Yes, just like this.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen people do Bollywood style Flash Mobs at Indian railway stations.
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Right. And if had happened, I would have assumed that someone had fed me a hallucinogenic drug without my noticing.
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Hi @PHX,
Interesting. Do you have dual citizenship, then? It’s quite unusual for an American to become an Indian citizen. I don’t personally know of anyone.
The Triangle, North Carolina. I spent two years in Chicago before that, but I liked the Triangle much better. I still get homesick for NC. As to why I came back, things weren’t going well over there, and I had no leverage. The US isn’t exactly immigration friendly, I got very tired of being pushed around, and I didn’t see a reasonable prospect of things improving. Plus things weren’t going exactly well back in India, either. I’m not sure what would have happened if I’d stayed in the US.
That’s the short short version. Nothing of this is really overly personal. Feel free to ask for more details if you want them, but it isn’t really terribly interesting.
That’s an interesting dual perspective. I can see where you are coming from. I don’t think the US is a paradise or anything, but the tradeoffs that I had to made while living there, I was mostly quite willing to make. Though living with a basically non-functional health care system in a country where health care was (and is) as expensive as the US did make me nervous.
And I used to be wildly allergic to India while younger. Now that I’m older, I do take a more nuanced perspective to it. And I realise that all the things that used to make me crazy didn’t really have anything to do with me. The young tend to take things personally. They think it’s all about them, but of course it isn’t.
PS: you’re a kabade fan? Seriously?
Well hey, @faheem, I’m interested. 
Since you were there for 15 years I can understand why you’d miss NC. i’m assuming you mean you didn’t have leverage in the workforce there and got pushed around? This would align with my perception of how the US can be pretty exploitative of foreign workers knowing they can. If it was personally or in reference to social integration, I’d feel bad… but I’d be more surprised. My spouse doesn’t even get stopped at the numerous AZ border checkpoints when we drive, much to my complete and utter surprise, since he could also be mistaken for Arabic easily.
And I think all teens are wildly allergic to their place of birth, haha. My adoration of my home state only came about from leaving and living elsewhere. I left the moment I could, which included living in a few countries before India.
Oh, and yes, dual citizen (assuming OCI counts, which I believe it does)–easy enough to do if you marry an Indian, which you were correct in assuming earlier.
India and Morocco, yes I totally agree. When I returned from India, I could only compare it to Morocco as far as dishonesty goes. Although I did like other aspects of India and I would consider going back. Morocco so not.
Yes, that’s how it is !
This one I don’t understand at all, unless Mexico City would be much much cheaper than the rest of Mexico.
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Well let’s say once you account for the constant ripping off (and total lack of ripping off culture in Mexico City) it was every bit as cheap. Generally I found accommodation, street food and cabs exceptionally cheap. Supermarket food not so much but who shops in a supermarket in Mexico ? That’s right rich peeps.
And I referred to Mexico City because it’s all I know…I have no doubt it’s much much cheaper once you leave Mexico City.
I too would go back to India but I wouldn’t do it alone again.
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To be more explicit, did you mean to say:
Well let’s say once you account for the constant ripping off in India (and total lack of ripping off culture in Mexico City) it was every bit as cheap.
Do I understand correctly?
I think India is ok as long as you know what you are dealing with, and are prepared to deal with it. A support network of some kind - family/friends/acquaintances/friends of friends is also useful. And you have to be fairly tough, but I think a certain amount of toughness is required in international travel, especially travelling from the West to a place like India.
And, as I told some recent guests, you shouldn’t be afraid to yell. The guests, who were polite Canadians, looked mildly aghast at the idea.
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India is love-hate, and it’s possible to feel both extremes in the same trip.
I think a crucial part to staying sane in the country is having someone who can show you the ropes of the place. My family enjoyed the country a lot more when I was able to show them the cafes set in Kipling-like Indian bungalows, the places they should go to get delicious food without the food poisoning, the jewelry store where they’re not going to get ripped off because my inlaws had been going there for 50 years, the clothing store that sells well constructed garments (in an air conditioned place and not a stall or somewhere just selling raw fabric), the handicrafts shop ran by the government set with clear maximum retail prices, etc… absent having someone familiar with the country, a tour is easily the second best option. I know so many travelers eschew the idea of tours as being too touristy, but India can eat a person whole without structure. Had I gone to India by myself without knowing a soul I know I would’ve probably hated it.
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Hi @PHX,
Yes, your first sentence is correct. It was being pushed around professionally. “leverage in the workforce” is a reasonable summary. Much of this has to do with immigration related employment restrictions. That’s by far the commonest kind of being pushed around, I think. Even internationally. Employer/employee abuse is common everywhere.
Roughly speaking, things can go wrong, and once they go wrong, it’s hard to make it go right when you have no leverage. And I found that basically nobody was interested in helping me. One plus in having these kinds of experiences is that one then tends to be more emphathic towards people in that situation. And there are lots of people in that situation.
I didn’t have any problems from a social point of view, actually. In fact, I found fitting in rather easier than in India. US society is increasingly multi-cultural now, even in the South. Well, in a place like the Triangle, anyway.
What state was that? Arizona? If I recall correctly, a friend/work colleague of mine was from there, and he kept telling me how it was the best part of the US.
Ah, I guess you count as Indian then. Congratulations?
Agreed. In India, if people don’t know you, they won’t hesitate to try to rob you. If you’re (say) married to family, they’ll (probably) treat you like royalty, and fall all over you.
You did understand correctly.
Perhaps that’s why I mostly hated it, and why I say I would go again but absolutely not on my own which is what I did first time.