I moved to Germany from India exactly 10 months ago. It has been an brilliant experience. I have had many new things to learn. Have made some great friends belonging to different Nationalities, have learnt a new language, have even been a witness at a Chinese-German wedding. The 10 months here have given me 10 major lessons.
Lesson 1: Importance of respecting our language
Here everything is in German- websites, official documents, newspapers, everything is in German. So much so that the famous and delicious Nestle Condensed milk- Milk made- is Milchmädchen here. Even the biggest brands of the world make labels especially for Germany. People know English but they take pride in speaking their mother tongue.
On the other hand in India, It is cool to speak in english. Speaking in Hindi is 'so LS' ( low-society). Teenagers proudly say, I don't know hindi very well. New age parents are not teaching hindi to their children. We don't befriend people who don't know English. We even make fun of people who make grammatical errors. How many of us can write in Hindi without even one spelling mistake? Why don't we take pride in our language? Why is Hindi LS?
It truly hurts me that even at the Indian Embassy in Munich, the officer at the counter would speak to Germans in german but as an Indian when I spoke to him in Hindi, he responded in English and made sure that the entire conversation was in English.
Lesson 2: There is much more to a country than what the news shows.
For a lot of people, the country is only what news papers and channels show. Almost all people I met wanted to know about women safety in India. Sadly after Dec'12 India is viewed as barbaric and all the Indian men as rapists. Some people have asked me openly and some subtly, some ask if the news is true and a few others have asked ' do women go out in Delhi?' A close friend said, she thinks every girl on the street is raped in India. I know that the women safety situation is not good but I still need to put in so much effort to explain that not every Indian man is a rapist.
Similarly, Germany somehow is facing difficulty getting over it's past. I am asked so often if I am safe and do I feel secure staying here. Many think, hate crimes are all there is to Germany and foreigners are not welcomed. UNTRUE. I feel safe, secure and well respected.
Lesson 3: As an NRI, we have a lesser right to comment on the conditions in my own country.
Strangely just a few months of staying out of my country takes away my right to speak freely and share my views about my country. Now if I comment on bribes or how we as the citizens need to bring about a change, I am immediately reminded that I no longer reside in India, and how it is easy for me to say things when I am not living there. If I have a political view, I am told that I have all the comforts and earn in Euros. I am sorry guys but I need to tell you that you can't take India out of my heart. In fact living abroad I am more patriotic than a lot of people living in India are.
Lesson 4: Indian are super brains.
Indians are generally considered very smart here. They pick up things easily and are intelligent. We are truly respected for our analytical and inferential skills. We don't realise it staying in India, but we do possess these in superb quantities. Another strong belief (which is partly true) is that most of the Indian men are into software ;).
Lesson 5: Spanish are the European Punjabis
Yes, this one is not related to India (or it is ;) ) but I have discovered Spanish are truly punjabi at heart. They talk aloud, hug everyone, dance like there is no tomorrow, love to eat, love food and are always talking. They make friends easily and even love Punjabi MC ;) What else can they do to prove their punjabi-ness.
Lesson 6: A smile breaks the barrier of all languages
No matter what language you speak (or don't speak) a smile always works. Just smile to say thanks or to say sorry or to say nothing at all- Just smile and you will get by.
Lesson 7: When making friends- don't choose on the basis of nationality.
People always asked me initially, Have you made friends yet? If I said yes, the next question always was- Indians? I some how never understood and still don't understand how friendship can be country specific. My closest friends here are Chinese, Spanish and German. They are my friends because I like them as people. I can not judge them or reject them based on their country of origin. I have learnt so much from them about their country, culture and above all my next lesson.
Lesson 8: Everyone is the same.
The nationality does not matter. We all are human beings. We laugh on the same things, similar things hurt us and pain has no language too. On the first day of my language class I saw people as Iranian, Mexican, Spanish, Chinese, Russian etc. By the third day when we all laughed on the same joke, I realised we are all the same- humans. Our skin colours may differ but humanness is alike.
Lesson 9: The world loves POTATOES.
The cuisine from all the country consists of many potato preparations. We all love our potatoes, no matter what name we call it by- it could be aalo, patata, Kartoffel, or potato. It is aalo all the way. It is also the most famous picnic preparation almost everywhere.
Lesson 10: Learning a foreign language is not impossible.
I used to believe that I could never learn a new language. I just did not have it me. It was a strong belief until I started learning one. The first language class made sure my belief was strengthened but the second class onwards I realised it was hard work but fun. With-in a few months when I could talk to people who I had instinctively liked but could not speak to because they spoke no other language apart from their mother tongue, I realised all the effort was worth it. Now I plan to perfect Deutsch and may be learn another one.
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