A lot of people ask me if I have adjusted well and settled down. And I usually tell them, I haven't "adjusted" to anything. I never felt like I was changing something or adjusting to a new environment. I left a Cisco building on Friday, I flew out and I started working in another Cisco building on a Tuesday, to me my move was just a long weekend ;) Other than that taking up a house etc, didn't feel much different than anywhere else. More importantly, now that we are back, we both never felt like we ever left. The US and California and everything else seems like a distant memory that happened a long long time ago!
Ok I am digressing. So the point is, have I adjusted yet? Though I claim to have completely settled in, I realized (actually I keep realizing these days) that I haven't adjusted/gotten used to some things, yet. Like not doing everything myself. In the US, you do everything yourself. You have to, you got no other option. I am so used to it, that I don't take help where I can. Nor do I realize I can delegate certain things which I would have had to do otherwise. Some people even find it very amusing that I do certain things.
Like for example, I had to go to my land-lady's place (they live in the same apartments) and hand over a month's electricity bill and receipt to her for something she needed to do. I was all set to go when my maid arrived. So I called A and said I'd come over after the maid left. Then Subhash came home. I told him I had to go to A's place and he simply said "Why don't you give it to the maid and ask her to give it there on her way out?" I was like whoa! dumb dumb me! So I wrote her a note, gave her both pieces of paper and she dropped them off on her way out. It was so simple really.
There was this other time in the gym when I was cleaning up after me picking up used papers etc, the attendant standing there was saying that she would take care of it and that I should leave it. I said its quite alright and did it anyway, so I must have looked like some weird person to her ;)
There is an attendant at work who switches on all the lights daily in the morning at work. Back in San Jose, I used to do it myself (on days when I was early enough, of course) ;)
Still got to get "adjusted" to these things I guess.
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
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2 comments:
wow..I cannot believe the switching lights part..its amazing..In our office we consider ourselves lucky if trash gets emptied more than twice a week...hehe :)
You make it sound so seamless! I'm getting rather stressed so your post gives me hope :) It doesn't help that people here narrate helpful (not!) stories about folks who hated it and moved back to the US.
And I'm sure I'll have to get used to using the local resources as well -- I am a source of amusement to my mother's maid when I visit Hyderabad :)
DS
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