Blue Chi’s

I think that I owe you guys an update, I got the worst jet lag of my life when I got back from DC, I arrived at 10pm on Saturday and had to go the office the next morning. The whole of that week went from bad to worse, it took me seven days to be able to sleep at night and get up reasonably on time for work.

That is not to say that I did not enjoy my trip to the states, I really loved it. DC is an awesome place and my time on Capitol Hill was such an amazing experience. I learnt a lot, met many awesome people, and saw a lot of things. The ironic thing is that my deeper understanding of how the Congress works makes me think that the US system is not exactly perfect (mainly due to how lobbying works and how it is closely tied to raising campaign money), I’ve watched many presentations by Lessig on reforming congress, but I had to see it with my own eyes to realise how skewed the system is.

It was nice to see how the US is really all about the individual, about standing out as a person, and not as part of a group. It’s about being in control of your life and doing what you want to do without having this concept of what society expects you to do. It was amazing.

I learnt to appreciate what I have back home, I’ll never complain about my old tiny office, because it is MINE, it’s PRIVATE and I DON’T SHARE it with anyone. I had to go all the way to the states to experience working in a cubicle in shared office and man I can tell you I was out of my comfort zone, I hated it, I didn’t feel like I can answer my phone, I didn’t feel like I can talk to people, I couldn’t even type on my keyboard cause I felt others would hear when I start and stop typing. It was CRAZY.

Something else that got me was how people just wouldn’t say hi when they walk into the office, it was just weird. I’m not the most social person on this planet, but seriously, can say at least good morning when you walk right behind me first thing in the morning. OK, I did get used to it, and when I got back to MOLA and Ahmed Riyami started again shaking my hand with his disgusting wet hand every morning I hoped I can just ignore him like they do in other places. Maybe that was not a bad cultural attitude after all.

All said and done, I really had fun in the states, I know that I will go back sooner or later, if I ever get to do another degree I will surely try to do it in the US.. but until then, it’s back to reality I guess.