Study Abroad is the new mantra for undergrads fresh out of colleges, especially evident in metro cities of India. For me it was a transition from work to study as I had completed 2.5 years as a software developer at IBM. I was raring to go, challenge myself to the new rigors of graduate studies, start a new student life again. It was University of Texas at Dallas, that gave me this wonderful opportunity to study Management Information Systems, that is a unique blend of technical and management skills.

The course curriculum and opportunities to exhibit my talent, drew me closer to studying in US. The University system offers unique courses in Consulting and Business Intelligence coupled with Industry related programs that allow students to apply these skills.

People here are very polite and cordial. I was awestruck when complete strangers on roads, hallways would greet me with warm smiles. Cultures are widely respected here and its doesn't bother which part of world you come from, it's the attitude that differentiates people here.

Texas as a state is very huge with Dallas especially known for its cowboy culture. The American Football is a very popular sport and we often hangout at Dallas cowboys stadium and are huge cowboy fans. Texas being the largest state in US stands true to its nature with huge and widely spaced buildings.

The thing I miss the most is the good Asian/Indian meal on campus. Though Dallas is known to have lots of Indian food joints, but sadly our campus doesn't have one. So nearest ones being the Bombay Chopsticks and Masala Wok are often frequented by Indian students. But plus point is the Mexican food which offers some respite to veggie students like me!!.

There is no age limit to studying in US. Classes are uniquely diverse both in age and race with having classmates and project mates of 55 years to as young as 21 years. This is highly enriching as most of the senior classmates are highly experienced in their industries and share their work experiences with other students. Classrooms serve as a perfect networking platform for many students. Many Classes have live projects where you directly work with the industry professionals and apply concepts and create value to their work. International student population which is almost 1/4th of the total student population is formed  mainly by countries like Mexico, India, China, Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, U.K and Russia.

Lots of on campus job opportunities exists for students and they make a very good living out of it. I work as a teaching assistant, helping out professors with grading and course material.

The most impressive aspect fostered by my Business School is analytical thinking and focus on problem solving and creativity. Not just educating about business, we are also taught to implement strategies .We also learn a lot from case studies and guest speaker sessions. Leadership is encouraged through student organizations. I was deeply influenced by one of my Business Economics Professor who belongs to Austrian School of Economics and his thoughts on the subject and how Austrian economics could solve world economy problems deeply nurtured rational thinking in me.

I wrote GRE and TOEFL and applied to the UT Dallas School of Management. I got admits from other universities like University of South Florida and Northeastern University at Boston as well. But a scholarship from UTD, allowed to go ahead with my study plans with ease on tuition fees and living.

My learning curve so far has taught me  that ability to think different and potential to implement your ideas are key to success in modern world especially in US.

when u feel like expressing ur views u shud do it with confidence.i wish to speak about some one who has left along lasting impression on me.he has some thing unique in himself that makes
extra different .He carries himself with such a dignity that you start craving for him.
every individual has his own views .and they change from time to time.but when it comes to analysing this person u just cant stop raving about him.for others he may be a star,actor... but for me he is sharp,intelligent, a staunch value based individual, a hard worker ,a perfectionist. to core....leave.!!! words cant describe him nor can i.!! there are many facets of a personality.but about him it is his relusiveness thatt attracts me to him. no starry airs.. no arrogance ..he's totally down to earth. he speaks and makes thought provoking ,intelligent cinema, that very few can even think of.Very much a recluse he gives his 100% for a task .his sense of intelligence rocks me up.well one can say he's the most intelligent actor of present .he's script sense is amazing .i would rate him than any of his competition.an ideal in himself ,he is a total perfectionalist.
well he totally ROCKS.......!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GOLDEN MOMENT OF MY LIFE

