Health check-up and driving lessons...

One thing is for sure. The moment you think of venturing outside the borders of your country, suggestions and advices will flow in from every nook and corner of your social circle (although a circle doesn’t have corners). And since you yourself aren’t too sure, and hence slightly insecure, you would tend to pay heed to each. Most of them would contradict each other, yet each would seem as rational as the other. For example, a cousin of mine went to Germany last year, and his mother (my paternal aunt) has advised my mom to buy me EVERYTHING she could think of that might come of use. Plates, glasses, cutlery, shoes, clothes, soaps, shampoos, rice, dal, you name it. On the contrary, my uncle who is in Japan for almost three decades now is of the opinion that she need not provide me with anything, as everything is available in the US. More on this later. Coming to driving. How essential is it that you learn driving before you leave? Some say it is an absolute necessity (“you would need to buy a car as soon as possible once you are there”), some others say it is not necessary but definitely an asset (“it would be easier for you to get an American driving license if you have an Indian one”), while even others say it is absolutely futile (“you would anyway need to go through their training program whether or not you have an Indian license”). As a result, I have registered for driving classes, and I go for them, without knowing how important it is for me and how serious/anxious I should be about getting the license made in time. In the process, my weekday afternoons are gone. I cannot meet my friends. Weekday afternoons are especially important as female friends need to get home before evening and they cannot meet me on weekends as their fathers would be home (21st century, I suppose?).

Health, of course, is the star performer. Dental health to be more specific. My teeth have never been too well-behaved. Likewise, even I do not behave too well with them. My recent checkups show that one of my incisors is wrongly set (guess whose fault it was?), which leads to food deposition in my gums. I have already had my gums scaled, and they are silent for the time being. But that isn’t all. Doctor says ALL the four of my wisdom teeth need to be operated! Why should I when there is no problem at all? He says that sooner or later, they will create problems. And when they do, it would really be hell for me. But is it really advisable to cut open a wound with no apparent problem simply because it is expected to trouble me in some distant (?) future? Once again, all sorts of suggestions flow in. Add to it the fact that an operation means I would miss yet another week of driving classes (I have already missed a week when I was in Delhi for my visa interview). Since I do not know how important the license is-----and I don’t even know how important the operation is-----I don’t know which one to prioritize. For the time being, decision is to keep the final verdict pending till the visa arrives. The assumption here is that by the time my passport is couriered to me, I would already have taken my driving test (or would be within days of taking it).