As I was waiting at the airport, I got a call from my mom asking me to come back. I wanted to run back home but I decided not to give up. I knew everything would drastically change the very next minute I board the flight.
I never traveled alone, never in an airplane. I did not try that Mexican food I wanted at the restaurant in my city, I did not enter the café that looked so bright and noisy, I did not take those extra classes as I knew none there. I never dared to do anything out of my way.
The first time at the airport and the first flight ever, nobody I knew was there beside me to hold my hand and tell me to relax as the flight took off. I shivered and was scared as hell as I chanted Hanuman Chalisa. I did it. I reached an unknown country that I have to live in. I knew none, not the language or food or anything. The roads did not take me home, it did not lead to my favorite park, not to the restaurant I loved or anywhere I knew. It was a challenge for me. Everything isn’t our cup of coffee, but it is worth tasting! Spit it out if it’s yuck.
The initial days were hard, I wanted to give up everything and run back home. This city was beautiful yet it was not home. I called my mom every day for the first 2 weeks, I cried and cried and cried until my dad called me back and asked me to come back if I wanted to. That is when I realized what I had and what I got. I had super supportive parents and everything that I had dreamt of. I wanted to give a chance to all the efforts I had put into the past one effing year. I made some friends, a few of my dear classmates told me not to worry as I was 30 days, yes, 30 days late to my classes. The Visa process sucks in Mumbai. I enjoyed the classes, the subject was fascinating. I started going around the city, exploring it, slowly but I finally did.
Homesickness was still an issue, I never stayed away from my parents for more than a month, I broke down very often, I could not let my fears out as I trusted none. It was not easy yet it was all that I never wanted to give up on. I had never tried cooking anything except Maggi, but now I cook bassaru to badusha to make my tummy feel good. I was pissed off when I knew I could not drink filter coffee here, the first time I tasted mocha, I spat it and today I am searching for a good mocha coffee maker. I considered drinking alcohol was not good, ew not anymore! From wine to beer as it kept me away from the cold to just relax and sleep. I understood it is not bad if you do not overdo it. Many things as such, which I believed in was not all right.
One year to all the crazy things I decided to do and a few that I actually did. It was all worth it. To the scared as hell to it is all in your head, I am coming out of my fears and comfort zone. It is not easy but it is all that I want now. This place is starting to feel like home.