Theirs vs. Ours. Review on Living Abroad vs. Living in India

I could distinctly remember my everyday expedition in a Far Eastern country which was my first trip abroad ! I was so scared to venture into anything/any place outside office, and was waiting for a  colleague who joined me couple of days later. What I thought would come as a relief turned out to be even more trying, as I was the one who had to make her feel better ! When there is someone more timid for company, we tend to put up an intrepid face ! and how much that helps !!

Well, experiences, however it would be, gives us a clearer and better perspective for all subsequent endeavours in life.What we all need is MENTAL PREPAREDNESS for many things along with the tangible things that we pack for ourselves while leaving India.

I never thought language would be a barrier in an English speaking country ! But then subsequently realised that we have Scottish English, Welsh English etc. I mean the variations in accents. You alight from the aircraft, and there you face the immigration formalities. The first word we may have to say will be ''sorry - could you please repeat what u said ??'', to the alien accent we encounter. Seriously there is no training required, but lending a sharp ear would gradually help  to get accustomed to the language. It is just a bit of high and a bit of low pitch, along with extra emphasis on certain syllables, but I admit its easier "said"  than done !!

*Get ready for  violent blow in the form of disparities in Culture / Attitude :-

*Although we (Indians)  face diversities in culture within India, once we step out of the country, everything we see, seems to be strange. On one side, you come across smiling faces greeting you, on the other side there are people who try to harass/bully you. Please refer to some of my experiences in the link :-

*https://mouthshut.com/review/United_Kingdom_-_General-126117-1.html

*Staying unprovoked or ignoring such remarks/abuses is the BEST way to react. Believe me, its an uphill task, to stay calm at such circumstances. You certainly can't exhibit your valorous deeds outside India.

*Attitude of some Indians staying abroad :-

*I have seen some Indians, settled abroad, exhibiting infantile behaviour. I hate to generalise, but here I am ONLY talking about people who actually feel ill-at-ease staying in a foreign country, but nevertheless, they pretend to loathe their past life (in India) and glorify their present stay (in a foreign country). They try to derive some kind of justifications to what they feel and console themselves. Like for eg.I've heard many say a) Uh! how crowded buses used to be in India b) See ! My child can't speak a word in her mother tongue !!...Well, they would be the SAME people who would have enjoyed chattering with their friends while waiting for a bus and passed quizzical expressions at teachers/lecturers who insisted to speak English even among friends while at school.   I don't quite blame them, as they are confused themselves, as to what they really want and where they want to live. Living anywhere is upto someone's will and wish - but why criticise India and talk about JUST the -ves ?

There is also another puzzling factor - Some Indians feel that 'maintaining cleanliness' is a quality meant to be put to practise in the west. Some of them follow this more diligently than the Britishers or Americans. But the minute they step into India, the good habit just vanishes. So what if India is not that clean? We can atleast refrain from further littering !

Arduous task for children :- Well, I would say living abroad is MOST difficult for kids. Acquiring the English accent might be easy, what with parents at home training them, but to mingle with other kids might be difficult, moreso when there are no other Indian kids for company. Starting from the lunch-box contents to the colour of the skin there will be so many things which may make the kid feel different from all others. It would take some time and effort by the parents and teachers to habituate the child of the goings on at school. It would become utmost complicated when the kid, after getting used to life in west, is brought back to India after few years of exam-free academics. My cousin's kid (aged 4) at Germany was being uncommunicative and unsociable among all other children at playschool (for obvious reasons) and they packed their bags back to India, sensing more complexities for the child-The problem is HUGE, when the kid has to grow up in a non-English speaking country.

V vs. NV:-

I didn't know that 'fish' constitutes vegetarian diet in foreign lands !! Even some icecreams and puddings consist of pork. A muslim friend of mine, who would not eat non-halal foods, was a regular consumer of such an ice-cream, before someone enlightened him. All the ingredients (of even items like curd ) are well listed, hence a minute or two could be spent glancing at them, to avoid repenting in future. If someone says they HAD to compromise on non-veg food due to non-availability of veg diet, that is nothing but a white lie; as most of the prominent places outside India stock Indian groceries / foods. If not for parathas atleast tortillas etc. are available in most places these days. Well, the easiest (and safest) bet would be to LEARN COOKING-exercising foresight !! Why not, when help and guidance would be just a phone call away?? Cookery books are also best friends when in need !!

*Festivals and Places of Worship :-

*Festival times can be the gloomiest if there are no friends and relatives nearby to celebrate along with. Imgaine a Diwali day for you in a foreign country, where its just-another-day for all others. You will have to force yourself to get into the festive mood !! However one could use this as a chance to get to know colleagues better, by inviting them for dinner home. People whom we meet at supermarkets or Temples could turn out to be good friends.

Talking about Corruption among politicians, irrespective of whether politicians in the West are corrupt or not, they do a lot for the well-being of their people which pleases and satisfies them. That is in sharp contrast to our country.

As for the pros, I do feel that we can learn some more of civic sense staying abroad.  Also one becomes more self-reliant and confident. When it comes to the drawbacks, what one may lack atleast for few years, is the sense of belongingness, an imperative aspect, which couldn't easily accommodate the minds of Indians newly landed abroad.