BETH: How long have you lived in India?
ALLISON: My family and I have lived there for 18 months now
BETH: How long will you be here in Minneapolis?
ALLISON: For 6 weeks
BETH: How much longer are you going to be living in India?
ALLISON: One more year
BETH: Your husband is Larrie. How is he spending his time in India?
ALLISON: Larrie is volunteering for a non-profit that helps align people who are donating money for water projects that bring fresh water to India. This is a project that Larrie became involved in through a friend.
BETH: You have a daughter, Jessi who goes to school in India. Is she enjoying it?
ALLISON: Yes. She is well settled now, but when we first arrived Jessie had only done 3 weeks of 2nd grade here in MN. In India their school years are structured differently and they were 1/2 way through the year. She was a little behind at first, but is all caught up now.
BETH: I have seen a video of Jessi performing a traditional dance with her classmates. She did great! Did she enjoy that?
ALLISON: Yes, she enjoyed it very much. She does well at it, too. Dance is a mandatory part of school in India.
BETH: Other than obvious differences, such as culture and weather, what was the biggest "shock" or obstacle for you and your family to learn in India?
ALLISON: Learning how to make a phone call. There are different numbers to dial when you are calling cell to cell or cell to land and vice versa. There are also different codes to dial between the different states. I still don't have it down and usually hand the phone off to someone else after a few failed attempts. Another thing we found really challenging is just the ability to find things. There is no Target to stop off at and purchase all the items needed for your home. There are many small shops and you need to learn where they are and what shops sell the different items that you may need. Due to the large variety of accents, many times I bring my digital camera with me that has a picture of the item I need. That helps a lot when I am not able to explain the item or they don’t understand me.
Another thing that most people don’t realize is how much each culture uses references such as movies, TV shows, celebrities, and local knowledge in our conversations. Many times I just don’t understand what people are talking about or they don’t understand what I am talking about because we use these references so often.
BETH: I am sure that you have a million great stories from your time there so far. Can you tell me a couple of your favorites about learning to live and/or work in India?
ALLISON: The fabrics! Fabrics are like art in motion in the streets. Traveling from home to work and back is fascinating to see all of the different and colorful fabrics in the shops.
Also we have discovered that there are over 120 different types of mangos. The mango season only lasts for about 2 months, but they are absolutely delicious. Matter of fact, all of the fruits and vegetables are awesome! The fruits are sweet. Both fruits and vegetables are so full of flavor, fresh and delicious. It is definitely not like the fruits and vegetables here in the U.S. and there is no such thing as frozen fruits or veggies.
Another thing that has been eye opening is to see the beginning of things such as cocoa beans; seeing how items like tea and rice grows.
BETH: Are there differences between the work environments in India compared to Minneapolis?
ALLISON: People use very little paper in India and rarely throw it away. Doing everything electronically is huge there. Also, since there is not enough government provided electricity, especially during the dry season, people make a point to turn off the lights in conference rooms and in their working areas. Once the monsoon season arrives, the rivers that provide the electricity will run full but, on a normal day, electricity will still “run out” and the back-up generators will kick in 5-6 times per day. This will happen more often during the dry season.
BETH: So, have you been able to venture outside of Bangalore? What about outside of India?
ALLISON: Most of our travels have been in India. Our family really enjoys the incredible history of India. You can go to one state and see monster sand dune deserts, then go to another state and see parts of Mount Everest. India also has very beautiful beach resorts. We have been up and down the coastal areas. Really the only area we have not explored yet is the strip from Mumbai to Hyderabad.
Over the Christmas holiday we went to Africa, which is only about a 6 hour flight, 600 dollars. We have also taken weekend trips to Dubai and Thailand. They are both about a 3 hour flight and cost around $120. On our trip back to the U.S. we spent a long weekend in France, which was an interesting food experience. We just missed the volcano incident or we would have been stuck in France right now. I do know of some TI people that are currently stuck in Paris, on their way to the U.S., due to the volcano.
BETH: When you first went to India, what convenience or way of life did you miss the most about living in the US (other than family/friends)?
ALLISON: Not having the ability to drive.
BETH: After living there for more than a year, is that the same or has that changed now?
ALLISON: Yes – I still feel the same. We have a driver, but he lives 2 hours away. We cannot just pick up and go anytime we want 24x7.
BETH: Was it weird to drive again when you arrived back in the U.S.?
ALLISON: Nope. It is like riding a bike. I just needed to get accustomed to our rental car.
BETH: Have you continued to celebrate the US holidays over in India and have you introduced any US holidays to the people in India that you work with or have become friends with?
ALLISON: Yes, I handed out Halloween candy at work. We were able to find a Butterball turkey, but it was really expensive! Someone has offered to let us pick out a turkey from their farm if we would like. Pigs are more like black boars in India. It is not that pink ham meat that we are used to in the U.S. For Christmas we get together with others in India that celebrate. It was amazing to us how much Christmas is advertised in Bangalore. Most of the shops have many decorations and lights to mark the occasion.
BETH: Do you have a favorite Indian holiday?
ALLISON: Diwali is definitely my favorite, but Holi is definitely another fun celebration
BETH: Other than visiting with family, are there specific plans that you and your family feel you must do prior to going back to India?
ALLISON: All of our medical and dental appointments. We also need to check on our cabin.
BETH: Did you sell your house here in the U.S.?
ALLISON: Yes, we sold our house prior to moving to India. When we move back we will look for a place close to downtown. I currently commute 45 min to 1 hour 2 times a day. I don’t want to do that again.
BETH: What are the differences between homes here and homes in Bangalore?
ALLISON: There are lots of fans in the house and there is no central air. There are also marble floors in place of the carpet we normally see in U.S. homes. Another thing that I absolutely love is the shoe closets. They are either right inside the door, like a California closet or completely outside with a sitting area where you can sit down and put your shoes on. Almost all houses have these shoe closets.
BETH: Anything else that you would want us all to know about your fantastic experience in India?
ALLISON: I would make the same decision to go without hesitation! I have made lifelong friends and the people are extremely gracious, helpful, and welcoming.
BETH: Thanks Allison!
No comments:
Post a Comment