The initial few days and I cant seem to understand what the “Ohh wow you are in ___“ exclamation is all about. I mean I can hardly figure out what am I doing here in the first place leave alone see the silver lining.
To begin with things are pretty much different from what’s it like back home. For starters I have to do the following
- Get my math right. A dime, quarter, nickel etc are all valuable change so learn to do a quick math and figure out the loose change you may require especially if you are like me and cant drive to save your life. To top it all the public transport here doesn’t give you change (Apparently it’s for safety reasons and if you ask me, yep anything is possible in this country)
- Learn to drive, I wish I could bike to office but then who in this part of the world bikes unless they are crazily stupid or filthy rich or are auditioning to be a part of MTV roadies and such (theatrical) reality shows…
- Be good at conversions. As I said earlier the math part pounds, stones, miles, rocks err whteverrrrrrr.
- Being polite. I guess I always am and my brief stint in
- Learn to sift through the vast amount of information. E.g. to buy milk, I had to distinguish between low fat, low calorie, organic, vhl, dhl, fedex (not really, I am being sarky here) kinda milk. Just gimme some damn milk for god sake, I don’t care if it’s from a cusp between a bull and a cow, I just need some god damn milk yaar….
- Drinking water is available right from the kitchen tap and also tissues are used for everything. Right from mopping up after a spill to swap a dish dry to cleaning the table to you know what (something too gross to write actually)
- Sizes are large. So kiss medium/small sizes good bye. This explains why the 20 year old rookie in office is twice my size and can crush me with a single punch and I always cribbed back home that tee’s I like even in those fly by night malls are too tight across the chest for me. Here one tee I would buy can double as a coat, a long john and also a blanket for me…..
- Expect paper work and no you are not exempted cause you work for a fortune 5 firm, or you dad happens to be the president. Everything needs documentation (read state ID, license, Student ID, NGO id etc). Which reminds me while in
- Get used to order and calmness around. Back home we wont cross the parking lot without being cautious since we never know who can mow us down next but out here the silence kills me, I really wish there were lotsa people and sounds around me for a change….
Well now that I am already in I might as well soak in the experience. In any case I belong to a clan (fraudulently of course) whom you can find even if you happen to land on the moon and woe betide me if I show them down !!! :)