The title is indeed a giveaway of the content I am about to write about, but what is better than to experience the story behind each and every NRI who has moved out of Mother India into the unknown territory and call it Home Sweet Home.
We start off with Preetham Naik, 29, currently working with Syntel & has been in Mexico for the last 4 yrs .The idea of travelling abroad, started off with Brazil. He was super excited as it would have been his first trip ever across the ocean. However the joy was short lived, because just before his imaginary plane could take off, the requirement for which he was chosen was closed abruptly. He felt gutted and helpless, but that is when Mexico came knocking the door, "It may sound too filmy but none of my colleagues took up the offer fearing the thug life there and yeah I was again the chosen one (duh, some movies with the negative feel really build up on you)." he laughs.
"Journey to Mexico was not that all easy as it sounds, I had hardship getting visa, as I was travelling for a year on deputation. I was happy and sad, not for the obvious reason of leaving the loved ones, sad cos I was travelling on the last day of the yr (missed my 31st celeb) & happy cos I landed on the New yr / New city / New life and my first ever International trip", recalled Preetham.
"Initial days were fun, not much of work as I was just settling down and getting to know the surroundings. I had taken up an apartment close to my office, sparing me time to take a walk home post the gym, exploring the culture of this wonderful place. With days passing, work load started increasing, sleep-less nights, dealing with teams across locations (read India), nail biting deadlines and demanding clients. But the bright side I also started partying harder, travelling/exploring places and making new friends"
"The proudest moment was when I became a permanent resident of Mexico, with friendly people around, laid back life and better infrastructure/facilities compared to back home, the amount of money I make, I knew path that I chose was really filled with grass, though not green but yeah its definitely worth the walk bare foot."
Wishing him the best as he plans to fulfill his dreams to travel to the States !
Next up in the list is Jyothsna Karthik or Joey(fondly nicknamed by her friends). Joey moved from a not so popular district, Madurai in TamilNadu, India, to South Carolina, United States, 2 yrs ago. Joey's migration to US was post her marriage, with dreams set in her eyes of exploring a foreign country.
"South Carolina seems a dream destination, vacant lush green spaces across the city, clean air, well, almost a perfect start of my new life. The first few months went in a zippy as we toured across the city cherishing some historical places, as We spent some wonderful time", referring to her husband Ranjit.
"As the honeymoon period was ending reality started to kick in, with no job in hand and South Carolina being a laid back place, each passing day seem long or never ending. Since my husband would always be on travel supporting his work, days would feel like months. Other than playing the role of a housewife I did not have much to, work was not in my radar for the moment, but the emptiness can almost kill you."
"Little things in life, like getting a Driver's license was also a herculean task. As a DL will be issued easily to someone who had a Social Security Number, however one can have a SSN only when they have a job, so it all seemed a viscous tornado in which I was caught in the eye of the vortex. Passport is my only existence of being alive", she chuckles.
With every down comes an upward movement in life and so has been with her too, as they are now planning to shift to Buffalo in couple of months. There has been a job opportunity calling for both husband & wife. Joey is looking forward to get all her documentation set this time around while DL topping the list as Canada is just 2 hrs drive away. "Buffalo is typically a colder place when compared to our Home country, India, but as long as there is enough scotch in closet, surviving is easy." she winks.
As we read about the personal stories of our friends, I tend to see the larger picture and identify that some have volunteered to travel and others were bound to, but the decision maker to each of them is/was time, Humans were merely playing the role of a puppet. Your time will also come, ensure you get the liberty to choose, before it becomes an obligation!
