The Third and Final Continent
Three continents
Describe his life in London and his first impressions of America.
In Jhumpa Lahiri's story 'The Third and Final Continent', the narrator looks back on his life on three continents. He left India in 1964, with almost no money, and sailed third class to England.
In London, he shared a crowded house with other poor Bengali bachelors. He studied at the London School of Economics (LSE), and worked in a library.
In 1969, two things happened: his marriage was arranged in Calcutta, and he got a job in the library of MIT, in America.
He landed in Boston on the very day that astronauts landed on the moon. He spent his first nights at the noisy YMCA.
His first meal in America was cornflakes and milk, eaten at his desk. To save money, he made his own tea and kept it in a thermos.
Each continent asked him to start again, with very little.
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