I have posted on and off on this forum. But only decided to make a diary of my experiences today. Blame it on boredom or lack of things to keep me busy in my spare time after DH (dear husband ) returned to India 2 days back.
I do not know if this would have any readers but maybe someone somewhere on cyberspace might just pass by.
For starters: This is a diary of a couple who are transitioning back to India after being in the US for 7 years. Both me and DH are PhD's and spent the chunk of our lives (80%) sweating it out in the labs. And the rest travelling across the US. Many people plan their R2Is for years whereas for us it just happened. We did not think much of USC, GC, x amount of bank balance etc..We are only glad that we came here with 2 suitcases indiidually and have now moved back with 32 boxes, loads of memories that would last us for a lifetime. Oh yeah! on the way we also got a degree :P
The movers were arranged by my DH's future company..and the whole thing was packed in 4 hours. So no hassles on that end:))
[b]Our Journey so far[/b]
Born and raised in Mumbai
Came to US for Grad school. Hubby finished his PhDand Postdoc and got a Research position at an MNC in B'Lore. I am still awaiting a job offer while I continuing my Postdoc in the US.
Married for 2 years. No kids. Indian citizens. Do not have a home in India. So obviously will be renting.
I do not have parents but blessed with supportive in laws (in Mumbai) and extended families :)
DH landed on Sunday and started work Today :O The company decided to put him up in a hotel for 15 days.
Comedy of errors: As he landed in the wee hours of mornings at the airport, the prepaid taxi was delayed and the guy who did his reservation missed out one crucial digit in the assigned room #. Nevertheless, DH landed at the hotel where he was asked what he would want to eat for Breakfast..(This happens only in India)))..No cutting, chopping, cleaning...Food provided on demand:O While I chew on some leftovers here in my loneliness..:P
Thank god for internet, I comfortably chat with hubby on Magicjack.
Day 1 was bliss...
Day 2: Woke up to hot upma and coffee...Was planning to wear business clothes to work but realized that he packed off his formal shoes in the shipment and only had a pair of sports shoes with him:O No 24 hour Walmart/Target here.; so just decided to wear jeans to work:P Started work early and was there in the office at 8: 30 AM and found out that people still came into office even at 10 AM. Did not complain about the commute, so I believe that went on smoothly. Whole day was dedicated for Employee orientation and training etc. Yeayy! Honeymoon period of R21:)) Still came back to the hotel at 8:30 PM:O Fortunately there was 'chotu" to provide him with hot phulkas, sabzi , dal etc..So again no complaints:))
All is well in paradise until now:emrose:..DH feels he is on a vacation :P
Musings of a Mumbai Girl:- Mumbai-US- Bangalore
Musings of a Mumbai Girl:- Mumbai-US- Bangalore
Koeli, nice write up, keep it coming
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pardesi_babu
- Posts: 6
- Joined: Mon Jan 04, 2010 8:00 am
Musings of a Mumbai Girl:- Mumbai-US- Bangalore
Congrats to both of you... its really nice reading your story, after so high education too you'll R2I'd. Its a great motivation for us.
I had to add one point here, regarding work timings, in NY, USA here too i land up at office at 9.40 shhh...and most of my desi and firangi team members are here by 10 am -- 11 am....yes, it is happening here in wallst.
I know its too early, but can you write something on Reverse cultural shock / new shopping malls, about the infrastructure etc...
I had to add one point here, regarding work timings, in NY, USA here too i land up at office at 9.40 shhh...and most of my desi and firangi team members are here by 10 am -- 11 am....yes, it is happening here in wallst.
I know its too early, but can you write something on Reverse cultural shock / new shopping malls, about the infrastructure etc...
Musings of a Mumbai Girl:- Mumbai-US- Bangalore
Day 3 & 4 were reasonably good. Hubby mentioned that he felt home-sick, by which he meant he missed US or maybe just missed me :PP
He has been taking Volvo buses to work and has been okay with it. Many people mentioned that buses are named in Kannada, so we were getting worried about that. Even started to read 'Learn Kannada in 10 days" but its taking time..!
