescribed syllabus that is followed. Each professor decides his/her own study material and this might change each semester!!! There is no way to know the question pattern (as it was in my undergrad) and so just reading and remembering is not enough, one has to observe, understand and analyze a problem before solving it. And when it came to exams, I was used only to in-class exams and was very surprised when I was given a take home final exam where my professor said I could answer questions at home and submit them within the given date. That was new!!!

It is very common for students to work while studying in US, which is not so common in India. I worked as a teaching assistant in the university. Because of my student visa there were few restrictions on what and where to accept a job, but I was able to take up the assistantship in the university. This helped me financially and also gave me some experience.

While studying in US, I was not only exposed to American culture but also to many other cultures. There was a club for international students in the university, where they would have meeting at least twice a week and students from different country spoke about their culture and language. This interaction with other students enhanced my communication and language skills. 

As a whole this education voyage was an excellent experience which not only provided academic enrichment but also enhanced my personal growth. It gave me exposure to new culture(s).

“Education is the manifestation of the perfection already in man” - Swami Vivekananda

My First Post!!!

Ha i am finally here writing my first post!!! I have been wanting to blog for a long time now and haven't had a chance to do so... Today finally i have decided to put this first post with simple introduction about me and posts to come...

I graduated from University of Scranton this May with my Masters and I have Bachelors from VTU. As for my hobbies, I like to read a lot(excluding academic books!!!), sing, dance and organize and clean my home!!!

In my coming posts i would like to share my experiences while studying abroad... Will write more later... Let me wrap this up with a quote by Epicurus:

"Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for"- Epicurus