From 40°C to -40°C: Montana, A home away from home

I’ve lived in Montana, USA for exactly 5 months and 1 week now. It has been nothing short of an adventure all the way- settling in, getting used to driving on the wrong side of the road and the wrong side of the car, wearing 4 layers of clothes to avoid freezing to death, learning how to cook the weirdest stuff to stay alive when time is short, learning how to cook in general, getting used to waking up on my own without mom calling out every 5mins., talking to photos of Ginny [the best dog in the world] because she isn’t here in person to talk to, doubting my memory and writing down every little thing and ending up with 15 “to-do” lists stuck to the walls, moving into ‘my own house’ and setting it up, exploring campus and whatever part of Missoula I managed to walk through during Fall, and most importantly, making new friends.

Moving to Missoula, MT. from Pune, has been the weirdest, bravest, and most sensible thing I have done in a long time. There aren’t as many colours here, not to mention, the number of people [or the sheer absence of people] is the one thing that can make you love and hate this place. There are times when I’ve pulled out my hair because there are no people here, everything closes at 8pm or if it’s a really cool place, 9pm. By that theory, The Pita Pit must be the coolest place ever because it’s open till 3am. And I complained about the ‘night-life’ in Pune. Learned my lesson. Be grateful for what you have, when you have it, before you have to move to Missoula.

People back home went all out to convince me that I was going to regret not knowing how to cook Indian food. Well, news flash folks, I’m not regretting anything. I stand by what I said- I will adapt. I honestly don’t care if I’m eating Mexican or Ethiopian or Chinese or Punjabi food. There is no way in hell that you can survive in any part of Montana if you’re an ‘I don’t need adaptation. I am set in my ways’ person.  

Living in Montana has made me appreciate India in an all-new manner. I would have never seen home the way I do today had it not been for these last 5 months and 7 days. I’m not saying I now have this pretty rosy image of India; if anything, my perspective has become more grounded in reality and my eyes have learned to see what I was unable to, or didn’t want to see before. Sometimes you cannot see beyond grassland habitat or dry-deciduous forests so you’re used to spotting Tigers in Ranthambhore or Bandhavgarh but not in Siberia’s snowy mountains. Then, when you move to the snowy mountains, you adapt. Your vision adapts with you. So you never know what you’re capable of until you actually attempt something new. And if you’re afraid of every new thing that comes your way, you’ll never learn. You’ll never move ahead. And stagnation is something I am not cool with.

I don’t like not having even one Sun-ray in an entire day but yes, snow is the prettiest white thing I have ever seen. It’s dark outside till 8:30am, sometimes, 9:30am and then it’s dark by 4pm. I still find that outrageous. But I have never had a more intense learning period in my life. I had no idea I could do the things I am managing to do every day for the last 5 months until I actually got here. I had no idea I would love journalism this much. I had no idea I would hate being referred to as a scientist someday.

When you move to a different continent, and that too, to one of the most remote corner it can have, you are forced to look back at your life and then look at your present in such a way that it alters almost every inch of your idea of your future. This time away from home helps you understand what really matters to YOU and why. It helps put things in a practical perspective and rather unexpectedly, it helps you realize that you are actually capable of being a lot busier in life than you have been thus far and that scares you a little bit. But like I’ve said before, being overworked is loads better than being out of work, particularly if you’re one of those people who loves what they do.

So no matter how hard it is to be living so far away from home, to be away from Indian wilderness for almost a year, the trick it keep in mind that the struggle is what will get me where I belong; that the only way out, is forward; and that when I leave Missoula for good, I will BE a journalist, I will be taking with me, tonnes of memories, good times, bad times, particularly tough times, and the confidence-knowledge-skill combination that will equip me to battle whatever the world throws at me.

And while I’m at it, here’s what Missoula looks like. 

[CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE]