Up, Up and Away: 30 days to go!

Hello everybody,
I hope each one of you is having a great day! I just have about a month left before I FLY! Next week I have my visa interview. I hope and pray it goes well. On the University WhatsApp groups I see only approvals and people saying that their interview was no longer than 2-3 minutes; so, I hope it won't be something that I need to worry about. I have most of my documents ready. One last document that I need to get from my Undergraduate University is pending (I'll get it on Friday).
My internship goes on till the first week of August. I barely have 2-3 days of holidays before I leave. This gives me no time to prepare. I need to finish my packing, organize my documents (separate the ones that I'll need to take from the ones that I'll leave behind, make copies, scan originals etc), decide on which courses I'll take etc. Since I haven't got my visa yet I keep feeling like I have time and the fact that I'm at work for the most part of the day isn't helping.
Packing wise, I've made a list of things that I'll need (I have most things; so, I don't need to go shop much). I've also decided on the clothes that I'll be carrying. All that's left is putting stuff into suitcases (I need to buy one still!) and making sure that the weight is within the limit. I don't think this will take more than a week's time; but since I get time only in the evenings I need to start early- probably next weekend (after my visa!). As I said in an earlier post, I'll be living with a very close relative; so, even if I forget a few things, it wouldn't be much of a problem.
The next important thing that  I need to do is organize my documents. This is such a boring job that I keep putting it off and I've not even started doing it. I need to plan for all the documents I may need for the next 2 years! I don't know when I'm going to do this.
That is the status of my preparation. Coming to mental preparation, I'm more excited about this whole thing than I've even been before. I've started to see more at the positives and less at the negatives. I hope to make new friends, become more independent, learn more about my subject and learn more about myself. All these many years, I've looked up to my parents to guide me about how I need to handle situations. Now, hopefully from all that I've learnt I'll be able to take proper decisions and handle situations that come my way. I know I'll always have them to guide me when I'm in a really sticky situation; but staying in different time zones would probably mean that I'll have to handle most situations on my own. I'm  curious to see how I'll manage.
Some of my concerns at the moment are 1) how I'll handle finances and 2) commute.
Till now, I've always just asked my parents for anything that  I wanted and they'd buy me that. Even now when I'm earning, I don't spend the money that I earn. I'll have to start managing my own account; maintaining a record of the money I have, I've spent etc. Hopefully I'll learn all that soon.
My other concern is regarding transportation. The city where I live in has amazing public transport. I completely rely on buses to get from one point to another (when traveling alone). However, in the USA, most cities (including the city I'm going to) have very minimal public transport facilities. I've also heard that it is quite unsafe to travel alone. Although the university is about 15 minutes by car from the place where I'll stay, it would take me close to 2 hours by bus! I know how to drive a car; but barely drive. Most people from my city/country who are going to the same university have taken up accommodation close to the campus. So, this will be one thing that I'll have to figure out on my own
That is it for now. The next time I write on this topic will probably be after I finish my visa interview. (Hope that goes well!)
If you have any suggestions for any of the problems I've mentioned above, please do let me know in the comments. Even otherwise, feel free to leave a comment; I love reading them! :D
Until next time,
Bye! :D

The kind stranger on a crowded bus

If you follow me on Twitter, you'll know that for the past month I've been traveling a lot by public buses. I don't have a direct bus from my house to my workplace, so I have to take a bus to the central bus station and change buses there. As I leave during the rush hour, I rarely get a seat and end up standing in the bus the entire distance. It is a tiring journey and a little act of kindness in such situations can go a long way in making one's day better.

Yesterday, there was a huge jam at the Central Bus station. The entire bus station was blocked and none of the buses were moving.I had to wait for almost an hour to get a bus. Finally, when I got a bus, I was lucky enough to get a seat! I settled down, plugged in my earphones, chose a song that I like and turned up the volume. I really needed some music to relax my mind. Just then, two old women got onto the bus. All the other seats had been filled up and a few people were standing. The two ladies were really old and I had to give my seat to them. A little sad that I had to stand with my heavy bag, I stood up. One of them took the seat and thanked me. Just then, another lady who had been sitting in the seat behind me immediately offered to hold my bag! People do offer to hold other peoples' bags in crowded buses, but not very willingly. And that was not the end of her kindness.
A few stops later, one girl who had been sitting, stood up to get off the bus. I hadn't noticed it and the lady who was holding my bag quickly pointed towards the seat and told me to go and sit and said that she would pass my bag after I got the seat. There were people standing and I wouldn't have been able to get the seat if I had tried to make my way to the seat with my bag. The lady made sure that I got the seat before giving back my bag. If I hadn't got the seat, she would have had to sit for a longer while with my bag. The fact that she tried to help me even if it meant more discomfort for her, touched me. This may sound very trivial. But the fact that a total stranger cared for another stranger's comfort restored my faith in humanity. I know it sounds like I'm over-exaggerating; but the gratitude I felt towards the lady that day was real.
Have you experienced such random acts of kindness lately? Do let me know in the comments.
Until next time,
Bye! :)