Indian Restaurants in Phoenix,

If you are staying in Phoenix, AZ and are new to this town also crazy for indian food .I know there is lot of options available but there are very few which are really worth trying ......i have tasted almost all of them but my vote goes to very few them and 1) UDUPI CAFE is the front runner great food....good variety....very fresh....bit pricey but quality subsides that. Its awesome for Lunch buffet....huge selection with authentic south indian flavor...so 5 out of 5
2) The Dhaba is again good although not big place but ambience makes you feel nostalgic has a little Indian feel to it which is awesome....amiable owner who likes to give a personal attention atleast we got it when we went ...so i think thats the way the trend is...not very expensive ....good food..worth giving a try....from my side 4 out of 5
3)Pasand hmmmm..i would say not good not bad its like 50:50 yeah ....economical...fair food ......you can have it once a while..not much to say but 3 out of 5
4)Priya Cuisine of India...he has huge selection to make in buffet .for 11$ buffet...to much variety but sorry to say nothing tastes good....honestly speaking...i did not like it...so i would give 2 out 5
5) Guru Palace....aweful...cold food...no taste.....very oily pakodas....no variety atall if you are vegetarian...only thing good is the dessert which are okay...but i will not give not more than 1.5 out of 5 because of our bad experience.

Search for Job In USA

We have moved to a new city...it is much better than the previous one because it has many Indians and has almost everything that i missed badly in my earlier city.
Now after almost 3 years of my stay in USA today i have become eligible to work in States.Yeah...we got our green card approved so now i can get going for my search for job and now this recession has not left people with many opportunities....this economy is making job search all the more difficult...my bad luck. Whatever company i apply or whichever post i apply for either the company shuts off or they cut the position due to lack of funds....i can only hope for things to get better as soon as possible so people like me could fetch good jobs.

US Economy as on 12/12/08

Ohh my god!!!! this economy is getting worse day by day....its actually getting on everybody's nerves...these days my experience of meeting with different people is not very exciting as a matter of fact its poignant, each and every person is worried about his or her job.....trust me its even bizarre than it sounds, worlds most powerful country is going through such a deep and major crisis of its time...morning starts with a bad news of another job loss, another company going bankrupt, one more family losing their house....we are no exception we had our share too....believe me it is really tough, one piece of advice for all those who think US is fantasyland and land of dreams .......dude you better dream again cos its turning out more towards a nightmare....hope things get better soonnn..and all those who are enduring....GOD BLESS US ALL....GOD BLESS AMERICA..

First trip to India after an year in USA

Wowwww! I was so excited as this is was a long awaited thing for me to happen as i was going back to India ofcourse for a short visit .....standard time of 3 weeks but still i was going and that was more than sufficient for me .I remember i did lots of shopping for my family cos i wanted to buy something something for everybody and finally everything was packed and we were all set to go and we reached INDIA at about 5 in the morning , it felt so good to see our whole family waiting for us at the airport ......its impossible to put those feelings in words....but the real thrill started when we were going back home and that was the India traffic...that was the time i realised how different is India from America and how i had changed, i seemed to be completely forgotten about this chaotic traffic and could not believe for a moment that i use to drive on same roads and again the lanes were again different so it took around 1 week for me to come to senses or to recollect leftover memories ...the most satisfying part was whomever you see or meet is indian and nobody else and speak same language, looks familiar...ohh wat a relief.....i was dying for this feel at home kind of feeling ......although it was tough as went through stomach problems due to water change but that didn't stop me from having lucious indian spicy outside food...which i missed so desperately my first week was full of eating whatever was available on road and also the things that i never had when i was in India......

