Kenneth was from Nigeria. He has been driving Lyft as the school has not opened. He goes to BYU-Idaho and was waiting for the school to start. We were going to BYU Provo campus and started chatting. He asked me about India and I was telling him that I am from the southern part of India. He answered by asking me whether I know a place called 'Madurai' in South India. You could've knocked me down with a feather.
Astonished, I told him that I am from Madurai and how he knows the place. Apparently, before coming to US, he spent a year as a Nurse-in-training at the Aravind Eye hospital in Madurai. We started talking about Madurai and he mentioned that there are a good number of Africans - coming to Madurai - to study and work. And we parted.
Finding someone who knows Madurai in a place like Provo is such a random event that I wasn't prepared for it. It also showed that the world has shrunk so much that there is no point in getting worked up over things like that.
Suraj drove me back from the hotel to JFK for my return journey home. I was sleeping for half-way and then started talking to him. Suraj came to America five years back and is driving Uber/Lyft all the time. He is originally from Nepal and was telling me that I have to visit Nepal as there are so many places to see.
Out of the blue, he asked me how to get into IT. A lot of his friends are making a lot of money there and he wants to get in as well. I told him it is not a great reason for getting into IT and he should really figure a different reason if he really wants to get into IT. So Suraj told his story.
He came to US along with hi wife and started driving taxi for someone, since that seem to be the faster way to start earning. After a couple of years, he bought his car - a Toyota Camry - he started thinking of getting into another job. Thats when his wife got diagnosed with Cancer. He had to take her to doctor almost every weekend - consultation, radio therapy or chemo - something or other. So he decided to stick with taxi driving as it gave him to flexibility to take care of his wife. He was making about $1000/week and was focused on caring for his wife.
Then he said, as a matter of fact, that his wife passed away five months before and now, he doesn't want to drive taxi anymore and wants to find a job elsewhere and see if he can re-start his life. At this point, I was just shocked. I was not sure what to tell him. There was silence sometime. Then I told him what he can do to get into IT.
JFK - AUH (EY 100)
JFK - International terminal has 'Shake Shack' now. I consider 'Shake Shack' to be the best burger shop all around in US - 'In N Out' comes a close second. However, the 'Shroom burger in 'Shake Shack' should be one any one can close to liking a veggie burger. I prefer the Cheeseburger anyway - so greasy, you can feel the arteries clog right away. May be, I will write a separate post on it.
The only disadvantage of the Gulf carriers is the travel time. It is at least 12.5-14 hours any day and that almost kills the joy of flying - especially with such good service and comfort. This time, in addition to the difficulty of flying for 13 hours, very sub-standard service by Etihad added to the misery.
I love the A380 - it is one of the beautiful planes around. It is huge and every time I cannot stop wondering, how does this thing even fly. But this is one of the best planes to get into if traveling by economy - especially on a Thursday. My prayers were answered when I saw that the middle seat was unoccupied and the guy in the window seat moved to the back of the plane.
While I sleep in all my flights, it is impossible to do that in these as even after a decent 4-5 hours sleep, you still have another 7-8 hours to kill. Etihad has the worst selection of movies and shows. I ended up watching 'Young Sheldon' , 'Friends' and GOT as there were no decent movies to watch. The food was sub-standard and in tiny portions (which may be a blessing).
After 14 hours, it was a relief to stand on the ground again - but I'd one more leg to complete.
AUH - MAA (EY 268)
I planned to sleep through this one and so grabbed a bit of dinner in the airport and boarded the plane. I was seated behind a little girl who decided to cry the entire 4 hours of the flight and thereby ending my grand plan.
So it was back to watching some inane shows to kill time - Etihad has a streaming service in this one and that is not much for entertainment.
That ended the about 35000 Km, round the world trip and I have no idea why I wanted to write about it - may be, just being vain, I guess -but it was fun writing it anyway.
Astonished, I told him that I am from Madurai and how he knows the place. Apparently, before coming to US, he spent a year as a Nurse-in-training at the Aravind Eye hospital in Madurai. We started talking about Madurai and he mentioned that there are a good number of Africans - coming to Madurai - to study and work. And we parted.
Finding someone who knows Madurai in a place like Provo is such a random event that I wasn't prepared for it. It also showed that the world has shrunk so much that there is no point in getting worked up over things like that.
Suraj drove me back from the hotel to JFK for my return journey home. I was sleeping for half-way and then started talking to him. Suraj came to America five years back and is driving Uber/Lyft all the time. He is originally from Nepal and was telling me that I have to visit Nepal as there are so many places to see.
Out of the blue, he asked me how to get into IT. A lot of his friends are making a lot of money there and he wants to get in as well. I told him it is not a great reason for getting into IT and he should really figure a different reason if he really wants to get into IT. So Suraj told his story.
He came to US along with hi wife and started driving taxi for someone, since that seem to be the faster way to start earning. After a couple of years, he bought his car - a Toyota Camry - he started thinking of getting into another job. Thats when his wife got diagnosed with Cancer. He had to take her to doctor almost every weekend - consultation, radio therapy or chemo - something or other. So he decided to stick with taxi driving as it gave him to flexibility to take care of his wife. He was making about $1000/week and was focused on caring for his wife.
Then he said, as a matter of fact, that his wife passed away five months before and now, he doesn't want to drive taxi anymore and wants to find a job elsewhere and see if he can re-start his life. At this point, I was just shocked. I was not sure what to tell him. There was silence sometime. Then I told him what he can do to get into IT.
 |
| JFK - In Night |
JFK - AUH (EY 100)
JFK - International terminal has 'Shake Shack' now. I consider 'Shake Shack' to be the best burger shop all around in US - 'In N Out' comes a close second. However, the 'Shroom burger in 'Shake Shack' should be one any one can close to liking a veggie burger. I prefer the Cheeseburger anyway - so greasy, you can feel the arteries clog right away. May be, I will write a separate post on it.
The only disadvantage of the Gulf carriers is the travel time. It is at least 12.5-14 hours any day and that almost kills the joy of flying - especially with such good service and comfort. This time, in addition to the difficulty of flying for 13 hours, very sub-standard service by Etihad added to the misery.
I love the A380 - it is one of the beautiful planes around. It is huge and every time I cannot stop wondering, how does this thing even fly. But this is one of the best planes to get into if traveling by economy - especially on a Thursday. My prayers were answered when I saw that the middle seat was unoccupied and the guy in the window seat moved to the back of the plane.
 |
| When will we land? |
While I sleep in all my flights, it is impossible to do that in these as even after a decent 4-5 hours sleep, you still have another 7-8 hours to kill. Etihad has the worst selection of movies and shows. I ended up watching 'Young Sheldon' , 'Friends' and GOT as there were no decent movies to watch. The food was sub-standard and in tiny portions (which may be a blessing).
After 14 hours, it was a relief to stand on the ground again - but I'd one more leg to complete.
AUH - MAA (EY 268)
I planned to sleep through this one and so grabbed a bit of dinner in the airport and boarded the plane. I was seated behind a little girl who decided to cry the entire 4 hours of the flight and thereby ending my grand plan.
So it was back to watching some inane shows to kill time - Etihad has a streaming service in this one and that is not much for entertainment.
That ended the about 35000 Km, round the world trip and I have no idea why I wanted to write about it - may be, just being vain, I guess -but it was fun writing it anyway.
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