I’ve just moved to Delhi and the cultural shock has got me depressed, stunned and totally lost. Everything is so different. The people are different. The nuances of language are so diverse. The weather is uncomfortably extreme. Not a familiar face around. Not even a familiar street or house. The trees seem to have been transplanted from another planet. The soil. I don’t even want to call it that. Its just sand! How does anything grow in it?
And this is just in the same country! How would it feel to go to another country where everything is poles apart? The language, the customs, the clothes, everything. But you know what? I’d probably be more comfortable moving there than I am here. With all the exposure to Hollywood and the American way of life, I’d be more at ease with their ways.
There’s a couple of Irish guys training with my batch at my company. Nice guys. But the culture shock is pretty evident. They can barely comprehend the pronunciation of most of the names leave alone addressing anyone. I saw one of the guys writing down the names of people in our group; the way he spelt them was so off the mark! The way he heard and interpreted them was completely different.
And the traditions too seem to have got them stumped. Not using toilet paper was a particularly incomprehensible tradition. One of the guys asked why there was hose next to the toilet. Its use perplexed him to no end!
Though with the increasing extent of globalization, most things aren’t so different in cosmopolitan cities anymore. You’ll find the same McDonald’s, the same Pizza Hut, everything. Eating at one of these places almost feels like home. But it’s those little things that are missing that make your country your own.
And this is just in the same country! How would it feel to go to another country where everything is poles apart? The language, the customs, the clothes, everything. But you know what? I’d probably be more comfortable moving there than I am here. With all the exposure to Hollywood and the American way of life, I’d be more at ease with their ways.
There’s a couple of Irish guys training with my batch at my company. Nice guys. But the culture shock is pretty evident. They can barely comprehend the pronunciation of most of the names leave alone addressing anyone. I saw one of the guys writing down the names of people in our group; the way he spelt them was so off the mark! The way he heard and interpreted them was completely different.
And the traditions too seem to have got them stumped. Not using toilet paper was a particularly incomprehensible tradition. One of the guys asked why there was hose next to the toilet. Its use perplexed him to no end!
Though with the increasing extent of globalization, most things aren’t so different in cosmopolitan cities anymore. You’ll find the same McDonald’s, the same Pizza Hut, everything. Eating at one of these places almost feels like home. But it’s those little things that are missing that make your country your own.
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