At work, the environment has been pretty good and he met a couple of R2Is too..The office has a gym, fitness trainer, a trail to walk onto when "stressed" etc etc..he never got around to buying formal shoes since everyone was seen wearing Jeans, and T-shirts and very rarely formal clothes. So far all the meetings have been after 10 and he hears that there are no 'early morning meetings"..Bliss! here I have to get ready for my 8:30 Lab meeting tommorrow :((
He finally got himself a cell phone..amongst so many plans, he chose Vodafone since they were the company's preferred service providers. Got the phone activated in 2 days! Another friend of mine mentioned that the SIM card activation took more than 3 weeks for him in Hyd..since there were too many formalities to be completed. But it was fairly straightforward for DH.
Now the next step is apartment hunting. Real fun begins now :)
He has been taking Volvo buses to work and has been okay with it. Many people mentioned that buses are named in Kannada, so we were getting worried about that. Even started to read 'Learn Kannada in 10 days" but its taking time..!
At work, the environment has been pretty good and he met a couple of R2Is too..The office has a gym, fitness trainer, a trail to walk onto when "stressed" etc etc..he never got around to buying formal shoes since everyone was seen wearing Jeans, and T-shirts and very rarely formal clothes. So far all the meetings have been after 10 and he hears that there are no 'early morning meetings"..Bliss! here I have to get ready for my 8:30 Lab meeting tommorrow :((
He finally got himself a cell phone..amongst so many plans, he chose Vodafone since they were the company's preferred service providers. Got the phone activated in 2 days! Another friend of mine mentioned that the SIM card activation took more than 3 weeks for him in Hyd..since there were too many formalities to be completed. But it was fairly straightforward for DH.
Now the next step is apartment hunting. Real fun begins now :)
Musings of a Mumbai Girl:- Mumbai-US- Bangalore
pardesi_babu;301489Congrats to both of you... its really nice reading your story, after so high education too you'll R2I'd. Its a great motivation for us.
I had to add one point here, regarding work timings, in NY, USA here too i land up at office at 9.40 shhh...and most of my desi and firangi team members are here by 10 am -- 11 am....yes, it is happening here in wallst.
I know its too early, but can you write something on Reverse cultural shock / new shopping malls, about the infrastructure etc...
Thank you Pardesi babu. We had decided that wherever a good job would take us we would go. I am yet to R2I though:-(
Actually, in my previous lab which was totally desi dominated, people did show u until 9..but never after 10..I guess it has to do with specific fields..In our area, many classes and meetings start at 8 AM and if we reach after 9, boss's email would be awaiting us even before we sipped our morning coffee:))
[QUOTE]I know its too early, but can you write something on Reverse cultural shock / new shopping malls, about the infrastructure etc...
Actually, I'd be able to write about that on my return. My DH is usually the non complaining types and highly adaptable..:) and he hates shopping and I am sure he is not going to make the next trip to the mall so soon..So far, he is painting a rosy picture for me. One thing that I am sure about is that he loves his work.
Musings of a Mumbai Girl:- Mumbai-US- Bangalore
hey koeli..nice write up..can you write bout how you are coping and your thoughts process about r2i or your day to day life heading towards india along with your hubbys experience..i am sure you have lots to write..would be intersting to know about twist and turns your mind takes.
keep writing
keep writing
Musings of a Mumbai Girl:- Mumbai-US- Bangalore
This past weekend, the company folks decided to go to a Sports bar for watching the Soccer match. Hubby wanted to relive his Bachelor days and was rearing to go for that. But he fell sick after a week or so in Bangalore. He did not have any medicines on hand and missed the presence of 24 hours Walgreens :( Top of that there was this "Bandh" , which came as a blessing in disguise since he could relax during the forced long weekend. My Uncle had this status message on his facebook regarding the Bandh Bharat Bandh was a blessing in disguise for people in India, an extended holiday. Resorts packed with booking and our politicians calim the Bandh is success.
Of cell phones and SMS:
When we moved to US 7 years back, owning cell phones was not very common. In fact it was considered to be a luxury. Hubby isnt the one who can carry on everyday conversations on a cell phone with anyone and certainly does not have a penchant for texting/SMS. But he has been bothered with the constant texts that people have been sending him. These texts do not contain anything of interest/substance, but only lame jokes, forwards, free promotions and things like that. Plus the SMS lingo is something that he has to get used to. People constantly use words like 'da' for 'the'; 'mah" for 'My','wiid" for 'with', 'm' for 'I am"..huh!! He is going to consider blocking text message option. He bought a normal phone and not a "Blackberry" or a "IPhone". Couple of our friends/relatives think that people who return from abroad are supposed to own such a fancy contraption..:)
He went on an apartment hunting spree. Has been taking pictures and sending it to me by e-mail. Feels wierd that I wont get a chance to visit the apartment before. All the apartment pics that he has sent contain the following:
1. Huge rooms
2. Granite countertops
3. Marble flooring
We are only looking at apartments that have 24 hour water and power supply.
