Today a bit of commentary not in India or Indians but on us foreigners living here. Not to completely generalize, but most ex-Pats fall into one of three types here in India. This is somewhat true in other countries as well but it is even more noticeable here because things are so very different. The types are:
1. The people that resist being here. These people pretty much spend all of their time seeking out other foreigners to hang out with and when hanging out with them all they do is complain non-stop about India. I don't actually know why these people came to India because they seem to hate it. I have actually asked one person that very question - "why did you come here" - he had no response. It is best to avoid these people...if you happen to move here avoid them upon arrival as they like to add others to their misery. They are uncomfortable around those that actually enjoy living here. Although, I have a sneaking suspicion that these people upon returning to their home country will drop the sentence "well, back when I lived in India" quite often.
2. The people that come to India to "find themselves". Also known as hippies. They aren't seen that often in Delhi as they are usually off in an ashram somewhere. But when you do see them they are very easily recognized due to the fact that they don't dress like westerners, although they are almost always American or Canadian. Every time I see one of them I can't help but think about their parents. I figure their parents are either also hippies or they are back in the States rolling their eyes and hoping their child comes to their senses soon. They are generally very nice and very quiet and keep to themselves.
3. The super cool people. Clearly I consider myself one of this group :). This group is generally fairly well traveled and usually has lived abroad somewhere else. We don't 100% give into India as in group #2 but we also don't resent it as in group #1. We try to see and do as much as we can while here. We like living here although knowing that one day we will leave is very important to us.
And thus you have a complete generalization of the ex-Pats in India.
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1 comment:
Alison,
There was a similar type of heirarchy when I was at Univ of Sussex for a semester. There were those that just complained about everything, those that weren't so much trying to 'find themselves,' but were really just glorified tourists, and those that really wanted to absorb the culture and get to know the people.
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