Books with title Welcome to the Forest

A young man full of hope and aspirations who travels to a new world. A technology whiz kid who comes to United States from Asia to study Computer Science and aspires to become a Silicon Valley Technologist. An old world romantic confused by the definition of love in the brave new world. A true story so imaginative and incredible that no fiction writer could have thought of it. It begins as a story of ambitions, aspirations and young love at the University of California in 1987. It unfolds in the fast moving world of Hi-Tech industry in Silicon Valley, San Francisco and Seattle. From the west coast we jump to Nashville for a brief detour to sample the software industry there. and finally, get back to Southern California, where we hold our breadth as our narrator survives the infamous wildfires. Technology. Art. Wit. Literature. Humor. Imagination. They all come together in this wonderful tale of man's journey though space, time, life and love. ------------------------------------------------ The story begins in 1987 at University of California at Davis. Kalpanik has emigrated from Delhi, Asia to the United States. His first job is as a teaching assistant while he is working on his Masters Degree in Computer Engineering. This is also where he is first introduced to the American culture. He offers interesting and entertaining comparisons of life in Asia vs. life in the United States. In one of his examples he mentions how Asian women wear beautiful and colorful clothing and American women wear jeans. Ironically, the same evening after reading this book, I attended a party given by a family from where he is from. The discrepancy in clothing between the Americans and Asians was very evident and made me think of his musings on this subject. The story then jumps ahead fifteen years to when Kalpanik is now married with children living in Seattle. In addition to being a man in a foreign land, Kalpanik also has to learn about how to deal with his own doubts and uncertainties as a man, a husband, a father and an employee. He is very open and honest about the different issues that he faces. Many of his musings are both thought-provoking and humorous. After leaving Seattle, he moves on to Nashville to become the Head of Technology for a company. Then one day he finds himself in San Diego. His family follows him through these moves and changes. At times he has to live apart from them. I found his relationships with both his wife and daughters to be very endearing. I also enjoyed his observations about the different moves that he has made. I have visited each place that he ended up at and got a kick out of seeing the locations and cultures of the people through his eyes. Even though all are in the United States, each place has its own special flavor. Kalpanik also includes a wealth of photographs to illustrate his stories. Some show the beauty of the places, others show the uniqueness of the people. “Welcome to the USA” by Kalpanik S. is a very enjoyable book to read. I highly recommend it, and think that it would also make a fun gift for both travelers and arm chair travelers. Paige Lovitt, Reader Views, 2009 --------------------------------------------------