This series like everything else in life needs closure. So here I go...
2 years, a time span that can be the longest of all times or shortest depending on what you went through during that time. It is a natural tendency for people to resist change. And a move from country Apple to country Orange which are poles apart in everything is indeed a huge change so the resistance from within can also expected to be equally huge. But once the metamorphosis is over and the new you emerges the new change becomes your new constant. I had asked a cousin who had moved back a few years before me how was life for her now. She said "You know my dad went to the astrologer with my horoscope when he came to know we were moving back. The astrologer said ' She will have difficult times for a few years after moving back, after that she will get used to it' ".
This, I found was the biggest truth of all. None of the things change or become better just because YOU decided to move back. You start getting used to it , you start accepting things as they are and eventually also come up with a way of working around it. Eventually the comparisons to things in US subside. You are not so startled with the unbelievably bad customer service. The unprofessional-ism and lack of ethics in people doesn't baffle you anymore, instead you kind of start expecting someone to suck at their job even before they start doing it. If they get it right you are pleasantly surprised(and I have still kept the good habit of tipping people for a job well done- which is not too often- lot of money saved). And if I want something done in a month , I start at asking for it by the end of 10 days.
Now for the good, the bad and the ugly. I must say there are good, bad and ugly in both places in almost equal measures( yeah surprising that is). US gave me the freedom of going anywhere anytime on my own. Here even thinking about driving gives me goosebumps. Even if I did venture out to the war zone(as my manager called our Blore roads when he came here for a visit) finding a parking and the actual act of parking is going to be the most stressful event of my life. I seriously cannot afford a heart attack at this point in my life.
There was a time when I stayed home alone in US for 5 weeks and drove back home from work everyday at around 10 PM at night. I am almost 99.435% sure if I do that here, I will be a newspaper statistic.
The number of 'unexpected s' are far less in US. No sudden leaves from hired help, no power outages in the middle of a grinding session which was promoted by unexpected arrival of guests, no disruption to weekend schedule due to some unplanned function which will go on just as it will even if you don't show up anyways but yet you have to show up.No one to ring the bell like a million times(iron man, paper bill, courier, post there is no end to this nuisance) when you are seriously trying to work from home due to any of the above reasons. And back-up programs in US for after school is exemplary compared to the sad excuse we have here. With a minimum of 3 months off for kids from school this period though expected comes with new challenges every time it happens.
One can be very private and guard their personal life fiercely in US. Unfortunately now I have to say that anyone with a good relationship with my maid can know about any facet of my life(Sigh!). Luckily for me, we are from very different walks of life and our circles don't intersect.
On the other hand the same excessive population that crowds our roads and dirties our city, makes water and land scarce also gives us a hidden benefit in the form of affordable manpower. You can have an army of hired help ,which though unreliable can make a working couple's life very pleasant when they all actually show up.On the downside one should know how to cope when they are absent.
The social fabric is strong. Our society is very tolerant towards family in general and kids in particular. I have never come even close to being judged when my kids (who have a general proficiency each on being extremely boisterous) misbehaved either in public or within the family circle. People just take it in stride and go extra length to even humor the kids sometimes. I am extremely grateful for not having to sit in 13 hour leg flights imprisoned with 2 out of control kids and 2 dozen judgmental people. If it takes a village to raise a child you have a country here which is ready to do just that a.k.a raise your child for you. Yes, that can also be annoying at times but mostly it is not.
Exposure is not at all bad in the public media, seriously there is nothing here that I cannot watch in the presence of my kids which means adults have a dull TV life.
I cannot stress the abundance of good food here, in fact it is so abundant that after a few years of moving back you lose your craving of it, which is generally a good thing.
Charity goes a long way, I have never had to throw away any piece of cloth, any piece of furniture , any piece of anything(even good food). There are people who take it gratefully from you. I cringe every time I think of things that I left back in US due lack of shipping space.I feel our hard earned money has a lot more bang for the buck here.
So if we do a impersonal comparison of the Apple and Orange I would say at the end of 2 years they both taste good if not the same. But then generalizations don't always work. Each one of us comes with a different personality type, a different family background, a different job expectation and end up doing different jobs. A person's experience can vary greatly beyond the general conclusion I gave depending on each of the things that will be different for them. But at the end of 2 years I can say that I think I will survive.
