One or two weeks’ notice remained and during that time I did handovers, leaving drinks, packing, research, flight booking and vaccines at my local GP clinic. The day came, my parents drove me to the airport, I checked in to the plane, said goodbye and boarded a flight to an incredible & long solo journey.
Before going to India, at nearly twenty years old I have been to Morocco for a day, a month in different part of South Africa and the rest around different parts of Europe. “Incredible India!” as it’s tag line goes is “Incredibly Different!” to all of the other places I have been to. From a poverty, population and cultural point of view.
The flight landed, I got off, went through immigration with my passport & work visa, got my bag and met my new employer’s owner’s driver. He took me to the cricket club where I was staying for a few days. It was around midnight with the time jump of 4.5hrs ahead and it was 30 degrees plus with high humidity. Culture shock one appeared: men and woman working & sleeping on the highway - maintaining it despite it being midnight & very humid.
Since it was midnight, the traffic was not insane, which it normally is so the journey to the cricket club was not too long. I checked in and went to bed quickly. The area I worked in and the different areas I stayed in were 30kms from the centre thus not developed or touristy. I was probably the only non-Indian for a few kilometres.
Still to this day, be it plus 40 with high humidity or minus fifteen I will happily explore on foot. Yes, I may get “drenched” in perspiration, but I am not bothered. Being that I came here to work I only had two days free time before starting work.
It was the morning, so I went out to explore the suburbs to change cash to INR (Indian Rupees) and say hello to my new work folk quickly. The day after I got the local train to Churchgate to explore the city including many cool colonial buildings.
Work was calling me, so I dressed up a little and rocked up to work again. I even brought over a cube shaped desktop PC without a screen as I had no laptop then. Everyone was friendly from the owner, HR, operations manager to my new manager: Sheela.
The conclusion of part five? Step outside of your comfort zone and it may change you, plus you will see different cultures.
End of part five! Funny stories begin in the next instalment.
