March 2009 - Posts - The Expat Blog

March 2009 - Posts

Getting the heck out of dodge (or (grrr...) how do I leave India behind?)

Posted by Melissa A. Bell at 
As I was browsing through the travel pages of the WSJ (As it's already summer in Delhi, I needed to fantasize about cooler climes), I came across this article about repatriating expats that made me rather melancholy. Its understood that to be an expat means to add a constant revolving door to your life: friends come and go; places and people age...

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I am Expat Woman, hear me roar!

Posted by Melissa A. Bell at 
My friend just forwarded this to me: "Most depressing page on the internet: http://www.expatwomen.com/expat_confessions.php " Finally! All my answers on how to be an expat woman are solved! I'm so relieved I don't have to write this blog anymore. A dedicated Australian expat and psychologist is standing by to answer all the burning...

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Holy Holi, Batman!

Posted by Melissa A. Bell at 
Okay, so my cruel co-worker has demanded I write this post, even though today is my birthday and I need to go home to get dolled up for the big bash tonight (you're all invited!). So this one's going to have to be short and sweet. In a nutshell, women be warned: holi horrors await you on wednesday! For all you new expats all a-twitter with the...

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it's like that only

Posted by Aruna Viswanatha at 
Normal 0 Last week I got a call from a marketing guy who wanted to follow up on an email he sent. I was on my way to a meeting, so I said: "I'm out right now, can I call you when I'm back in office?" It was only after I hung up that I realized what had just happened; I'd officially gone native. For months and months I resisted...

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Not the white man's burden nor the Black man's tax

Posted by Ayeshea Perera at 
Melissa's extremely thought provoking posts on the experiences of being "coloured" - both White and Black (read them Here and Here ), in Delhi, have led me to look at my own experiences in the city a little differently. My case, I feel is unique, because I fit right in almost by default. No one thinks I'm not Indian unless I tell them...

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Autos, Money; Delhi vs. Bangalore

Posted by Aruna Viswanatha at 
I had been in India some five months before visiting my family members that live in Bangalore, and by then, had grown pretty used to life in Delhi. Getting around was largely by auto, and the haggling routine was usually some variation on the following: we would start 30 rupees apart on a price, I would invoke the meter, he would allude to the perpetual...

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