California Dreaming

California Dreaming is about my coming to America for higher studies in 1961 and my very difficult first two years. On the way here I had a wonderful shipboard romance with a tall Indian woman, Kavita. We had to part in Genoa, Italy, and we were both heartbroken. She promised to visit me in Indiana. I talked to Kavita when I arrived in Indiana, but they had to rush back because her grandmother in India had a heart attack. We were both emotionally distraught. She promised to come back...
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California Dreaming is about my coming to America for higher studies in 1961 and my very difficult first two years. On the way here I had a wonderful shipboard romance with a tall Indian woman, Kavita. We had to part in Genoa, Italy, and we were both heartbroken. She promised to visit me in Indiana. I talked to Kavita when I arrived in Indiana, but they had to rush back because her grandmother in India had a heart attack. We were both emotionally distraught. She promised to come back even if she had to walk. College in Indiana was wonderful, but I could not handle snow up to my eyebrows. My friend in California was dangling, 'No snow here!' in front of me. I drove 2700 miles in an old car to Central Valley, California. That was an adventure in itself. I had a floor fire, a tire blowout and also an oil/filter change along the way. Discrimination was rampant against a turbaned Sikh. No decent jobs were available to me. Toughest job was driving a caterpillar tractor all night, 6 to 6. I had plenty of time to daydream about being with Kavita and the wonderful time we had on the ship. Finally I got a summer job at a fruit packinghouse through the sympathy of foreman who was a Greek and understood what I was going through. I also saved all my correspondence with Dad--including letters I wrote to him. Kavita and her mother visited. We had wonderful time despite having her mother along as a chaperone. The highlight was her trying on a bikini. Indian women didn't wear swim suits., let alone a bikini. I was scared of her mother seeing Kavita! Luckily she went in to change right before her mother joined us. Her departure was very emotionally heart-breaking for both of us, and I wondered if I would ever see her again.