Welcome to Amanda's Page
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Hi... Let me tell you a little about myself. Christened Amanda Rita D'Cunha, I was born (along with my sister Wendy Ann) in Dubai (United Arab Emirates) on July 23rd to Custodio Lawrence and Susanna D'Cunha. We were a little small but I guess that's pretty normal for twins. I weighed in at around 3 lbs and my sister Wendy was slightly above 3lbs. Since the two of us were born so soon after my dad's mom died (in February of the same year), we both carry her name (Anna Rita) in our middle names. Though we are twins, I guess, I am considered the eldest, since I had the bad manners to push my way out first! My parents currently live in Panjim, Goa, along with my two sisters Wendy and Sarita. Wendy, in addition to being my sister and best friend, is my twin. Sarita is the youngest of us all. We also have a dog Tammy. Academically speaking, I have my Masters in Computer Applications from Goa University, which I completed in June 1995. I currently live and work in Virginia, USA. Having led a pretty nomadic life, I am pretty used to moving and seeing new places. I guess that's why I love playing tourist and visiting new places. I must admit that, though I am Indian, I have not seen a lot of India. I have been to Mahableshwar and Panchgani, where I completed five years of my schooling in St. Joseph's Convent. Mahableshwar is a small hill station in Maharashtra, India and Panchgani is a near-by semi-hillstation. I have been to the Ajanta and Ellora Caves in Aurangabad, seen Aurangzeb's tomb and been to the Elephanta Caves in Bombay. We lived for around 12 years in Dubai, U.A.E, in which five of those were spent commuting between Dubai and Panchgani - around 3 months in Dubai and 9 months in boarding school in Panchgani. We then lived for a couple of years in Bombay from where we moved to Goa. Then I spent around 11 years in Goa where I completed my graduation and post graduate degree. I also spent a year on my own in Bombay getting some work experience. One of the best things about Goa are the sunsets. My family lives about a five minute walk from a beach. We spent a lot of Sunday evening at the beach, talking, walking and watching the sunsets. My father would be fishing near by. My youngest sister would be off with her friends of course. But my mom, twin and I would walk the shore line, dodging the multitude of tourists and locals sitting in the sand and talk. I came to the U.S. in 1998. I currently live in Northern Virginia and enjoy the cold winters and hot summers...I will never forget my first glimpse of snow... Since then, I have seen the Niagara Falls, visited NASA, Disneyland and Sea World in Florida, been to the top of the World Trade Center in New York and visited Ellis and Liberty Islands to see the Statute of Liberty. I have also visited few local sites in Northern Virginia like Great Falls. Angelo and I first met at University. He was two years ahead of me and was completing the last year of his Masters program when I joined the same Masters degree program. We spoke occasionally but that was all. In April of 1997, I joined the same software firm in Goa where Angelo's brother Francis was working. Francis and I were always joking around and pulling each other's legs. Angelo joined the company after a couple of months. We passed each other on the stairs and said Hi. That was the extent of our conversations. A couple of months later he was placed in the U.S. Almost a year later, in April 1998, I came to the U.S. and fate ordained that it would be in the same place - Virginia and for the same company - AT&T. We met again. I would often drop by his place as I did not know anyone here. He and I got to be friends.... and the rest as they say is history! |