Experience taking a USA drivers license

Whooof!!!!!!!! it came as a shock to me when my husband bought a book for me as i was going to appear for my driving license written test .......trust me although not very tough but scarier than an IIT entrance exam as this time your license is at stake, as the passing percentage is 85% ohhhhh my god ....my first question after knowing the passing percentage was how many chances does one get...and thereafter completing 6 months getting drivers license became the most difficult and challenging task for me, which is a piece of cake in India i don't even remember giving a driving test for my license and had a permanent license and drove for 6 years...anyways i was lucky enough to clear it in my first chance and i was on cloud nine so finally i had my instruction permit (IP) with me, which means i could drive now but not alone and after 6 months i had my driving test .....which i decided to give after coming back from INDIA as my husband had promised me to take for my first trip to INDIA after an year.....as i knew things will be more complicated than i think in giving a real driving test.....so desperately needed a break ....

After 6 months in USA

11th June!!!!this date completes my six months in States.Now i want to go back to India as i am missing my parents very much.Trust me i have never been so bored in my whole life as much as i had been in these six months.The worst part is that i am unable to work in States because of visa status which H4..... it sucks.....i mean after working full time for 3 years sitting at home and doing these never ending household chores.....whooooof it kills...i know it might sounds bizarre to many people as it sounds very interesting to sit at home and not working ....but sorry to say not in my case.... after 6 months today i realise the importance of my job which i never realised was so valuable when i was working....my career is totally devastated.
I must say there are some desperate changes to be made in H4 visa rules, they must allow people to work. Their have been a drastic changes in my life in these 6 six months some good some bad but the major problem is even my husband can't do much about this as these are the constraints of the visa status.

Trip to Disneyland (USA)

AWESOME!!!!!disneyland is great...it rocks, i am like disney characters fanatic so its i am like fully mesmerised by disney castle which is so cute, full of dreams, i always dreamt of mickey, minnie, donald, daisy, chip and dale actually all disney characters and when i saw them personally in front of my eyes i was totally carried away .....trust me my husband had a tough time.....like universal this was huge tooooo, but we had to finish this in a single day because of time constraint.
In this short time i was lucky enough to see mickey, minnie's, donald's, daisy's and chip-n-dale's house and ofcourse the snowhite castle, after seeing houses we went to see the live show's like Aladdin's and the magic carpet where i saw real Aladdin and ofcourse the jinnie which was amazing and luckily i even the enchanted show of snowwhite and the seven dwarfs.
We got a ride a in mickey train and saw whole disney city which was real a fun .......
I last but not the least the disney parade which was marvellous, finally my husband found his piece of cake.... the breathtaking rollercoaster rides...now i am glad that lastly even my husband had something to enjoy.

Visit to Universal Studio (HOLLYWOOD)

Incredulous!!!!!!!its wonderful .....yeah i am talking about hollywood, its full of life and fun so many things to explore. A whole new world of excitement, thrill and above all lots of fun. Huge rollercoasters, scary rides, theme parks...oh my god most of the rides are breath taking ...must have a strong heart for this adventurous journey. Well..... to be very honest i could not sit on all rides.....sure they are fun but very scary atleast for me!!!!!!
The thing i enjoyed the most was the whole studio bus tour, their is guide who explains about each and every place we pass by infact they show real shooting stunts like the water flood in a village, shark chasing a man stuck in sea, explosive cars, artificial rain etc.etc.etc.
Thanks to the bus tour as without those buses its next to impossible to see whole studio....its massive man....huge..
As we were short of time we had to cover the entire studio in single day which is believe me a challenging task, but we managed quite well....by the end of the day we were dead tired but had gala time...but i was also excited for next day which was trip to disneyland....

Second month in USA

Yuhoooo!!!! finally came a long weekend which means three or four holidays together.So were going to Disneyland one of my dream destinations and Universal Studio....after such a boring month atleast i had something exciting coming up so i was really very very excited. We started are journey by road it was about 8 to 9 hrs journey from our house.
I started my first road trip in USA ....ohh my god...what speed..it was awesome..all cars were going on 100miles/hour.
Finally we reached the hotel room by the time it was late night and we were dead tired, i must say thanks to GPS because the precise instructions it provides is amazing.....otherwise the road network is so confusing without GPS you will be completely lost...Impeccable piece of technology.

