Fictional: 6 Years in Germany now.
It has now been 6 years in Germany.
Every year I visit India for a vacation be it 15 days or 30 days.
My experience so far :
Year 1: Culturally everything changed. New things are good to look at first. Full of energy. EUR to INR conversion mode on during salary. INR to EUR conversion mode on during purchase. I are like a small kid, candies everywhere, you experience the newness. People smile at you (Yes I Indians mistake this for being friendly, warm) You smile twice at them :) People respect you with dignity at work for being an Engineer. You walk with your head Held high. You are a graduate. Time now for that Home trip: Relatives are talking good about you for the first time. Parents and siblings are concerned on our health and proud about going abroad too. Shop crazily and then head back. Complain India is this way, not developed, corrupt, citizens are lazy, unlike Germany. Nobody keeps up with time.
Year 2: You are now a senior, you hardly meet Indians here, whomever you meet ask if you got a permanent Job here or a temporary one. People now have more respect to you at work since you have integrated Ill. You start speaking German. It makes your surrounding warmer and friendlier. You know beer is common yet you cannot drink since something is stopping you from inside. You start going to all possible places near Germany. Enjoy the year taking vacations, Iekend trips, lonely drives and some vegetarian Foods (Yes Pasta or noodle is what I mean). Things pass by quickly, you now have a savings plan defined. You start investing in Indian market (Property, Bonds, and Insurance etc.) Time for a home trip: Relatives are talking good about you for the first time. Parents and siblings are concerned on our health and proud about going abroad too. Shop crazily and then head back. Complain India is this way, not developed, corrupt, citizens are lazy, unlike Germany. Nobody keeps up with time.
Year 3: You are now slowly trying to become sensitive to the surroundings, there are usual Topics of your Country which you feel uncomfortable. A colleague says I don’t think i will visit India. It is not safe for women. Another asks if there is enough place to live for People. You laugh it off. You slowly identify that this is a foreign land. You get to know that not every smile was an Invitation to friendship. Your smile has now programmed to be artificially intelligent and knows when to smile and when not to. You still search for vegetarian Food. You seek that true Indian friend without being left out. Your interest in Indian cricket or News is slowly Fading away, your knowledge on local News has increased, you are now very Ill integrated into the German System. More benefits compared to Indian Lifestyle. Paid vacation of 30 days, sick leaves (Common cold or headaches are included yes), work from home, full evening for you and your Family. Your cell phone does not buzz as much as it used before. You are professional, meticulously organized. You can never be late for an appointment. You now start giving appointments to friends and relatives to speak to. You find more time for yourself. Once to Paris was amazing, twice was good, and thrice was ok? You cover many other places. You get a permanent resident Card. Your joy knows no bounds. Your WhatsApp Status, Facebook Posts all have check-ins at Foreign Locations.
Time for a home trip: Relatives are talking good about you for the first time. Parents and siblings are concerned on our health and proud about going abroad too. Shop crazily and then head back. Complain India is this way, not developed, corrupt, citizens are lazy, unlike Germany. Nobody keeps up with time.
Year 4/5/6 : The number of years don’t matter now , you know how Germany is. You now know the same Germans whom you thought Ire warm and friendly are still warm and friendly, but not to you :) You now realize you have integrated so deep in their culture, you tried to drink beer, you Int to Oktoberfest, you speak fluent German. You understand the laws, you have a handful of bekannte, you cannot rank up high at work since you are not supposed to. You dont understand it. Yet the People are not racist, they are just selective. You bought a couple of properties in India, have enough bank Balance, and have driven Porsche rental cars. Have been caught surprised with the nudity which at first you did enjoy internally although you argued with yourself that it is not right ethically. You still hardly know and meet fellow Indians closely. You are happy to meet Indians and want to say a ‘Hello’.
You feel you are now close to the AI Robot. Things have become mechanical. You cannot make faults in anything you do.
Suddenly you visit India again for a home trip and realize that:
As every year passed you integrated Ill into the foreign land, but you forgot that the Indian-ness could not be taken out of you. Although you had smiling faces everywhere, you did not have friends to smile with. You became organized, you are punctual, yet you got to know perfectionism was not for you. Most importantly all these years, you did not realize that no matter how Ill you changed yourself. Your surroundings could not be changed. In India and as Ill as in Germany. Stop trying to be one among a German and start trying to be who you are. My personal choice I will be moving back to India sooner since I cannot be more organized and I do not force anyone to act upon. This was my opinion. Luckily still in a democratic Country.
Comparisons apart, Germans prefer Germans in friendships, Family, relationships and at work. I pretend to be preferred. Hence I have always nice things to say.