2 years, a time span that can be the longest of all times or shortest depending on what you went through during that time. It is a natural tendency for people to resist change. And a move from country Apple to country Orange which are poles apart in everything is indeed a huge change so the resistance from within can also expected to be equally huge. But once the metamorphosis is over and the new you emerges the new change becomes your new constant. I had asked a cousin who had moved back a few years before me how was life for her now. She said "You know my dad went to the astrologer with my horoscope when he came to know we were moving back. The astrologer said ' She will have difficult times for a few years after moving back, after that she will get used to it' ".
This, I found was the biggest truth of all. None of the things change or become better just because YOU decided to move back. You start getting used to it , you start accepting things as they are and eventually also come up with a way of working around it. Eventually the comparisons to things in US subside. You are not so startled with the unbelievably bad customer service. The unprofessional-ism and lack of ethics in people doesn't baffle you anymore, instead you kind of start expecting someone to suck at their job even before they start doing it. If they get it right you are pleasantly surprised(and I have still kept the good habit of tipping people for a job well done- which is not too often- lot of money saved). And if I want something done in a month , I start at asking for it by the end of 10 days.
Now for the good, the bad and the ugly. I must say there are good, bad and ugly in both places in almost equal measures( yeah surprising that is). US gave me the freedom of going anywhere anytime on my own. Here even thinking about driving gives me goosebumps. Even if I did venture out to the war zone(as my manager called our Blore roads when he came here for a visit) finding a parking and the actual act of parking is going to be the most stressful event of my life. I seriously cannot afford a heart attack at this point in my life.
There was a time when I stayed home alone in US for 5 weeks and drove back home from work everyday at around 10 PM at night. I am almost 99.435% sure if I do that here, I will be a newspaper statistic.
The number of 'unexpected s' are far less in US. No sudden leaves from hired help, no power outages in the middle of a grinding session which was promoted by unexpected arrival of guests, no disruption to weekend schedule due to some unplanned function which will go on just as it will even if you don't show up anyways but yet you have to show up.No one to ring the bell like a million times(iron man, paper bill, courier, post there is no end to this nuisance) when you are seriously trying to work from home due to any of the above reasons. And back-up programs in US for after school is exemplary compared to the sad excuse we have here. With a minimum of 3 months off for kids from school this period though expected comes with new challenges every time it happens.
One can be very private and guard their personal life fiercely in US. Unfortunately now I have to say that anyone with a good relationship with my maid can know about any facet of my life(Sigh!). Luckily for me, we are from very different walks of life and our circles don't intersect.
On the other hand the same excessive population that crowds our roads and dirties our city, makes water and land scarce also gives us a hidden benefit in the form of affordable manpower. You can have an army of hired help ,which though unreliable can make a working couple's life very pleasant when they all actually show up.On the downside one should know how to cope when they are absent.
The social fabric is strong. Our society is very tolerant towards family in general and kids in particular. I have never come even close to being judged when my kids (who have a general proficiency each on being extremely boisterous) misbehaved either in public or within the family circle. People just take it in stride and go extra length to even humor the kids sometimes. I am extremely grateful for not having to sit in 13 hour leg flights imprisoned with 2 out of control kids and 2 dozen judgmental people. If it takes a village to raise a child you have a country here which is ready to do just that a.k.a raise your child for you. Yes, that can also be annoying at times but mostly it is not.
Exposure is not at all bad in the public media, seriously there is nothing here that I cannot watch in the presence of my kids which means adults have a dull TV life.
I cannot stress the abundance of good food here, in fact it is so abundant that after a few years of moving back you lose your craving of it, which is generally a good thing.
Charity goes a long way, I have never had to throw away any piece of cloth, any piece of furniture , any piece of anything(even good food). There are people who take it gratefully from you. I cringe every time I think of things that I left back in US due lack of shipping space.I feel our hard earned money has a lot more bang for the buck here.
So if we do a impersonal comparison of the Apple and Orange I would say at the end of 2 years they both taste good if not the same. But then generalizations don't always work. Each one of us comes with a different personality type, a different family background, a different job expectation and end up doing different jobs. A person's experience can vary greatly beyond the general conclusion I gave depending on each of the things that will be different for them. But at the end of 2 years I can say that I think I will survive.
