Culture Shock?

"Any culture shock yet?" This is THE most frequently asked question I get from AIESEC friends about my traineeship in Inida. (Here’s something we all have been trained on very well!). So far, my answer has been always "no".

Sure enough, I had a bit of that “oh-my-god-what-have-I got-myself-into“ shock during my first day in the country but that definitely wasn’t the culture shock. That was simply the time when the fact that I will stay in India for a year finally “sank in” (back in Canada, it all seemed a little surreal).

Yup, yup, I remember that it all starts with the “honeymoon” stage when everything is new and exciting. And it was for a while. But it’s now been 5 weeks since I landed in Delhi, the novelty is wearing off, and still nothing. Not like the culture shock is anything pleasant but not having any is a little suspicious, no?

A few days ago I sat down to think about it all, and here are a few sad conclusions I made. I think I’ve been living a pretty sheltered life here in Hyderabad. Like those immigrants that came to Toronto 40 years ago and never learned to speak English because they never ventured outside of their own little ethnic community.

Here’s why. I don’t really interact with people other than other trainees (i.e. “foreigners”). At home, it’s just us. At work, we’re still being trained so I don’t really have Indian co-workers. I’ve been spending most of my weekday nights and many weekends at home – again, with other trainees. I still don’t know the way home from work (we rely on auto drivers). I don’t ever use the little Hindi that I learned. I don't have any Indian clothing yet. So hey, nothing to be shocked by. Things sure would have been very different had I been the only trainee working in a school in a rural India and living in a shack nearby...

This situation clearly calls for an action plan :) Next month, I shall explore the city and shall meet and spend time with new people. And do more stuff… Just watch me!

Where I live

I'm living together with 12 other people, and 10 of them are also trainees at Satyam. Here's where everyone is from: Argentina, Spain, Turkey, Bulgaria, India (2), Egypt, UAE, Malaysia, Germany (2), Mexico, Canada (me). We're all sharing 3 apartments located on the same floor so most of the time at home we're cruising between each other's living rooms and kitchens.

From what I've seen, our apartments are comparable to those of typical Indian middle class families (but not upper-middle class). Here are some of their unique features:

* Marble floors. They look a little formal but I know we'll appreciate cold floors once the hot season starts.
* Steel closets/wardrobes in rooms (for clothing or any other stuff) , with locks. Still not sure why!
* No bathtubs - all water goes straight to the floor and then to the drain through an opening in the floor. In my bathroom that hole is actually on the opposite side of the room from the shower. So after a quick shower the water is everywhere (there are no shower curtains either :).
* Doors - everyone uses good old padlocks here.
* No washing machines and laundromats. Middle-class households usually have "servant maids", who take care of laundry. In our case, we can either give our clothes to a "wash guy" in the street, who is not very gentle (so clothes don't last), go to fairly expensive laundry places ($1 CDN/piece), or do all the washing ourselves (which is what I have been doing). Uh.

Oh, and our apartment has a unique home appliance: an ancient toaster without a timer. You operate it the same way as a regular toaster except after you put the bread in, you have to stand by and watch it to make sure it doesn't get burned. But who has patience for that? I think our toasting success rate is about 50%. That's why our apartment is always filled with smoke in the morning.

The long way to India

I only had time to send a link to this blog to exactly 2 people so it is really cool to see 7 comments :) Thank you!

Okay, it's been 3 weeks since I travelled to India but I thought I'd still share some highlights from the flight before I forget...

I took the direct Toronto-Delhi Air Canada flight, the one that goes not eastward but all the way north, over the North Pole (well, that area) , and then over Russia down to India. A few years ago Canada and Russia had a dispute over this flight. Russia didn't want to give Air Canada transit access to its airspace, and Canada retaliated by limiting any flights by Aeroflot (Russian airlines) to Canada to 2 per week. It was a big mess, but luckily things got sorted out since then so that on February 25, 2005 I could to reach Delhi in only 14 hours, non-stop.

Here are some surreal moments and quick facts from/about the flight:

#1: Somewhere above northern Quebec and Labrador I got to see Northern lights from the window of my airplane. The window was of course tinted so I could only see shapes but not colours but it was still pretty exciting.

#2: At just about same time, an old Indian lady moved to the seat next to mine to look out of the window (full moon and no clouds so we could see the whole beautiful Canadian landscape very clearly). We quickly established that she spoke no English and I spoke no Hindi but she must have been pretty excited about the view because she kept talking to me anyway for at least 10 minutes. I just listened to the sound of the language, smiled and nodded (a skill I perfected during my first year in Canada, when English was still a foreign language :)

#3: Air Canada served Indian food but it was bad. I'm sure all passengers appreciated the effort though.

#4: At the airport in India, I got to experience that classic Review Board test situation: "What would you do if there was no one to meet you at the airport..." (My friends Maciek and Kasia, who were supposed to pick me up, were confused about the time of arrival and came an hour late). I firmly rejected any offers by taxi drivers. Some man gave me change and helped me make a phone call, but I couldn't get through. I wasn't sure about his motives so I exchanged some money and called with my own change, still without any success. In the end, I approached a guy from my flight that kept smiling at me and made a phone call from his cell phone (Canadian SIM card, must have cost him a fortune!) and finally got to talk to Kasia. I think I passed the test!

#5. I came out of the airport sweating, only to find Maciek and Kasia wearing 2 sweaters and a jacket each. Apparently, it was 20 C in Delhi (read: VERY COLD) so the airport was being heated. I still made fun of Maciek for wearing 2 sweaters and a jacket in 20C weather. (But Maciek and Kasia were still nice to me after that :) The following day they took me around and made sure my first day in India was eventful (auto-rickshaw, market, motorbike, a trainee party etc.). Thank you!)

That's all about the flight, signing off!

Finally!

Wow, I am finally writing my first post! The plan was to have it done about a month ago, as I was getting ready to leave Toronto, but 3 weeks I had to prepare for my departure were way too hectic! Anyway, finally here's a short introduction for all those wondering who I am or what this is all about:

Here's who I am: Zhenia, 25 years old, AIESEC Canada alumna, born and raised in Moscow, Russia, but have been living in Toronto, Canada for the past 8 years.

Here's why I got this blog: In February 2005, I was matched to a 1-year AIESEC traineeship in Hyderabad, India. While this is not the first time I travel or live overseas, this is by far the longest stay abroad for me (and in the country that is very different from those that I have visited so far) so I figured that this year will be well worth documenting...

Here's how you can help me with this blog: While I love writing, I also tend to procrastinate, especially when I have a lot to say/write... Sometimes I also tend to keep my thoughts to myself... So you think that I should be writing more or more often, feel free to send me an encouraging or angry e-mail, I'll appreciate it either way :) Oh, and I think I also need some technical assistance... e.g. how do I add links and subheadings to the blog sidebar..?