My take on Orkut

Last year summer, I didn't even know there existed a site named www.orkut.com. But after I got an invitation to join this site from my cousin, it was like finding a whole new world. And in this span of just over a year, I have met a lot of my schoolmates and classmates. Thanks to Orkut I have been able to renew some friendships which I had thought would be lost forever. Some time back there were articles in newspapers and on websites that there was a virus on orkut. But what was not mentioned, was that, there were chances of a virus entering your system if you clicked on some external link which was malicious. Just as everything else, Orkut too has its pros and cons. With the help of Orkut, I was able to get in touch with a few lost friendships & acquaintances. I met some people through Orkut who fell into neither category; whom I had never met. We have got to know each other a bit better. You have many communities where you can meet schoolmates, you can share your thoughts and you can have discussions. As good as this sounds, you should also take care of some things when accessing Orkut. Don't disclose any personal information in the scraps (which any member can read), take care while posting photos and don't get too used to it. The only thing that I would like to say is that if you take proper precautions in using Orkut, its a great site to be in touch with friends.

First Trip to USA (Part II)

The flight took off at 3:00 am and I was happy as I was finally on my way to US. The flight landed at Frankfurt and as soon as I entered the airport, I could feel the cold. It was too windy and chilly. I had 4 hours to spend at Frankfurt airport before my flight to Washington DC. It was wonderful; a totally different experience. I never realized how time passed and it was time for my flight. I boarded the flight to Washington and slept throughout the flight, as there was nothing else to do. When we approached Washington, the pilot made an announcement and I awoke, freshened up and got ready to set foot in US. We landed at Washington at 3:30 pm on 31st. My flight from Washington to Scranton, Pennsylvania was at 5:00 pm from G concourse. I went through the immigration and customs and reached the G concourse at 5:00 pm sharp. I saw the gates being closed in front of me. I ran to the gate but missed my flight by mere 5 minutes. At that point of time I was so angry and upset that I couldn’t think of anything. Quite a few Indian fellow passengers of mine were facing the same situation. But none of them even thought of co-operating with each other to have the problem resolved. They behaved indifferently and I was even angrier. I took quarters (25 cent coins) from a coffee shop and called Pravin to inform him that I had missed my flight. As there was no other flight for Scranton the same day, he asked me to fly to Allentown instead (which is around 1 hr drive from Scranton). I went to the customer service desk and awaited my turn. When it was my turn, I told the lady behind the desk that I had missed my flight due to a long line at the immigrations counter and after checking with her senior, she gave me a ticket to Allentown. By this time it was 7:00 pm and my flight to Allentown was at 9:00 pm. The weather was bad and many flights were getting cancelled. I was afraid that mine would too ‘coz it was getting delayed every ½ an hour. Every time the flight got cancelled, I called up Pravin to inform him about it. Then I ran out of quarters and was nearly on the verge of crying. But an African-American helped me by giving me some quarters to call Pravin. It was 11:30 and there was still no sign of my flight taking off. I had thought that now I would have to spend my night there at the airport itself. There were a few people around me who were also waiting for the flight to take off. We started talking and it was comforting having someone around (even if they were strangers). There was a guy who was also waiting for the same flight as I was and he said that in case the flight got cancelled, he would be hailing a cab to go to Allentown. At that point I said to him that if the flight got cancelled, I would ride along with. I was a bit scared as I did not know this guy but at the same time I wanted to get out of the airport and reach Allentown / Scranton. Finally at 12:15 I heard the announcement for boarding the plane as our flight was going to take off. I called Pravin and told him that I am finally leaving Washington and would meet him at Allentown airport. Our flight took off at 12:30 and I reached Allentown between 1:00 and 1:15 am. When we landed and I entered the airport, I was relieved. In all this confusion, I had forgotten that my luggage had already gone to Scranton. So I would have to wait for another day to get my luggage. And then I saw Pravin. At that point I felt that I had never been happier in my life. We reached home at 2:30 am. Then we called our parents to inform them that I had reached safely. They were worried as I was supposed to reach Scranton at 6:00 pm on 31st Dec instead of which I reached there at 2:30 am 1st Jan. But inspite of all this, I was happy as I had reached my dream country. And now its more than one and half year after which I am sharing this experience with you all. Hope that no one ever faces anything like this.