NameSake - Aptly named.

I have half my cousins and second cousins staying abroad. America, Australia, Abu Dhabi, Germany. I stay in germany. I've been here for 3 weeks and continue being here for the next 5 months. I hang out with my Indian colleagues and I talk on face to my german collegaues that I don't like their bland food. They mind. Some get angry and some just understand. They would have faced the same cultural difference if they had landed in India. They would have despised the traffic, the spicy food, the noise, the work culture and the indiscipline. But both of us know, not to complain about it as we are at either's place by choice and not by force.

I've been staying away from home for a year now. And i missed home when i was in bangalore as much as i miss it now, when I'm in germany. But coming to Germany was my choice. I had a choice to decline it or accept it. And when you are in an alien country, you have two choices - crib that you aren't having a good time here, you have nothing to do and you miss you friends and family or two, accept the fact that you are here and start working on something constructive. By constructive I don't mean things that pass your time, but things that you have never done before.

I hate it when I hear about families settled down in America only because the dollar is stronger than the rupee. It is not for pleasure, but only for a better life. A life where in they crib about the same country whose citizenship they now hold, the same country where they give birth to kids and bring them up and the same country, for which they had left their family, friends and peace of mind for the so called, better life.

The worst that has happened is the way these crossover movies portray these families. As though lost, helpness, longing and 'confused'. They are not bloody lost, they are just trying to be themselves in another land. And i don't think it is something to laugh about, something to be despised off and something to be embarased of. None of my cousins have chnaged. None of them have picked up the accent even after being there for 15 long years. And more over, they have fun where they stay. And their kids speak kannada. Although they have picked up the accent, I don't find them indifferent, coz they are brought up that way.

Racism, indifference and incompatibity is a problem every where. Here people are discriminated by caste, religion, status. I have seen communities like ,'i hate kannadigas, i hate south indians, i hate north indians, i hate tamilians'. This is also racism, well! Aryans and dravidians are a different race all together right? Then why do we complain of racism of colour at these places? Why don't you just accept that there are gits everywhere?

It is said that we are good at adjusting where ever we go. Fucking idiots, it is not adjusting, like my manager always says, it's like being 'FLEXIBLE'. So be proud of what you are and remember, you always have a choice. You don't have to blame anyone for the choice you've made.