I have been wondering what are the things that we would need to consider while renting in India.So far, from the pictures he has sent me there hasn't been anything that I feel I should make my home for the next 11 months.
Of cell phones and SMS:
When we moved to US 7 years back, owning cell phones was not very common. In fact it was considered to be a luxury. Hubby isnt the one who can carry on everyday conversations on a cell phone with anyone and certainly does not have a penchant for texting/SMS. But he has been bothered with the constant texts that people have been sending him. These texts do not contain anything of interest/substance, but only lame jokes, forwards, free promotions and things like that. Plus the SMS lingo is something that he has to get used to. People constantly use words like 'da' for 'the'; 'mah" for 'My','wiid" for 'with', 'm' for 'I am"..huh!! He is going to consider blocking text message option. He bought a normal phone and not a "Blackberry" or a "IPhone". Couple of our friends/relatives think that people who return from abroad are supposed to own such a fancy contraption..:)
He went on an apartment hunting spree. Has been taking pictures and sending it to me by e-mail. Feels wierd that I wont get a chance to visit the apartment before. All the apartment pics that he has sent contain the following:
1. Huge rooms
2. Granite countertops
3. Marble flooring
We are only looking at apartments that have 24 hour water and power supply.
I have been wondering what are the things that we would need to consider while renting in India.So far, from the pictures he has sent me there hasn't been anything that I feel I should make my home for the next 11 months.
Musings of a Mumbai Girl:- Mumbai-US- Bangalore
maya1;302118hey koeli..nice write up..can you write bout how you are coping and your thoughts process about r2i or your day to day life heading towards india along with your hubbys experience..i am sure you have lots to write..would be intersting to know about twist and turns your mind takes.
keep writing
Hi Maya, Thanks for your comment. I will certainly write up on this aspect soon :)
Musings of a Mumbai Girl:- Mumbai-US- Bangalore
The R2I thought process.
How it all started: Hubby having lost his job early this year followed by him sitting at home and job hunting for 4 months.
He never considered R2I as an option, but one day opportunity came in form of a job advertisment which had a profile that totally interested him. We applied everywhere including Singapore, UK etc. Recently many of our friends have returned and they did not dissuade us from making this move. The onus totally lay upon us whether we wanted to do it or not. Hubby moved to H4 visa and his full time job was to hunt for a job. Its only because of his spirit that he remained sane during those times. For a person who does not like to sit at home even on a weekend, staying home seemed to be too demanding. Thankfully, we did not have a house mortgage and I was done with my Phd and doing my Postdoc, so if we had to move there were no immediate concerns. Since we did not have an 'extravagant lifestyle', living within means and on a Postdoc salary in a state like NC was not a problem either. We could have waited to land a job here, but how long was the question. It was a decision between waiting for something or taking up the job that was offered. We decided to do the latter.
Time and again there have been situations when we got a second thought. For example, getting our GCs /USC etc. Above all going back to India as a woman who got married 2 years back and still does not have children was acting as a deterrant. Somehow, barring a few none really understand the situation much. Me and DH have dated for 2 years (long distance) before wedding and I got married to him when I was finishing up with my PhD and he was a Postdoc in another state. We had a long distance marriage, when we would drive down every weekend to meet each other. So having a baby, putting the kid in a car seat and driving each weekend wasn't an option and neither was having a child in Grad school was appealing. Then we moved in together and barely stayed with each other for a year and the move happened. I am kind of wary of phone calls that invaribly ask me when I was going to give a good news. So all this was kinda affecting my decision of moving back yet. Nevertheless, I figured that I might have to turn on the Ignore button.
