Hi All.. Had a wonderful day today , attended the birthday party of our friends daughter in the evening .It was her first birthday and she wore a cute yellow dress. Our kids enjoyed a lot and we are completely tired now.
As I sat down to write today the thoughts that flashed my mind are what life do I live? I mean the life of an NRI. It has been almost eight years since I left India.My perspective about US before I landed here was
* I watched some English movies like "HOME ALONE" and thought it always snows in USA.
* Thought all my Uncle and Aunties who lived in US were very rich
*Kids eat only chocolates as we got only that as gifts from my relatives who lived here and most of the other gifts will be locked in a steel cupboard by my mom and she will save them as treasure.
*I will have a dish washer to do dishes and a washer/drier to do laundry and I dont have to do anything.
*Will have a luxurious car and gas is very cheap.
*Land where I dont have to worry about anything.
*Once I get a job I will be paid in millions.
*My kids born in USA will look like Americans (I saw some pics of my cousins who looked like American kids in their young age)
*Walmart will be a store which has a lot of walls
But what I discovered after I landed in US is :
*I had two jackets to protect me from cold, I landed in Vegas in July and temperature was around 100 degree Fahrenheit.My jeans was getting stuck to my legs and I wanted some nice cotton clothes. Surprise !!!
*Yes still people in India think that NRI's are rich. In reality you all in India might have more money than us. We hardly try to make ends meet and especially after two kids and a home mortgage and a SUV vehicle we have very little left in bank.
*All kids dont eat chocolates but they mostly eat McDonald fries and burger as most people dont cook they just fix lunch/dinner
*Of course this is the land of opportunities, but we are not paid in millions
*If you read my post on Laundry you will know my struggle with clothes, we dont have any maid here who comes and does dishes everyday so we have to do it ourselves. Not only dishes, but we have to do sweeping, mopping etc. So I am a mom, maid, cook, work full time , nanny to my kids and the roles are endless.
* We have a car but no driver and gas is expensive
*Our kids look like us, read this post and you will know do we really have control over our life ?
*Walmart is just a huge supermarket where you get a variety of things, but when you go there to buy one item, it can take up to 30 minutes to just find it. There is no concept of door delivery. You have to personally go and buy your grocery.
First time when I went to India , my mom told me to help her with all the household work as she thought I was just enjoying life in the US. After she visited me once, she really understood how difficult the lifestyle here is. After that whenever I go home she will ask me to sit so she can take care of things. I can't complain much as I chose this life without knowing what it is like, so for all the people with a dream of becoming an NRI it is not a journey that is very easy. Life here is very very hard. Especially after kids you have no time to relax.
As I sat down to write today the thoughts that flashed my mind are what life do I live? I mean the life of an NRI. It has been almost eight years since I left India.My perspective about US before I landed here was
* I watched some English movies like "HOME ALONE" and thought it always snows in USA.
* Thought all my Uncle and Aunties who lived in US were very rich
*Kids eat only chocolates as we got only that as gifts from my relatives who lived here and most of the other gifts will be locked in a steel cupboard by my mom and she will save them as treasure.
*I will have a dish washer to do dishes and a washer/drier to do laundry and I dont have to do anything.
*Will have a luxurious car and gas is very cheap.
*Land where I dont have to worry about anything.
*Once I get a job I will be paid in millions.
*My kids born in USA will look like Americans (I saw some pics of my cousins who looked like American kids in their young age)
*Walmart will be a store which has a lot of walls
But what I discovered after I landed in US is :
*I had two jackets to protect me from cold, I landed in Vegas in July and temperature was around 100 degree Fahrenheit.My jeans was getting stuck to my legs and I wanted some nice cotton clothes. Surprise !!!
*Yes still people in India think that NRI's are rich. In reality you all in India might have more money than us. We hardly try to make ends meet and especially after two kids and a home mortgage and a SUV vehicle we have very little left in bank.
*All kids dont eat chocolates but they mostly eat McDonald fries and burger as most people dont cook they just fix lunch/dinner
*Of course this is the land of opportunities, but we are not paid in millions
*If you read my post on Laundry you will know my struggle with clothes, we dont have any maid here who comes and does dishes everyday so we have to do it ourselves. Not only dishes, but we have to do sweeping, mopping etc. So I am a mom, maid, cook, work full time , nanny to my kids and the roles are endless.
* We have a car but no driver and gas is expensive
*Our kids look like us, read this post and you will know do we really have control over our life ?
*Walmart is just a huge supermarket where you get a variety of things, but when you go there to buy one item, it can take up to 30 minutes to just find it. There is no concept of door delivery. You have to personally go and buy your grocery.
First time when I went to India , my mom told me to help her with all the household work as she thought I was just enjoying life in the US. After she visited me once, she really understood how difficult the lifestyle here is. After that whenever I go home she will ask me to sit so she can take care of things. I can't complain much as I chose this life without knowing what it is like, so for all the people with a dream of becoming an NRI it is not a journey that is very easy. Life here is very very hard. Especially after kids you have no time to relax.
No comments:
Post a Comment