Goa: My cousin and I struck up conversations with anyone and everyone in Goa. Here's a part of one with an auto-rickshaw driver who was the sole financial provider for his family.
Us: So you would like your wife, who has to be Goan, to stay at
home?
R: Yes!
Us: But what if she wants to work? You know, open a store to sell clothes to tourists?
R: No, she will have to stay at home and take care of the house work.
Us: But what if she’s a doctor? Would you marry a woman who is a doctor and will be working?
R: Yes, of course, if she is a doctor.
Yup, I was definitely in Asia.
Kerala: As I walked through Jew Town, a girl who could not have been more
than 13 years old stuck her head out of the auto-rickshaw. We looked at each
other and I immediately felt connected to her. When I passed by her again 5
minutes later, she, covered from head to toe save her face in conservative
Muslim attire, peeked out from behind a woman and quickly and confidently blew me
a kiss. Day Made.
Reminder: Whether it's something as seemingly silly as showing affection to a random stranger or serious and nerve-wrecking as making a career switch, step up to the plate and just do it.
Pondicherry: As a former French colony, Pondicherry has remnants of its
colonial past scattered throughout the city, especially in the French quarter.
I hadn’t heard this much French being spoken since I was last in France more
than 5 years ago. After I got over that initial shock, another wave of shock
hit me: there were so many young professional foreigners, as well as Indians who grew
up abroad, living in Pondicherry. The situation was the same in many
other parts of India. The country had been able to draw in entrepreneurs and other
professionals, while 27% of the workforce has left Nepal.* It didn’t seem to matter
that they were neighbors or that they had similar cultures. Nepal, with its one
major city that experiences up to 18 hours of power cuts a day and drought-like
water supply, protests, countrywide shutdowns, an unstable government, and on
and on, presents serious impediments to working, learning and living safely,
securely and sanely here. India, on the other hand, because of its size, population,
economy, education system, government, history—I don’t know what mixture exactly—appeared to be
a viable place to work and live in.
Chennai: A friend I visited is a prime example of someone taking
advantage of India’s well-established business environment. She moved there for a year
to run her father’s company temporarily. The end of the year has come and gone,
but she’s not planning to go back to the US any time soon. Instead, she wants
to explore other business ventures in India.
Working in India, of course, isn’t without its problems. She complained of random power cuts. She felt that a large number of people lacked a sense of accountability and responsibility, as well as the determination to do the job well. Then there was issue of being a female boss, which seems to be hard for people to fully digest no matter what continent they're in. She’s known to be aggressive in Chennai. When a businessman approached her about how she’s viewed, she shot back that if she had been a man, that same aggressiveness would have been an expected and applauded characteristic of a good boss.
 |
| She couldn't be R's wife :( |
R: Yes!
Us: But what if she wants to work? You know, open a store to sell clothes to tourists?
R: No, she will have to stay at home and take care of the house work.
Us: But what if she’s a doctor? Would you marry a woman who is a doctor and will be working?
R: Yes, of course, if she is a doctor.
Yup, I was definitely in Asia.
 |
| Backwaters of Kerala. |
Reminder: Whether it's something as seemingly silly as showing affection to a random stranger or serious and nerve-wrecking as making a career switch, step up to the plate and just do it.
 |
| Food carts in Pondicherry beach. |
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| Temple in Chennai. |
Working in India, of course, isn’t without its problems. She complained of random power cuts. She felt that a large number of people lacked a sense of accountability and responsibility, as well as the determination to do the job well. Then there was issue of being a female boss, which seems to be hard for people to fully digest no matter what continent they're in. She’s known to be aggressive in Chennai. When a businessman approached her about how she’s viewed, she shot back that if she had been a man, that same aggressiveness would have been an expected and applauded characteristic of a good boss.
So, I'm dedicating the following quote to Roma, who has inspired me to look beyond the US for a career and no matter
where I am and what work I do, full-heartedly believe in my potential.
“I want every little girl who [is told]
they're bossy to be told instead, ‘You have leadership skills.’”
*2011 Demographic and Health survey-Nepal
*2011 Demographic and Health survey-Nepal
