Welcome to Amreeka

A recent comment/blog from a friend on how she encountered a whole series of changes when she moved to the US, recently, prompted me to think about the changes that we, as a family, encountered, when we moved to the US!

About 85% of my career, prior to moving to the US, was working for the US based clients. We were trained in the knowledge, the culture, mannerisms, etc! We could talk the talk, and not know a bit of what happened outside of the office... nothing about the day to day nuances. The small things... where do you go to buy something?

Fortunately, I had travelled to the US, a couple of times, before the actual move... the innate mechanisms & mannerisms of day to day life in the US, was not as much of a shock for me, as it was, for my wife! But the small things such as grocery shopping, restaurants etc; they were a big change! Again, fortunately, I moved to New Jersey - the, so called "HUB" of Indian population. It definitely eased the transition, quite a bit!

One thing stands out quite a bit... we end up calculating the cost of everything in INR & then gasp @ the high cost of living!! It takes a while before you stop doing it... and then you don't even look @ the transfer rate to send money to India!

No matter where we Indians land... we need our place of worship... we need our temples! And temples outside of India, especially in the western hemisphere... are clean enough to be able to eat off of them... wait, maybe not that clean... but pretty darn clean! And yes, you pay in $s for the services... not in INR ;)

Some things turn out to be quite funny... simple things like what we call plastic covers ... they are bags here!

You live for years and not know your next door neighbor, but you get to hear a complete life story from some one in a 2 minute ride up the elevator! I don't know why you are still seeing the drunk or trying to seduce your boss!

Weather - yes... the ever dependable weather service on your smart phone... you will not plan your day without consulting the weather service! If the weather man says, then you will wear a hooded parka to the beach in 80 degree weather!

This is a land of "do it yourself", or DIY, for short! Everything from changing the oil in your car, to building an additional suite for the house! And of course, you can be a DIY doctor too... web MD to the rescue!

Talking about doctors... you no longer go to the neighbourhood pharmacy shop and ask for medicine! You have to decide on what you want, and pick it up from the counter on your own! Want anything stronger than the OTC medicine... go to a doctor and get a prescription!

You don't have your bhaaji waala come by on a regular "sked-jule"... but go to a walmart, or a target, a store which is several football... pardon me... "soccer" ball fields large! You get everything from the can of soda you want, to the cheesy snack; some beer & wine to wash it down; condoms & lubricants for afterwards... and if you were too drunk... they also sell cribs, strollers, diapers! How could I forget... you can even get laptops, ipads, 75" TVs, blu-ray players and the movies to go with them, for all your entertainment needs... these mega stores... are truly one stop shops!

You eat food @ a restaurant & ask for the check... no one would understand a "bill"!

Food - yes, Vegetarians can survive here... and quite well too! I'm a perfect example :D

And yes, you can experience road rage from some one, aimed at you, because you honked @ them!

Moving forward, several years, we got to know of a couple - typical Indian situation - husband came to the US to study, and then settled down here to work. Went to India to marry an Indian which his parents chose! The wife - she was straight out of college, not having seen much of adult life, outside of her hometown! Her first taste of the "so called" freedom, was in the US. They enjoyed, were here for a couple of years. Did well for themselves. A few months ago, owing to the pull of family, they bit the bullet & moved to India. He was fortunate to get a position in his existing company. The first thing that may come to mind is they moved to their roots, it will be comfortable! WRONG! The guy has not worked outside of the US and working for a US company, but in India - that's a whole different ball game! He is finding it tough to adjust! The gal, she is finding it tough on the home front too! She is finding the country & culture as a whole has moved forward and changed too... with the changing tide of time!

Now... its been a couple of months since they moved to India, & they cannot wait to come back to the US.

Looking @ all these, any one moving back to India, brings about the same thoughts I had, when I was moving to the US.... we'll be strangers all over again!