Earlier Poetic Attempt - III

कधीतरी वेड्यागत वागायला हवे
अलगद वारयावर तुला सोडायला हवे
स्वैर आभाळात हरवतो स्वतःला
की घरट्याची पाउलवाट शोधतोस ते पहायला हवे

Earlier Poetic Attempt - II

मी वाट पाहते तुझी असं तुला कधी वाटलंच नाही
आसवांनी भिजलेला रुमाल तुला कधी दिसलाच नाही

Earlier Poetic Attempt - I

रविवारी रात्री जीव घाबरला होता खूप... अंधार होता जिकडे तिकडे, सगळं चिडीचुप....
त्या दिवशी तुझी वाट पहिली खूप, उशीर झाला तुला तेव्हा मनात होता पूर

Perils of living abroad

Working in a developed country, new experiences,different cultures,
high standard of living, comforts that cannot be taken for granted if
you live in a developing nation, a house on the beach... Most people
see and think these things when working abroad concerns.

Yes, these and more, are the benefits - tangible or intangible that
come with working in a developed nation. BUT... what people fail
to notice is the new struggles, the frustration,at times the lack of a
system and others that ALSO come as a package deal!

If you work (or have worked) in a places like US and UK where you have
considerable communities living and working and providing support
and who speak English, will not relate to my point. Whereas if you have
lived anytime in the European nations or the south east Asian or
pacific countries like Japan, South Korea, you will definitely
(relate to my point)!

Language is a major barrier in these nations. Giving due credit to
the minority speaking English, it is still a struggle in your day to day
life that you go through. Everything from filing you visa to setting
the thermostat in your house takes effort. You may laugh at the
latter but you will get the point at the end of this post :)

Firstly, these nations are highly mechanized, automated - call what
you may. So some of the gadgets are totally new to you and you first
try to learn how to use it (forget customizing it to your needs). This
thermostat in my new house is very sophisticated and customizable
as per your daily routine, starting from the time you wake up. Fine.
But to understand what is what and set it - is a task, believe me!
The manuals are with me - but pray if I understand a word of Dutch.
(My German does come to my rescue a bit but I still struggle. )
Imagine the plight of complete novices moving,for the very first time,
to a land that does not have English as its first language!
God save his/her soul.
My best friend, Google, does help me most times - but sometimes he too
cannot do much. Some people just don't want you to understand them :)

Home is just one issue which can be handled. However the other stuff that
goes with it can sometimes cannot be. There are all these different taxes
which you haven't heard of in your country! Garbage collection tax! Man
what is that and WHY is that?! (Of course that is something that can be tried
in India to help clean up the streets.) But the point is how do I know how
much I pay if I stay in that house for only 3 months?! Then there is this
segregation of garbage which can be understood only by the Dutch literate.

The transport announcements - you never know if the tram you are
waiting for is going to arrive or no. There are offers and schemes that the
lady on the counter recites - but they are useful only if you can make out
what she is saying! An God forbid if you are a vegetarian!!
Try to figure out the snack you are buying is eggless... and you will be
playing dumb charades some times :)

Of course its not all that bad. The thrill of new experiences keeps you going.
But legal, financial and municipal stuff does make you wish that the whole
world would speak a common language! There would still be other things
that could add to my excitement and adventure. Did I hear Amsterdam?! :)

too much of everything

Is too much of everything bad... including love?!

Curious coincidences

Wherever I go.... my family follows :)

Well, I had moved to Bangalore and a couple years later
my bro moved to Chennai and then to Bangalore.

I moved to Germany (and then NL) and my youngest bro
took up school in France. And now the other one is now
coming to Germany for a coupla months initially.

So.. looks like my family loves me a lot OR... they know me
too well to let me alone .. hehe :)
Anywho.. its good to have family around. I'm loving it!!