The Liberating Summer

The transition from being a relatively carefree, 20-year old engineering student having lived within the protected boundary of his parents, to a determined, 21-year old master’s student living all by himself in a foreign country was a huge leap of faith for me. The first 7 months following the move to US went in a blur, balancing between enjoying the new environment, exploring new opportunities and meeting new people, and putting in more-than-ever efforts in courses, pushing limits to explore new ideas in research courses, and building connections in the academic setting.

What lay ahead in the following two months qualifies for me as the most challenging period yet. That is a story in itself. However, as they say, the night is darkest before dawn. That was precisely how I feel that phase to be, now that I look back. Landing an internship gave me the opportunity to experience something new – a sense of freedom and responsibility of managing expenses from what you earn, planning and saving up to something, and taking a break to enjoy some rare moments.

Giving the road test for a Minnesota Driving License marked the start of an exciting summer. I could finally walk up to a car and officially drive it around, without relying on anyone else! That little upper hand gained through saving earned money let me rent a car and experience that feeling I had longed for ages – to be in the driver’s seat and head out onto the freeway for a long drive.

The first trip that I undertook was the trip to Baldwin, Wisconsin, for skydiving. While for others it was all about skydiving, for me, subconsciously, driving was half the fun. I was lucky to get a very good group of 3 other friends who accompanied me. It was one crazy day, with an out-of-the-world experience of skydiving as the takeaway. Having Tejas alongside in planning the trip, clearing the road test, renting a stylish SUV, and sharing the drive was a big plus. He’s pretty much become my wingman now, especially when it comes to planning trips.

That success led us to plan something bigger next. It had to be an adventurous trip too. Within a span of two days, we cornered on the Six Flags amusement park at Gurnee, near Chicago, as our target. With a little deliberation over the dates, and the cost associated, we pretty much decided to go for it, irrespective of the company of people we’d find to split the cost of the car. Not waiting for a group of 4 to form turned out to be a boon. As we neared our reservation date for the park, we managed to convince our friends from SIES, Sriram and Uthiraa, to accompany us. It ended up being a win-win for all – I got to drive to Chicago with just one driver to share with and our mutual favorite songs for company, Tejas got to meet his close buddy from IT department after almost a year, they got to visit a park so close to them, and we all got to have a great time together!

Two days from the trip, we sat and meticulously planned everything with utmost care. Car rental cost was not an issue since the University of Minnesota has contracts with Enterprise car rental, that lets ‘employees’ of the university rent cars at a highly subsidized rate. Taking full advantage of it, we booked a full-size car. Come Friday morning, we were super excited for the weekend. To beat the afternoon traffic, we picked up the car from the airport early in the morning itself. The agent showing us the cars saw our hesitation when he offered us just two options – a Chevrolet Malibu and a Toyota Camry (the cars are amazing, so we shouldn’t complain. But given that it was a rare trip, we had high hopes). The agent very subtly said, “Do you guys wanna drive something better?” and led us to a Nissan Maxima. Almost immediately, we jumped onto the offer and finalized the car. It was a fantastic experience to be driving quite a powerful and smooth car on the freeway for a long drive for the first time.

I’ve begun noticing and enjoying when little dreams get fulfilled, particularly ones that may seem insignificant to others, but bear a lot of importance for me. ‘Going to work in my car’ was something I had dreamt of ever since I had seen dada go to work, at Medtrust, when in Phoenix in 2009. This build-up of 9 years was what made it so special.

The drive to Chicago was just as planned, barring a one-hour section where we encountered some terrible traffic, almost reminding me of the traffic on the route from Andheri to Thane everyday evening! Nevertheless, a hand-crafted playlist of songs tailored to our likings kept us in high spirits throughout. We were just as enthusiastic to drive another 400 miles at the end of the day. Sriram became the first SIES friend we met since coming to US, and it was surreal to be sitting thousands of miles away from college but reminiscing the same old days. While the conversation was building up, we consciously decided to leave the rest for the next night, since the visit to Six Flags on Saturday was the big thing on mind.

