<Where Dev is from>
Bikaner, Rajasthan, India (originally)
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India (currently)
<How I met Dev>
We were roommates at a hostel in San Francisco. I couldn’t get what he was saying at first because of his strong Indian accent, but you would realize that his English is great once you got used to his way to speak. Actually, we talked a lot at our room.
<Who Dev is>
First of all, Devendra Pareek…….yeah that’s his full name.
I will describe Dev as “curious” and “caring” person. He looks serious first, but I found out he is not, haha. I mean he is diligent, but not serious. The reason why I said he is curious is because he loves to ask questions to people. He is good at getting information about people he met so he always knows about people I also know and about our friends faster and more than I do. In addition, he really cares about them after knowing them. If you talk and share with him about what you are concerned about or worried about, he wouldn’t only listen to your stories but also try to help you. He would keep up with your progress or if you are going well, then. Why am I so sure about that? Because that is what he has been doing to me. You might be able to be either curious or caring, but asking questions, knowing about you, helping you and being with you no matter how far you are. That made him Dev.
<Awesome Episodes>
I will share two episodes about him with you.
The first one still cracks me up whenever I remember the story.
He went to an event in San Francisco one night. As soon as coming back to our hostel from the event and finding me, he told me what happened to him at the event. I was having dinner but he did not mind that. Here is what he said below,
“I met a guy at the event and we chatted each other for a while. It was fun. Suddenly, he asked me where I am from, so I let him guess. After a long pause, guess what he answered!? He said I must be from Mexico!!”
I said, “Hmmm, you don’t look Mexican but maybe it’s not impossible…?” Dev said, “I totally understand that! But guess what? The guy is from India!!!!! He guessed I am from Mexico, even though I talked to him and he must have heard of my accent!!!!!” hahahahahahaha
I could not keep eating my dinner for a while because his story was killing me!
Dev noticed that the guy is from India as soon as Dev met him, but he guessed Dev is from another country.
He shared the story to me being upsetting but also as a funny story with big laugh. You might not get how funny the story was because what made me laugh was the way he talked too me and his face expression that time, but I would love to do(copy) him to you later, haha.
The second one is about himself.
He was very busy everyday in San Francisco so he came back to the hostel after 10pm. The hostel has a kitchen but the kitchen is closed at 10pm, which means that he missed chances to cook every time, so where he gets his dinner was Subway all the time. Because of that, he eventually found out best sandwich for him there, like which kind of bread, which kinds and amount of vegetables, cheese and souse. One of the funny parts for me when he ordered best combination was that a worker put a few amount of vegetables and he said “more, more” again and again because he knew the certain amount of vegetables and sauce as an expert. What’s more, he gave me the half of the sandwich to let me try the best combination for him. Of course it tasted GREAT!!
We had fun conversations many times and laugh together a lot, but also discussed serious topics. What I remembered is when we talked about ISIS.
Actually one of the reasons why I went to San Francisco was related to ISIS, so I was surprised that he had the same interest. At the same time, I was so glad finding someone who was willing to discuss it. Our opinions were the same; people should not kill each other.
Everyone, see? This is Dev. The range of topics he is able to talk about is huge. You would have such a great time when you talked to him. I will guarantee that^^
<What Dev is doing now>
He went back to Mumbai and doing great with his with his family.
He said he might come back to San Francisco near future and the day might not be so far.
Dev, every word you wrote on a Subway napkin for me, I asked him to do it for me, has been encouraging me and impressing me.
I look forward to seeing you again in either India or Japan, even somewhere all over the world! You should visit The Castro next time, haha.
About “Enjoy Voyage”
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