Right now DH has returned and I am home alone and all our stuff has been packed. Its strange to live in a nearly empty house. Only the kitchen is fully loaded but I dont get the desire to cook for myself. Whatever I cook stays in the fridge for 3-4 days. I no longer need to browse recipe sites and think of what to cook for tonight. Me and DH did all household chores together: Cleaning, cooking, chopping, cleaning the car, shopping etc. So household chore never seemed like a 'chore'. I spend more time at work to finish up my project and thinking of ways as to how I should disclose the news of my move to my boss. Thankfully, we are blessed with amazing friends who try to give me company. Even on my birthday few days back, they were gracious enough to take me out for dinner:)
I am only waiting for a job offer so that I can move. But things seem to be going slow on that end.
How it all started: Hubby having lost his job early this year followed by him sitting at home and job hunting for 4 months.
He never considered R2I as an option, but one day opportunity came in form of a job advertisment which had a profile that totally interested him. We applied everywhere including Singapore, UK etc. Recently many of our friends have returned and they did not dissuade us from making this move. The onus totally lay upon us whether we wanted to do it or not. Hubby moved to H4 visa and his full time job was to hunt for a job. Its only because of his spirit that he remained sane during those times. For a person who does not like to sit at home even on a weekend, staying home seemed to be too demanding. Thankfully, we did not have a house mortgage and I was done with my Phd and doing my Postdoc, so if we had to move there were no immediate concerns. Since we did not have an 'extravagant lifestyle', living within means and on a Postdoc salary in a state like NC was not a problem either. We could have waited to land a job here, but how long was the question. It was a decision between waiting for something or taking up the job that was offered. We decided to do the latter.
Time and again there have been situations when we got a second thought. For example, getting our GCs /USC etc. Above all going back to India as a woman who got married 2 years back and still does not have children was acting as a deterrant. Somehow, barring a few none really understand the situation much. Me and DH have dated for 2 years (long distance) before wedding and I got married to him when I was finishing up with my PhD and he was a Postdoc in another state. We had a long distance marriage, when we would drive down every weekend to meet each other. So having a baby, putting the kid in a car seat and driving each weekend wasn't an option and neither was having a child in Grad school was appealing. Then we moved in together and barely stayed with each other for a year and the move happened. I am kind of wary of phone calls that invaribly ask me when I was going to give a good news. So all this was kinda affecting my decision of moving back yet. Nevertheless, I figured that I might have to turn on the Ignore button.
Right now DH has returned and I am home alone and all our stuff has been packed. Its strange to live in a nearly empty house. Only the kitchen is fully loaded but I dont get the desire to cook for myself. Whatever I cook stays in the fridge for 3-4 days. I no longer need to browse recipe sites and think of what to cook for tonight. Me and DH did all household chores together: Cleaning, cooking, chopping, cleaning the car, shopping etc. So household chore never seemed like a 'chore'. I spend more time at work to finish up my project and thinking of ways as to how I should disclose the news of my move to my boss. Thankfully, we are blessed with amazing friends who try to give me company. Even on my birthday few days back, they were gracious enough to take me out for dinner:)
I am only waiting for a job offer so that I can move. But things seem to be going slow on that end.
Musings of a Mumbai Girl:- Mumbai-US- Bangalore
Hubby decided to apartment shop..He saw several apartments close to his work place and took pictures and sent it across to me.
I am still getting used to the Apartment complex names.
Based on recommendation from few friends who lived there, we wanted to move to
Spring Beauty
Adarsh Palm Springs
Rainbow Renaissance
Brigade Metropolis
Prestige Shantiniketan
Specifically we wanted to move to a place which offered 24 hour water supply and power back up
Out of which, few apartments constructed before 2004 did not have power back-up and required us to get an inverter. So we ruled those apartments out. Some other apartments were extremely unclean and did not give a good first impression and lastly few apartments were not on the bus line.
We really liked Prestige Shantiniketan but it did not fit our budget.
And the search is still on. Hopefully, we will have something finalized by the end of this week.
I am still getting used to the Apartment complex names.
Based on recommendation from few friends who lived there, we wanted to move to
Spring Beauty
Adarsh Palm Springs
Rainbow Renaissance
Brigade Metropolis
Prestige Shantiniketan
Specifically we wanted to move to a place which offered 24 hour water supply and power back up
Out of which, few apartments constructed before 2004 did not have power back-up and required us to get an inverter. So we ruled those apartments out. Some other apartments were extremely unclean and did not give a good first impression and lastly few apartments were not on the bus line.
We really liked Prestige Shantiniketan but it did not fit our budget.
And the search is still on. Hopefully, we will have something finalized by the end of this week.