Life without a maid in week 4

Miserable!!!!!!! life is atrocious without maids...everything is done all by myself.. cleaning, washing, dishes i mean each and every single trivial thing...its horrible of course i don't want to sarcastic but the thing is we Indian's are just not habitual to this, as our whole life is so dependent on maids especially for these household chores that we just can never think of doing these things on our own.....Frankly speaking i didn't know taking care of house is a full time job and these household work is a never ending process, i never realised this until i came here in USA.
I was working as HR Manager back in India and my routine started by getting in the morning , getting ready for office , having breakfast and all set for my office returning back in the evening , having dinner and off to bed... so its but obvious their was no house work involved at all .oh what a life!!!!! the best part was my mom never complained about this...she is one of the best mom i must say.
Now more than anybody i miss my maid, sometimes i feel like writing a book on the importance of maids in this society.

Week 3 in USA

It sucks!!!!! seriously man this aloofness really sucks...my husband has got back to his normal office life, leaves in the morning and comes in the evening which means i am all by myself whole day infact whole week .... what the hell am i suppose to do ? with nothing interesting on Television and with no other means of entertainment.but to my rescue is the Indian movies when i saw my first movie on dvd i was so glad to see some indian faces no matter if they were movie actors.
Biggest Shock came when i realised that of past 3 weeks the door bell has not rung and that was because there are no door bells cos nobody comes without informing you and having a door bell is another piece of disturbance....amazing.....oh my god.
I can't even go out as i don't have license and without car its impossible to go as everything is so very far...

Second week in USA

Great!!!!!! finally i am getting acclimatized to USA, there are lots of things to understand about this country.This week was full of surprises because my husband has started taking me out to explore new things so i am totally mesmerized by the system..... there is drastic difference between India and USA everything is systematic i must say even the trivial things are so organized which is too good....Now that i am used to the traffic and left hand drive, lane driving, i must say traffic sense in this country is incredulous and amazing. Car drivers are more bothered about the pedestrians and cyclists than their destinations......which is recommendable unlike India where lane driving is next too impossible for another 5 years to be generous...

Week 1 in USA

Wo!!!!! This jet lag seems to be an unending affair.I can't believe i am sleeping whole day and waking entire night, well...according to husband its quite normal as everybody goes through this same ordeal when you first land up in USA from INDIA because of the day and night difference.....oki doki...
Now shock of the week was there were no Indian Channels on TV, as my husband was too busy with his job and studies he had no time for those monotonous daily soaps so he never tried to get Indian Cable, but he was kind enough to agree to install one for me...what a relief!!!!!!!! As i thought listening and watching to our native language (Hindi)and getting back to my discontinued soaps will definitely make me feel at home...but things are not as simple as it seems, the real climax started when the cable guy showed up and said he could not install dish, as our house was not South facing and the dish needs a South facing sky....ohhh myyy GOD..... isn't it strange, i mean i had never heard of something like this before,at that moment if anybody had asked about my biggest enemy without giving it a second thought i would have said Cable Guy.....so that was the end to the continuity of my left behind daily soaps, i never thought that my TV will also be left behind like my family... i know its bizzare but that was my first week in USA

First day in USA

Ohhh my god!!!!!!!! finally we have reached USA dream country for most of people ......i am happy, excited, exuberent and suddenly i am sad because now i was facing reality that i am more than 10,000 miles away from my family and honestly never been away from them even for 100 miles......
Shock of the day was our journey from airport to home, which was the left hand driving because its right hand driving in India and being a good driver myself back in India it was baffling to see every vehicle moving in opposite direction in wrong lane. In our drive of 30min i was holding my breath and praying god to reach home safely...... whoops that was some drive...more riskier than air journey.

My flight to USA with British Airways

Whooof.....it was damn tiring... A 20 hour or so flight, about 3 planes changed. Went through London Heathrow airport. Travel agent screwed us and didn't tell us that we have to change the airport at London....Luckily we had enough time to change the airport by taking a road shuttle bus. But a good thing! Got to see London before USA....

Arrival

Hi, This is soniya here. I came to USA on an H-4 Visa. My husband is working full-time here at some american university. I have an MBA in HR. He is also doing his Phd. So he decided to get married and take me with him on H-4.