Welcome, Welcome, everyone!
This trip happened out of the blue. I wasn’t really planning to visit Hartford but the trip just happened and I couldn’t help it.
The reason for this last minute trip was to meet a couple friends with whom I hadn’t had a chance to meet before, and I very much wanted to meet them before I head to India in April. And frankly, you don’t need a reason to visit your alma mater, correct? I really wanted to check out the new UConn building at Hartford campus, which was still under construction when I graduated UConn in July 2017. I was returning here after almost a couple of years.
My stay at Hartford was taken care of when I told one my friends whom I met through my Cricket journey at Hartford. He was kind enough to let me stay at his place for as long as I wanted. I felt lucky to have friends like him in my life.
My flight to Hartford was quite smooth. It was a red eye flight, but glad I made it in time to get some sleep before heading out to explore Hartford. Once I got out for my exploration, all the nostalgic feelings came together and reminded me of certain memories when I walked by familiar places in and around Hartford Downtown.
I was living at the famous 250 Main St. apartment, which triggered the whirlpool of emotions. I walked past the 360 Main St. apartment, where I spent a couple weeks initially when I came to the US for the first time. The aroma of Indian food in the hallways of these two apartment building brought back so many memories and for a moment, I thought I was one of the current huskies.
After 360 Main St., it was time to explore the new buildings that they had just constructed as a new campus for UConn’s MSBAPM and MSFRM graduate courses. It felt great that the new students got to this building instead of ours, which was just a set of classrooms in one of the buildings in the downtown. The new building is constructed beautifully and I had fun exploring different rooms and amenities that the building offered.
After the new building, it was time to explore my old UConn building where I spent almost a year attending classes, preparing for interviews, and eating some free lunches over the weekend classes. It was surreal to see that nothing had changed in the last couple years and the building felt as-is even after a couple of years.
It was time to explore Downtown Hartford area after visiting my alma mater. It was both fun and nice to go through the same streets after a couple years, but this time, I wasn’t a student or a fellow husky. The Downtown Hartford area also presented an opportunity to visit my old apartment building which was at 55 Trumbull St and who can miss visiting Bushnell Park when they are in Hartford. I had spent almost everyday at Bushnell Park either studying or playing Cricket with my non-UConn friends.
The first day ended with a quick trip to West Hartford and I had a food at a Thai place, since Thai food is my favorite food to have if Pizza is not an option.
The second day was equally eventful. My friend and I cooked together some tasty dish for lunch. He was surprised to find out that my spice level had dropped significantly ever since I left Hartford, so he had to settle for a less-spicy version of the curry. I had a really nice time and stay at his place, but it was time to head back to Michigan. But, before doing that, I did go out one more time for a quick bite at an American restaurant.
The trip turned out to be better than I expected and I can’t wait to head back to Hartford.
Next stop: Holi celebrations at Hindu Temple, Canton, MI, USA
stochasticity 