-A VISIT TO IIT

My heart couldn have wished for more happiness
than what I got in this...well it was a dream come
true for me ..Some one who always dreamed to be
there through out his life..It's my visit to IIT that made
my memories come alive.
Truly speaking it was a visit to a place nothing less
than heaven.Its calm atmosphere would have cast its
magic spell on anyone, who visited it. It was once in
a life time experience for me. It was a very nostalgic
moment for me while entering the premises of IIT .
Wel i had never thought in my life ,i would be visiting iit.
But some how i went to chennai, and visiting iit just happened.
Now a new zeal has taken over me ..some how i should get
into iit.god only knows how !.
I went to chennai to meet my brother who works in research field
in bio-tech. The visit wasn a planned one.Sinc i got holidays
i thought i could hit both goals,meeting brother,as wel touring chennai.
I took the route to chennai by rail.I'm always facinated by a train journey.
Only fear was how good and clean the train was ? .But it al got down wel
wen i boarded the train.Journey was a plesant one in chennai mail express
I was taken back , wen i saw this pretty gal sitting just opposite my berth .
i thought it will make my journey more pleasant one.(I remember my
English lecturer ,Raj sir reading out that ruskin bond lesson where the blind
author also finds a similar situation ,but doesn know how to talk to her
when he's blind).well nothing more happ to tell anything. i got a sound
sleep. woke up at 4.45 am to hear the noises of vendors at Chennai
central ,akka Chennai railway station.My brother had come to pick me up.
I quickly thought, y cant i have look at iit?. And my brother also agreed .
Together we set for Guindy where iit is located. There it was, board
indicating the place where lakhs of aspirants wish to study ,in an institute par
excellence .
Located in vicinity of Anna University , and Guindy National park,iit campus
finds itself best suited in its periphery.
while entering gate of iit i thought how worthy those studs wher who had
cleared jee .When v entered just inside the gate, there was a huge board ,
placing a warning " protected area black bucks and deers ", I was quite amazed that iit houses not only humans but also deers,and black bucks.
As we entered the campus i felt like entering a forest area , this would remind me of harry potter book where the famous school of hogwarts being surrounded by most
fierce and dangerous forbidden forest,and whts wrong in comparing this iit to hogwarts .its every student's desire to study in iit as in case of hogwarts ,
Surrounded by canopy of thick trees ,lush green plants iit campus sparkles
day and night.
We walked ,walked but no where to find the administrative bloc. On the way
we found residential areas , many temples, and huge stadium
... We felt thirsty and hungry ...since reaching admis bloc itself became a huge task for us...
We went to a canteen called tiffanys food court..iit has many canteens
but this one seemed special as it was located on the top floor of girl's hostel mess
..food in canteen was my most prized catch of this visit ....i'll never forget the taste of the tiffany food court ....i can just say that food was mind blowing..
then we set out for other departments ...most mentionable is the bhupat & jyoti mehta
institute of biosciences... its looks nothing less than a big infy office... marked by superb
architecture ...this buiding finds a name in my most adored things..Swimming pool was bit far ..so it was avoided.. In the way ...lot many deers and black bucks turned up on roads.
..Wel when tried shoot in camera ..they sped away... normally shy creatures like me..
The most amazing thing in iit is that u have all indoor and outdoors stadiums ..
on the way we saw the board.." IIT CHEMPLAST stadium ahead..", an truely this stadium can match any melbourne or lords' in its appearance... surrounded by forests ... in between u have a pitch ..where iitians battle it out for survival..in cricket..
atlast my brother was bit tired..as still we had to cover marina beach that day.. but my enthusiasm never died.. my heart still wanted more..more of this IIT..my urge to visit an IIT was satisfied ...my only regret remains that i couldn cover 630 acres of this wonderland...
but these memories will always survive deep in my heart ... as long as DREam to be in IIT continues......
wel atlast it would be bad for those who think IIT is just a boy's place..mind it guys ..
those gals in iit were truely very very beautiful....
Last but not the least, this would not been possible without thanking my brother who made my visit possible..
My 6070 nokia handset which enabled me,take some snaps of this wonderland iit..
and i can say that i learnt bit of tamil as wel.. "tamil teriyaad ", meaning i dunno tamil..
.
"PROBLEM FREE LIFE NEVER MAKES A STRONG PERSON..BE
STRONG ENOUGH TO ACCEPT THE CHALLENGES OF LIFE..NEVER ASK GOD WHY ME..? ..INSTEAD SAY TRY ME..",