Upon arriving at the entrance of the amusement park and waiting in the queue, I felt the first, and fortunately the last, sinking feeling in my stomach. Never had I done such intense rides. The enthusiasm and excitement were one aspect, but I was unsure as to how my body would respond. To begin with, we were in for a slight shock, when we were told that the ‘FLASH pass’ that we had paid the premium price for, was experiencing technical issues and hence could not be distributed. It was very unusual for a setup as big as Six Flags to buckle down on a weekend without any backups. We had to do the first ride as a general entry. All the irritation at the glitch went for a toss when we were buckled up and the coaster began moving. The Batman ride was a refreshing start, with lots of thrill but relatively low on intensity. Swinging around rapidly while being suspended upside down, just like a bat, was one of the highlights of the ride. Fortunately, the park guys fixed the FLASH pass issue, and we could enjoy the rest, almost as VIPs, directly walking in to the ride after the device had held our place in the queue.

What lay ahead was one ride beating the other for the top spot of the day. For me, most of the rides were winners in their own space. In terms of intensity, Goliath was the craziest. It did not have any support for the neck and head, and the sharp drops meant you were at wits end, constantly swaying between enjoying the ride and trying to minimize the impact of the Gs on your neck. In terms of twists and moves, X-flight was a clear winner. It seemed one of the most recently built rides and the advanced technology meant I could enjoy the adrenaline, more than be concerned of jerks or other impact on the body. In terms of drops, Raging Bull was one of the deadliest. It started of with an almost 80-feet sharp drop, and the rest of the ride kept up with the start. In terms of classics, the American Eagle did not disappoint. It was a proper wooden coaster, with the loud sound generated being one of the factors contributing to the experience. The latest attraction at the park, Mardi Gras, was an edge-of-the-seat experience, quite literally. It was a loop, that slowed down & stopped when at the top, which meant you were left suspended mid-air for a few seconds. The pause meant it was very different from other coasters, which usually flip you for barely a second. I could feel the blood rushing to my head – it was that effective!

This visit made me appreciate the PC game Roller Coaster Tycoon much more. I could see how well they had simulated the real-world challenges of building a good amusement park. The most remarkable thing was the sound effects – the sound of the wooden coasters, the sounds of people screaming, the background music at different rides, etc. I could also comprehend why dada used to be so engrossed in playing the game back then. Yet again, I was not to let go of the opportunity to realize small dreams – riding the train at the park being one of it. It was nowhere close to being a thrill ride, with every journey in the Mumbai local being more thrilling. However, it was a silly dream that I had carried over the years and wanted to check that box!

That day, while going back to Chicago, stuck in traffic, we planned to go out for dinner. Along the way, we had some very meaningful discussions, unlike other conversations that we have when with friends. Traffic all the way until Chicago meant we had ample time! Finally, when at the restaurant, it was the first time I did not look at the price in the menu when ordering, since savoring the moment, the company and the experience took precedence over petty things. This entire episode let me to a sudden realization that we had all grown up in the past year! I was now independently planning my own trips, keeping in mind my limits, and handling situations better, much of which was always handled by elders around me all these years. That night, I carried with me to bed this thought and had a sound sleep (accentuated by the tiredness, which cannot be disregarded!).

Sunday morning, I was up early. My body clock was following the same daily routine! I took this opportunity to set out myself and drive around Chicago city, a place I had visited with dada and aai around 9 years ago. Fortunately, Tejas woke up in time to find me getting ready to leave. It was his first time in Chicago, and he was eager to not miss a chance to move around the city. The early-morning Chicago I was seeing was totally different from the image of Chicago I had in mind from the last visit – crowd, traffic, lots of buses, etc. We could calmly drive around the downtown, clicking photos of major landmarks around the city. Parking was almost unaffordable, so we decided to head up north to one of the beaches on the lake shore. The calm and cool waters at the beach was a nice contrast to the adventurous and crazy Saturday we had just had. Inadvertently, I got to experience many things different in Chicago from my last trip.

A nice surprise before leaving Chicago was having an elaborate Indian Thali meal in US. The lane we went to almost felt like going back to India – narrow road, small shops lined all along the sidewalk, and all kinds of stores from jewelry shops to mithai shops to ethnic Indian wear shops. All around, we could just see Indians. After a mouthwatering lunch, we finally embarked on our return journey, over 2 hours behind schedule. We were lucky to not encounter any traffic on the road back and came back significantly faster than the onward journey. The long day became even longer as we drove to the airport to return the rental car (with a heavy heart, so to say, since we were loving the flexibility that came with having a car).

This trip to Six Flags Chicago has turned out to be one of my most satisfying trips yet. Crammed into a 3-days space, it had all the elements I typically look for in a trip – some calm time, some thrill, amazing company, some nice conversations, and of course, driving.