“Rupesh: This place is quite serene and calm compared to our place back in India.

Subramanyam: And the view is also – wow!

Khatwani: Back home everything is very chaotic, but it kind of works. Here, we’re not used to the organization. Everything is very systematic. We figured out the TRAX, bus, everything is very organized. This is a very welcome change for us.

Back home, we stayed with our parents. Over here we are alone, we just rely on each other. I miss my family a lot. I do miss my city, the weather, the food. I’m still not adjusted to the food here.

Subramanyam: We just went grocery shopping.

Khatwani: We’ve never gone grocery shopping in our lives.

Subramanyam: Ever. A few more trips to the store, and we should be good.

Khatwani: Everything I’ve done in my life, I’ve always consulted my family for decisions. The only difficulty was leaving them because they didn’t want me to go.

Subramanyam: My story is my mother. She couldn’t complete her education, so this degree is for her.”

-Akshay Khatwani, Harikrishna Kambala Subramanyam and Yomi Karthik Rupesh, graduate students in electrical engineering