Hello, you seem to be very curious since you are reading whatever I am writing right now. I hope you enjoy this part as well. Also, if you just discovered me here, you’d better get back to the Part-1 of this article which is already published, have fun! Oh, and by the way, my dad was the first one who caught me, and the other one was Reeya (my super sweet younger sister, but mind you, annoying). So, I believe, I left you on Grand Canyon, which in real life isn’t a really nice thing to do. Sorry. So, let me make it up to you by telling you all about it (if you still haven’t forgiven me, remember, “To err is human, but to forgive is divine” I know, I know, corny….). Anyhow, The Grand Canyon is one of the oldest places on earth, and one of the rare places where you can see the true exhibit of nature. Calling it vast is an understatement. It has a depth of about 5,000 feet, and not to brag, but it is one fact I remember very well, and I am no expert in facts. It is also one of the greatest examples of arid erosion. We went on a helicopter ride over Grand Canyon, which was so totally cool. It was kind of noisy and well, we had to wear ear phones and communicate through a microphone. But trust me, Grand Canyon looks so much like a virtual reality in a helicopter. I can just imagine it and hope you can too. However, I shall take you out of the virtual reality, and onto the next place. We drove for practically 5 hours to Las Vegas on our way to San Francisco. The very sight of it at night lives up to its nickname ‘The Sin City’. Las Vegas is something you find hard to imagine. You’d think half the world was there and yes, I mean it was crowded, very crowded, even in the midnight. But you’d think the whole population of Las Vegas had disappeared in the morning……… probably tired out by partying. Oh, and by the way, Reeya fell asleep and missed quite a lot of amazing sights, her loss. I saw the Eiffel Tower, Statue of Liberty, a hot air balloon, London Bridge and some of those, not the real ones, but the models of those, actual sized models, kind of like travelling around the world in 1hr (because of Las Vegas traffic, otherwise 10 minutes). The place was completely lighted and was oh-so bright at night, that I had to use my sun glasses! It’s known as the brightest spot on earth, when looked at from space (I guess I should confirm it with Sunita Williams and let you guys know later). It kind of looked like the place they describe where a fashion show is taking place. Anyhow, I too am tired out, so I may as well stop here.
@ Golden Gate Bridge
@ Statue of Liberty
Next up, rise and shine, I am in the car hoping for the last half an hour of the remaining 8 hours that we have been driving for, to end. Well, the moment we reached our hotel, I just collapsed onto the bed, I mean, come on, 8 hours driving! Next 3 days, I spent at Stanford University, looks like a PALACE to me though. You’d ask me whether I was planning on getting a Ph.D. or something, but no, my dad was to blame, he had some talk there. They (Stanford) have a hundred gardens there. It looks like a new world to me, honestly. It’s so huge. I couldn’t help but stare, because I was well aware of the fact that I was walking next to some of the brightest minds, pretty sure a lot of them are future ‘Steve Jobs’ and ‘Bill Gates’. After that we went to ‘Pier 39’. It’s actually Pier 1, 2, 3 and so on. But on Pier 39, you get to see sea lions. It’s not like a zoo either, but the sea lions simply sleep there, like a Savannah where the lions sleep on a day-to-day basis. They just come and rest or sleep and then fall back to the water! The area, as it is, is very beautiful. We also went to the Golden Gate Bridge. You will think that it is golden in color, but is actually red in color. It was also kind of cloudy in that area that day, and the bridge went through the clouds and looked as though the clouds were holding on to it. Thankfully, the bridge had more than just the cloud to support it. The only trouble was that my mother was determined to capture as many photos as possible and to annoy my sister and I to no end (I hope she doesn’t read it or I will well and truly starve). She described the dazzling background as “The wind blowing through your hair, the mist meeting the sea and a bridge emerging from the clouds.” Then we went to the Lombard Street. It’s completely zig-zag like and very slopy and fully covered with flowers (might seem pretty, which it is…… but I’m terrified of slopes, so not so fun). That was our last day in San Francisco. I am in a flight now, going to New York. It’s actually about 6 hours flight from San Francisco. It only takes 4 hour 30 minutes or so from Kuwait to India! Well, New York was more different from the rest of US, because it has two faces. One is full of natural beauty like hills, mountains and trees. And the other side is a city like no other.
But once we went to New York, we went to Boston to visit MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). Again, my dad had a meeting, but I had a great time! It was really creepy though, you know, walking next to Nobel laurates, well known for their ground breaking discoveries. Even in the cafeteria and restaurants, they were in a deep conversation about some great idea while simultaneously chomping on onion rings, pizza and fries (Hey! Nobody’s perfect!). Some of them were even sitting on the pillars of the building, and one genius guy randomly screamed “Aha! I finally broke the code and solved the problem!”. I’m pretty sure I was the only one freaked out though, the rest of them just looked used that kind of behavior. I have to admit, I was intimidated and freaked out at the same time thinking how smart most of them are to be able to study in one of the most reputed institutes in the world. I, for one, have officially decided that MIT is my future university. I could have sprinted for a minute and then reached Harvard as well…... but I decided that I was well creeped out for the rest of my life! Few days later, we were officially in New York. We went to the Statue of Liberty on the first day. It’s so huge and real, but there is something in its face - anxiety, happiness, hope, a mix of those, something that really touched me. I guess it was thinking of the liberty it stood for and the world was determined on destroying. We also went to Ellis Island, the place where in the olden times, migrants who migrate to America, would have to pass through. This island is close to the Statue of Liberty. We visited all these places in a cruise. When we visited the New York Library, the librarian was so sweet that she gave us a temporary card to borrow books since she saw me and Reeya visiting the library literally every day! And lastly, we walked through the famous New York Times Square. It is not exactly square (not even a triangle! I don’t know why they called a square), by the way (just goes to show “Don’t judge a place by its name”). Talk about luck, we saw a Mexican parade and a flash mob on the same day at the Times Square (or triangle!). “The true meaning of diversity lies in the heart of Times Square”. You may not understand what I mean right now, but you will, once you visit it because it comes from firsthand experience. At least one man from every country can be spotted there. We saw the Empire State Building and also many other places in New York.
Read Part 1
An Epic Journey to a New World......