RINCON: Many things happening first time.. :)

He hee.....first let me list the things i did for the first time so people don't get me wrong..!!

0. My first trip abroad (big smile)
1. Surfboarding... (Yeah..! it was fun. Strengthen your arms first if you plan to learn)
2. Kayaking in Sea (it was kind of boring)

Ohkk....!!! Here are the details...

I was searching the internet for a proper place to teach me surfing a few days ago.
High speeds always thrill me, such good wind on the face and you can always feel the excitement.
My love for good bikes is for the same reason but you can always imagine the results of the fall.

Then whenever i used to watch these exciting x-games on tv, i could feel my pulse going up.
The adventure involved in those sports is awesome. Imagine a sport where you ride the waves on a nice soft plastic board.
And the natural energy of waves providing all the fuel you need and a nice soft cushion to land (or dive into) when you crash (as long as you know how to float again).

See, if i am not wrong you want to try it too. Right..!!!

The first thing that made me happy when i learned that i was coming to US wasn't the pay or the foreign luxuries involved.
It was the hope that i can try a hand at every adventure sport available. So i thought surfboarding would be a great start.

Rincon is one of the best places for learning or simply surfing or so i heard and as soon as i got company (thank you so much for coming Abhi...!!), i was there.
We were there at 3PM (we started late) and the girl at the surf shop told me that there was no one available to give lessons and i was afraid of wasting the whole of Friday.

Thats when Billy just came back from more than an hour of surfing and he agreed to take us in.
He told us the sea was rash but may be it was the cute doggy (puppy) faced look in my face or the stupid determination in my eyes he came with us in 15 minutes.

He gave us each one of the longest boards he had (long boards can catch up with small waves and are easy to balance your tummies on).
In few minutes we were on the beach listening to the basics of how to maintain balance, how to paddle and how to jump and stand once the board has caught up with the wave.
Then we were warned about the rocky patches in the beach where you can neither enter nor exit the sea. If a wave pushes you that way you can get seriously hurt.
Some of you might be predicting that i might have hit the rocks for sure, you are right but only half-right.

Haa..!! Now comes the hardest part of Surfing....paddling till you reach the spot where the waves are.
By the time we almost reached the place where we could start surfing (a safe 50-70 yards from the rocks at shore) we were completely drained of energy.
Maybe this was because of the heavy lunch we had about half an hour earlier. Anyways, Abhi wasn't able to maintain balance and i too was almost out of breath.
We came back to one of the exits and Abhi scratched his right leg at one of the rocks below.

After about 15 minutes of rest it was time for round 2 and this time Billy left his board and got some padded shoes so that he could swim while helping me learn.
Another 15 minutes, I was ready to try my luck at surfing the first time and we were waiting for a good wave.
As soon as Billy saw one he shouted start paddling and i did and in a few fractions of a second i was floating at great speed along with the wave and i slowly jumped and stood on my feet.
A second or two i was standing and surfing with the wave and the next second i dived into the water.

That was amazing. The experience, the feel everything. I can't even imagine about the levels of various surfers there (as young as 12).
They were like a part of that wave moving, turning, jumping, diving.....!!! Hope i can practice to get to that level.

When i was looking with awe at some small children surfing, Abhi tapped me on the shoulder and preached me the "Cricket Theory" or thats what we call it now.
The conversation below will help you understand the theory better:
Adi: Dude, look at them (pointing towards chidren barely 10 years old) happily riding the waves on a board.
Das: Abey, do you think they can play cricket???
Adi: !@#@#$@}#@}:$#@!?? WTF??
Das: They cant play cricket. We cant surf. Simple.
Adi: (click...click..on!) oh yeah..!! they can't!!

Get it. We saw a father taking his 2 year old (at the max) on the front side of his board and go surfing.
We saw a mother happily getting tanned in the sun when her two twin sons (arnd 5 years old) happily playing in the 4+ feet waves.

Well, in India if you even try to get near a bucket full of water when you are less than 15 year old, get ready for some nicely printed palms on your back.
Like, lets a beacause of a very occasional sea wave touched your feet while you (10 years old) were walking along the Vizag beach.
The mother pulls you off suddenly and runs clear as people do in a hollywood disaster flick and the dad is searching his vocabulary for meaningful terms to give his young son a nice lesson.

Well, my parents didn't allow me to join swimming classes when i was 12/13. They didnt allow me to join karate when i was 14.
They did let me join something when i was 10 and i left that in a few days, Kuchipudi. I was more into break dance then :) .
See. The fear of the unknown is the term for this i guess. Anyways, i waaaaaaaaaaaaaay off topic.

So after two successes with surfing with the help of Billy i thought its time for him to rest and for me to do some learning on my own.
After trying a few more times and letting some huge waves pass by. I was done. I didn't have enough energy in y arms and shoulders to paddle anymore.
I came to the beach and after a safe landing with the help of some hand signals from Das we left the beach for the day.

We liked Rincon and what was planned to be a one day trip turned out into a one night stay.
We had a few rum punches (local specialty) and a few boards of billiards (pool might confuse you) we drove around the town.
Some adventures from here on are not for the blog and somehow Abhi managed to annoy me and he was so happy about what he acheived.
After a nice swim at midnight in the pool at the hotel we stayed we retired.

