Last week I completed my first year of stay in US. This has been the longest period I stayed away from home. Before this, the longest period I stayed away from home was the 9 months when I went to Odessa to study medicine. Although both these periods have been emotionally taxing for me, I am doing much better here than my stay in Odessa.

I have become much more independent than I was before. I have learned to do things on my own but it was mainly because there weren’t anybody to do them for me. It was a tough experience but it makes you stronger mentally and emotionally. I am not claiming that I can survive anything now, but I think I can do much better than I did any time before. I am doing a bit of exercise to keep my health from deteriorating the way it was. Sometimes I get to play badminton and tennis. I am finding some time to see some movies which were in the waiting list for many years. I am reading more books. I have learned to cook a few dishes. I have learned to negotiate without being cheap. I have learned to be stern without being rude. I also learned to brag about myself in my blog.

It was a tough year, but I am glad for the lessons learned (and the money earned ).