Approximately four years back, I landed with my friend, Pushkar in Cincinnati with a dream to continue my education and get a master's degree in structural engineering. It was a totally new world, new people all around, new place, new food, new lifestyles, and the list can go on. We had already decided on who will we be roomates with, and accordingly, me, Pushkar, Omkar and Yogesh got along, found an apartment very close to the campus and started our new "graduate life". However, we never actually stayed as roomates...no no, we didn't fight, but it felt like family right from the beginning. We had a lot in common, the most important of all - we all were from mumbai. All four of us had worked before we came here, infact me, Pushkar and Omkar even shared the same course. All of us were marathi, which was the next big thing and so we had a blast from the word go. The first year was all about new friends, Reena, Rima, Abhilasha, Reynold, Dhashu and a big marathi junta, about courses and more courses, finalizing advisors and thesis topics, cooking turns, enjoying the ISA functions, potlucks and oncampus job. We also went to St. Louis, Dayton, NYC, Niagara and Chicago. It was fun.
Then we moved to the oncampus apartment and to the second year of our program. This year brought in new friends, Jaya, Vidhya, Priyanka who went on to become some of the closest friends in my life. Courses reduced and thesis work increased in this year. The fun was all the same with ISA functions and our individual get togethers. I sang for the first time on stage during the ISA Deepotsav, and I was enjoyed it to the fullest (ya ya, i know i bored a lot of people, but I am talking about me here). Friendships grew stronger and the family became bigger. I also made my India trip this time.
Then in the third year, there were no courses. It was time to leave one by one, and so Omkar was the first one to do so. He got a job and the family had started to reduce now. Rima left next. Next was Pushkar and then Yogesh. Me, Reena, Jaya, Vidhya and Priyanka were the only ones left in cinti by the end of the third year. I too started working in Cinti itself.
And the job also brought in a very welcoming change. I bought a car and though I used it for work everyday, it was also kind of a family member for us. We used to hang out almost every weekend and try out new cuisines and new restaurants, watch movies, celebrate festivals and birthdays; basically we used to have a lot of fun. But then at the end of the fourth year, rest of the members started going one by one as each of them either got a job or graduated. The last ones left in cinti was me and Reena. I didn't get visa for this year, so I got my job transferred to the office in mumbai. It was a very nice thing, but that means that I am leaving cinti now. The place has given me a whole lot of memories, both good and bad, but the most important things I gained were friends for life, and a job. So here I am at the CVG airport saying goodbye to cinti and US and to all my friends, actually my family members here. I hope to see you all next year, till then you all take care and have a nice time.
