The Honeymoon period : Orientation and the 1st week

Since nobody has posted any comments, I will assume that nobody has any criticism to share. I am to conceited to think that nobody actually read the post. :)
To continue with the short story, the days before orientation were spent getting adjusted to the time difference,getting to know my roommates and meeting new people. I was averaging just 4 hrs of sleep initially. Normally people suffer from jetlag, I was suffering from reverse jetlag. Isn't too surprising as I used to be awake on American time while I was in India. Glad to say that's been sorted out and I am officially now on Indian Time in America. The days went of smoothly with a couple of fiascos in the kitchen. Mostly when I tried to cook though.
The first day of orientation started off at 8 in the morning with a free breakfast. That's the best way college could start - with free food. Most of the day passed away trying to stay awake, listening to the various speakers about the college and how lucky we were to be a part of it. You know - the usual. A small tour of the campus and we were free to do whatever we want. The keyword here and probably what makes America special is "choice". There is nothing that is planned for you, atleast in the conventional sense. Its more like a conference, I guess. A handout will be provided listing the all the planned events and its up to you to decide which one you want to attend.
Skipping over the boring part such as applying for my student ID, listening to some more boring lectures about studies in USC, life in US etc etc etc
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Americans are paranoid about plagiarism and forgeries.
Chatting with friends over beer and food at home and it was time to call it a day.
Day2 : No free breakfast. Looked as if it was just a one time affair. This was the day I had to give the 1st part of my English exam. This involved mainly writing an essay on a boring topic. I was so scared. None of the Indians I knew had cleared the exam and the popular view was that's it better to give TOEFL rather than appearing for the exam administered by USC. And everybody knows I can't write for nuts :) And the icing on the cake was that I couldn't register for classes till I got my results.
Which school is complete without student associations? If you said none, you are correct. To ensure that school seemed fun to the new students, a fair was organized where it was possible to meet representatives of the various student association. Needless to say there was a huge crowd. Not because of the clubs. 2 trips had been planned for the next 2 days and we were supposed to get tickets for them in the fair. Add limited seating and the result is really huge lines. To cut a long story short sometimes good things happen to bad people. After standing in 2 lines and $5 later, I had tickets to both the trips :)
Lots of Missions Accomplished for 2nd day. If you had been there, you would have agreed that getting tickets to both the trips was a achievement in itself. Went to my 1st baseball game in the evening. My uncle had box tickets and invited me to watch the game. The energy in the stadium is is equivalent to one in a cricket match in India. It was fun, with people explaining me the subtle nuances of the game. I couldn't buy a beer because I didn't look 21 and the Indian driving licence just doesn't cut it as a id. That didn't mean I couldn't have any. But buying drinks is so much simpler in India. I don't think I have ever been asked for an ID(to buy drinks) in the last 7-8 yrs. Was a good day.
Day3: Was more of the same. Had to give my English speaking exam. I thought of speaking in the typical Indian stereotype to freak them out but good sense prevailed. The highlight of the day was the LA tour. Made a couple of friends at the beginning of the trip so didn't really get bored. Any of you needing a good tan, try sitting in an open bus on a hot day. Good advice aside, the trip consisted of dropping as at Hollywood for 10-15 minutes and that's about it. If you got a chance to look at the pics that I posted, you will see my new found friends posing with the various look-alike's. One of them was really still so a friend of mine thought it was a robot and went really close. When he/it moved, the expression on my friends face was priceless and we all got to have a good laugh at his expense.To some people, I seemed too passive and shy, so I was pushed to getting a snap with a Sylvester Stallone look-alike. I was about to pay him the standard dollar when I was pulled away. Apparently, if we had already paid and my friends saw no reason to pay him an extra dollar. Well, a dollar saved is Rs40+ saved. They do say, a picture speaks a thousand words so check out the pics and that will become an extra 173,000 words. Saw lots of high end cars and bikes such as Ferraris, Ducats, limousines and the like. The only solace is that soon I will be able to buy many of my own. Actually, I will settle for one for the time being. So if any of you have a large allowance, my birthday is coming up and I do accept gifts. I guarantee that the buyer will be given the first ride. Oh and I am not too choosy about the color though red or black would be nice. Need I say more :) Came back home for a beer and food session. Made a lot of new friends so I would call it a good day.
Day4:
Oops, I am out of time. So I shall take leave for now and continue writing the details of the other days on a new day. I can see all of you going - Ankur has gone crazy. A daily calendar of his life. Who's got time to read that? Does he think that we have nothing better to do. Though I can say with almost 100% confidence that you don't, but I do have other things to take care of and just cant write about every single day. Sorry to disappoint you guys but after the orientation, it will become more of an event related post rather than day by  day. I can almost hear the sighs of relief.
Anyway the next post will be mostly about the Santa Monica trip and the last day of orientation.
Till Next time, Fight ON
Ankur Sheel
If I applied myself as much as I procrastinated ... Wow! That would be powerful! I need a nap just thinking about it.