The Unsaid Dreams . Truth . Desires

10

Settling in Los Angeles was more tedious than Alina had anticipated. She managed to get a cab to her hotel and checked herself in. It was a luxurious room, overlooking the beach. She always enjoyed watching the sea and its waves. Back in her MBA days, it was a 10-minute journey from her hostel to the Juhu beach and whenever she got overwhelmed with something, be it hectic daily schedules, placements stress, or anything she liked to take off her shoes and stroll on the beach. She felt as if the waves could carry away all her stress and anxiety. She used to feel so calm there with the wind blowing into her hair, embracing her into a warm familiar hug. 

It was almost a 30 hours journey for her, from Mumbai to LA, and it was eventful beyond imagination. She settled in her room, changed into comfortable pajamas after showering for a good 20 minutes to wash off the tiredness. It was close to midnight but seems the jetlag kicked in and she just couldn't sleep. She tossed and turned in her bed, unable to sleep. She was aware that something of this sort would happen, so she planned her travel date in such a way that she would have Saturday and Sunday at her disposal for her body cycle to get accustomed. She barely managed to sleep for a couple of hours and in the morning, she got a message from Brian, her point of contact in LA. She replied that she is in the hotel and there was an instant reply from Brian that he would be visiting her from brunch.  

She watched random shows on the television without paying much attention to them. Her mind was preoccupied with the discussion with Rob and her big move to the USA. She moved to the hotel's restaurant at around noon where Brian was already occupying a table with another guy, who looked like an Indian or maybe from the Indian subcontinent. 

Brian shook hands with her and introduced her to Shiv, while Brian worked with the HR team, Shiv was a part of the strategy team, meaning that they might end up working together. 

'You won't imagine how happy I feel right now to have someone from India working alongside me.'

'Well, I am not exactly an Indian. You see my dad came to the US many years back and I was born here,' Shiv replied playfully.

Brian interrupted, 'I thought maybe Shiv could help you better than me to get settled, feel free to ask him anything, I am sure he would be happy to help'.

 'Of course Alina, no need to hesitate. You are welcomed to my home and meet my parents, they would be delighted to meet someone from India'.

Soon, Brian left.

'Where do we start?' asked Shiv.

'Well', said Alina and introduced herself, mentioning a little about her family, her city, her love for music and cricket. Shiv was himself immensely interested in cricket and they started talking like long-lost friends very soon. He was almost of Alina's age, with a clean haircut, perfectly trimmed light beard, and sharp brown eyes. He was completely an Indian, apart from his accent, but he spoke Hindi as well quite fluently.

They spent the day sorting out basic amenities, arranging a new SIM. He also helped her with details of bus and metro routes. He even showed her their office where she would be reporting on Monday. Alina was jetlagged, but she continued exploring the city so as to have a peaceful night.

For dinner, Shiv announced that two of their colleagues would also be joining them, he felt it was important for her to gel with people and get functional soon. They went to a restaurant near the Santa Monica Pier where Alan and Michael joined them. They were equally friendly and asked lots of questions about India, they had never been there.

'You guys, you know I can always cook Indian meals for you guys, but I need a decent place to stay first', Alina came straight to the point.

'No worries, we would connect you to some real estate agents. Even our office can help you get an apartment.'

'Thanks a ton, Mike'.

Shiv dropped her back to the hotel and she slept like a baby that night. The next morning was spent talking to her family back in India, she filled them with her meeting with Shiv, Mike, and Alan. She also pinged her friends in the US notifying them about her arrival. Interestingly, out of all her friends in the US, not a single lived in LA, they lived in Seattle, Atlanta, Connecticut, and a few in San Francisco.

She was so excited for the next day, her first working day in the US. She chose a business formals outfit, checked all her documents, and went to sleep. In India, because she used to work with US clients her office usually started at 12 noon, continuing till night 9-10pm, sometimes till midnight during peak seasons, to have some overlapping hours with her counterparts in the US offices and she was not really a morning person. She had adjusted her schedule to manage breakfast, exercise, everything before noon but she used to wake up not before 8:30 am. Here, the offices start at 8:30-9 am and she had to face a bit of a challenge here.