Tales from India part 2: Things that you learn as a 20-something in a foreign country

For part 1 click here 

You learn...

1. How to be an expert at speaking your mother-tongue, if you have one...
Especially when it comes to discussing cab fares and the prices of things. In my case,  that would be Swahili. The locals keep doing the same to you anyway, whether intentional or not.

2. Being away from home takes the concept of budgeting to a whole new level.
You actually have a cash limit and it's not like mom or dad can just bail you out whenever like they do back home. You actually have to think about ATMs that accept visa or Mastercard, Western union , Moneygram and the transaction charges charged by each.  Therefore that automatically means that you have to spend your cash in more sensible ways so that you only use the above services when absolutely necessary.

3. It brings new meaning to being an adult.
Where to spend the night,  where to eat,  how to get your laundry done, what to do if you get sick, what cab service to use,  where to explore, what's feasible and what isn't. ..all these decisions are on you and you alone. Cue Paramore's Ain't it fun.

4. Your Internet data is used for 4 main things:
-Checking out the weather forecast
-Locating places you want to go on Google maps
-Checking out the current exchange rate of the dollar to local currency
- Whatsapp. Can we all just take a moment to appreciate Whatsapp calls and how much they help us save on International call charges?

5. How important gestures and other non-verbal communication is when trying to communicate with someone who doesn't speak English.
You use a series of pointing and broken English repeatedly until your point is made. Alternatively, learning a few key words / phrases in the local language could also help. :-)

6. You automatically estimate the time back home whenever you want to make a call or send a text.
Because it's kind of awkward when you wake someone up too early...or they wake you up too early. The lazy way out would be to set your phone/laptop /tablet to display the time in both time-zones.

7.  How not to take it personally when people automatically assume that you're Nigerian just because you're African.
Ok, maybe I do still take it a bit personally. Come on people, Africa has 54 countries! Or maybe I should take it as a compliment? *Goes back to the drawing board*

8. You pay extra attention to the laws.
The only thing worse than getting arrested, is getting arrested in a country that is not your own. I tend to think that deportation would be bad for your repertoire.

9. You get a hint of the warm fuzzies whenever you bump into someone from your home country.
It's this feeling of instant camaraderie and hakuna matata.

10. How to rank the best places for ordering take out
According to price and quality of meals, not necessarily in that order.

But it's still an amazing experience.
Ciao...

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