August 17, 2016 – UConn Orientation Day 2, Hartford, CT, USA

This was the second day of the orientation. If you haven’t had a chance to go through Day 1, I will recommend checking that out.

The first day was all about getting us familiar with the new environment and helping us transition into the new lifestyle and culture of this great country. We were treated with utmost respect and paid special attention to while doing all this.

The second day was more about informal interaction between the freshman and the seniors. Also, today’s focus was to make sure we are technically equipped to start our classes from Day 1. This was the biggest shocker for me.

In India, we spent countless hours of the initial days figuring out how to install all required softwares before starting with the actual studies. I loved how at UConn, they made sure our laptops were equipped with all the softwares so that we don’t face any issues during the classes, once they commence.

Like yesterday, I took the back seat here too and followed all the instructions that were given to us by one of the instructors.

I was amazed with the free wifi. I know it sounds weird, but, in India, we don’t have that much connectivity. Accessing a wifi network is one of the perks back in India, and here, in the US, we breathe wifi. So, it was definitely a big change for me.
When I opened my laptop and I didn’t need to connect any cables and I was online and connected to the internet, just like that, was one of the goosebump moments and realization that I was literally living a dream. It was a big step for a small kid from a small village in India.

Anyway, after going through the setup and installation process, it was time to have some food and I was glad that they had sandwiches and fruits for us. I didn’t hold back and had plentiful, A CONNOISSEUR OF FREE FOOD! I think it was the first time I was trying turkey, and loved it!

After tummy full of yummy food, it was time for some more ice breaker activities, along with more than 200 students, my future classmates. Our seniors thought out some nice and innovative activities for that and I was impressed with the thought process behind it. I am sure they must had spent some time to organize and putting everything together.

We were divided into groups of 7-10 students and were asked to carry out those activities. Even while doing that, I managed to capture a few moments. It feels funny to look back at all these photos and how long we have come from then!
Enjoy!

While everything was going on, I managed to capture a selfie with a couple of seniors, who appeared to be in charge of all the arrangements. You see Akram and Arpita in this photo, who had been extremely helpful answering all our questions with patience and making sure we had the information that we needed.

By the time, it was almost 2PM, we were heading home and I was reminiscing all the lovely people that we met during the day and how amazing it would be to spend a year of my life at this wonderful university with some amazing people around. I was lucky to have gotten amazing roommates and I was extremely thankful for that.

Like yesterday, once I reached my apartment, I called home and my girlfriend and gave them an update on the day’s activities. Everyone back home seemed excited to hear I was having a good time and was not worrying too much about them.
After the usual calls, I enjoyed some afternoon nap and by the time, it was around 7PM, we headed out again for some food. I think, this was the first restaurant visit for me in the US and I was excited about it.

I clicked the below picture when we were walking to the WestFarm Shopping mall from the parking lot. This mall seemed unfathomably big, not used to seeing such big and large buildings back home.

After some wonderful food (& I regret not taking picture of my plate), we explored the mall for a few minutes. I am not sure whether I purchased something from the mall, but I sure got a good memorable picture from there! I still remember appreciating the architecture and the beauty of this mall to my family and friends back home, the next day!

After spending some time, it was time to head home and I got to see the night life (from inside of the car) for the first time. Though, there was not a big crowd around the Downtown Hartford area, I still appreciated the night lights surrounding the road and was amazed by a simple fact that all the lights in buildings were on even though nobody was inside the building. #truestory

And with that, the second day of the orientation was over.

Comfortable life ends here and “studies” do start!