Written some time in the November of 2008, soon after the elections

One realizes one wants to get back to writing again. However, one also realizes that one doesn't have the faintest idea as to what to write. But one decides to start, nevertheless; perhaps the words will come as one begins to type.

Much- perhaps too much- has happened in the four months since I set foot in the land of red states and blue states United States of America. Old bonds have been broken; indeed, some have been torn away most painfully. But that's okay, I tell myself, as new, stronger and hopefully more lasting ones have been formed. Perhaps the single most important thing that I can take away from these past months of upheaval is that I am still here, and that I now look to the future with a little Hope. Change has indeed come, at least to my life; and all in all, it has been for the Good.

Certain things, however, seem immune to change. I still abuse semi-colons and commas, and still end up writing convoluted, hard-to-follow sentences. It is a disease I am doggedly trying to disabuse myself of; to my distress, however, I seem doomed to die trying with a depressing dearth of results. However, a little alliteration, of course, never goes amiss. Politicians continue to be kuntry, apathetic bastards; and as always it is the man on the street and, for once, the man in the high-end luxury hotel who suffers.

Moving on to happier things, if I was asked to name one thing I liked best about the academic system here, I would pick the faculty. Almost all of the professors I have met here have been highly intelligent, dedicated people who are extremely good at what they do. It is their sheer approachability, though, that really impressed me. Of course, I realize this may not be the case with all of them- I have, of course, heard the standard horror stories about advisors from hell. But most- no, strike that, all of the people I met during my search to find my advisor have been extremely nice people, at least to me. During those difficult first couple of months, I think it was meeting these people that kept me going; I used to meet them and realize that he/she was the kind of person I wanted to be: extremely competent, passionate about my work, and capable of inspiring young people.

* * *