In an era of globalization, it is evident that people cross across the boundaries intending to have more than their livelihood. Mind you, it’s not only the so called poor and the middle class who have been venturing out of their geographical boundaries, but also the super rich. I have no answers as to why they move about for; but am pretty sure there are valid reasons for it.
Having been brought up in India, for me, a foreigner still reflects a visual of a European or an American roaming around in shorts in my country. But I tasted a reality of being called a foreigner when I first ventured out and landed in Muscat, Oman on the 10th of January 2010. An encounter which initiated a series of changes – Internally and externally and helped me learn more in life. From the time I have set foot in this mountainous country, life has indeed been a great teacher. Language is an issue for any new comer. However, the traces of India’s roots reflects when you hear locals speaking to you in Hindi and making your life a bit comfortable than expected.
There is always a different perception and focus on dilute events / objects for an expat in comparision to a local. What may seem natural and not of any importance would be an important attention seeker for an expat. One of the things that I started after having left the shores of my country was to follow certain blogs written by expats about my country – India. Well, as expected, I started learning about my culture more than I ever did while I stayed amidst my countrymen. The attention to detail by an expat is indeed more a revelation of their thoughts on what we would normal associate as – Normal. As accepted universally, sometimes, normal does sound abnormalJ. It’s indeed with great pride I reveal that I have found how my country sounds through the eyes of foreigners. And actually, it is not bad as I thought it would.
Having said all these, I would bring upon an interesting fact. Well before I arrived into the Middle East, blame it on our education system or the lack of complete knowledge over this region, a pre-conceived notion of being an Islamic country added to my woes of having to deal delicately with the local women and stay away from even glancing them. But, having worked with the local ladies here, I was surprised in a way they dealt with expats like me. Contrary to my beliefs, I found the local ladies to be more interactive and not to forget a jovial lot to deal with. In fact, I would not be afraid to convey that their openness and curious looks combined with their humour only left me shell shocked most of the times. Back home, during my school, I had never imagined that a day would arise when they would not mind sharing food with us and mingling amongst their office colleagues. But one thing I admit envy is their fascination towards White men….Well, unfortunately I wasn’t one among those, so just smiled myself from only having to write about it from a third party perspective.
All said and done, life moves on for every expat, having made the cycle from a comfortable zone to an uncomfortable zone and then convert this uncomfortable zone into our zone of comfort. There is plenty I would like to write about, but somehow couldn’t find an inspiration to continue. Is someone listening to this?