Saturday, Abhi wanted to go fishing but the rough seas and the day after christmas night meant no locals (boat charterers) wanted to go in.
So we decided we will do some kayaking. Abhi wanted to take a single kayak with two seats but i who knew him from childhood knew what his intentions were.
There was no way there is enough energy in my arms to paddle both of us for around an hour. So we tooks two kayaks.
Abhi's take off (entry into the sea, as the waves were ony a few feet from the beach and you will have to manage your kayak there) was disastrous.
He was completely tumbled and hit the bottom. In the second try he came in fine.
After about 40 mins i was bored and feeing sun-burnt. I decided to go out and take a surboard instead.
My exit was much more disastrous. I thought staying in the kayak, the waves will simply push me off to the shore.
But the completely turned it over and i crash-landed (most probably on my right shoulder as it hurts the most).

Then we went to the other beach and back to Billy's shop after lunch and again after a not so successful attempt at surfing.
We were back on the road and back home after another three hours. We were tired and had a quick dinner nearby and slept.

Thats how my first trip abroad ended with loads of fun.

I had a superb christmas.

Off the topic:
I do remember the way we used to celebrate it at BPL.
The carols holding candles with birth of the christ depicted by school children in a tractor (i cant forget Bhargavi as Jesus).
I also played lots of roles in those nice skits. One I remember very well is "Messiah", the one who gives the message to world that Jesus is coming.
The christmas here is similarly celebrated expect at a larger scale and also with a party atmosphere everywhere.
One problem is that the carols here are sung in Spanish and i just hum if i catch a tune i recognize like Jingle bells or Joy to the world.

PS:
Pictures to be added soon. Sunday we went to a rainforest and a waterfall. The photos will do more talking than my stupid, repetetive words.
So keep watching this blog for links and don't forget to leave your comments.

PPS:
Those who want to know about the details of our adventure on Friday night, contact me or das (or both for 2 versions) personally.

PPPS: One of friends complimented me that my blogs are like reading Chetan Bhagat's novel. Well, thank you but personally i think his novels are boring and may be we are both inspired by the same writers though i 'may' not be able achieve as much as he did.
Another friend commented it is like a personal diary. Well i will keep that in mind too.

Whats required for a healthy way of life?

If you are expecting a serious lesson on the above topic you are wrong. This is about a very unconventional way in which i got into a healthy routine.

First what my life was like in India:

Wake up at around 1030. Get ready slowly in about an hour and then have a quick breakfast (dosa, poori or mysore bhajji most of the times) and reach office by 12 (i know very late). I am not at all motivated here. Anyways, I have lunch around 2PM and a very heavy meal when it comes to it. Evening arnd 8 i leave home, watch some tv till subhash is home and both subhash and bharat are ready for dinner. After that i wait another 30 minutes till i feel hungry and then go have dinner and return arnd 11. We play cards for an hour and i watch some anime, comics, browse net for another 2 hours and finally sleep between 2 and 3 AM.

If you have observed there is no exercise and you can imagine what my weekends are like. I skip breakfasts and wake up for lunch and parties or movies in the night and junk food all day.

My parents hated this and always wanted me to change my lifestyle but you know the inertia if you are part of the 75% (my guess) of software engineers these days.

Now, whats my life like in the USA last few days:

I wake up at arnd 530AM and get out of bed by 630. Get fresh in about 30 mins and have bread, buttter, fruits and a cup of milk/tea for breakfast. By 830 i am in office and have a lite home prepared meal (little rice and vegetables or a subway). I cant eat out side in Puerto Rico as i am strictly a vegetarian (wish i wasn't). Anyways, by 6 in the evening i am back in the apartment and i either go to gym or pool (both just outside the apartment). At around 8 i cook a small meal and by 9 i am done eating. I browse net for sometime, watch some videos and sleep by 1030.

If you were my parents, you wouldnt be able to read further as your eyes are full of tears and you are so happy that your child is in the right path after all these years.

Well, i tried to analyse the reason for this big change in such a short time.

The first and foremost reason i could find is JET LAG. That set the ticker right in my brain. LOL.
Second the availability of a pool and gym so close and also the number of people using them.

So, i may not be able to continue this once i am back but lets be optimistic and let me continue this while i am here atleast.

Coming up next....few cooking tips for vegetarian bachelors abroad.

The first few days and feelings in the US

It has been around 60 hours i entered the US of A.

1. till now the food i had was 3 six inch veg delite subs, one veg pizza without meat (as absurd it might sound veg without meat). I have to tell them specifically only vegetables please. One dish made of cheese and pasta. I was sure even a microgram more cheese nothing would remain inside.
2. the other thing bothering me here is NO TEA only coffee or hot chocolate.
3. friends and rice, i miss you the most.

i am waiting to leave the hotel and enter an apartment to cook some rice and vegetables for myself.

the way i am feeling now is very similar to what i felt when i joined hostel after tenth except i am not that homesick now.

one great news i have is that i have a compusa store very close to my office and window shopping so many electronic goods makes my heart warm.

New York was quite cold but i loved watching people at Wall Street. Suits, winter jackets, leather shoes and a very professional expression on their faces.

Puerto Rico is quite opposite. Its quite warm (even its people), they greet a lot and try to help as much as possible. Its costlier than mainland as it is primarily a tourist center especially very close to the peak season. Most of the people speak Spanish here and i cant even catch the words leave alone understanding them.

Anyways, i will keep updating. you all keep watching...Buena suerte y adios..!!!