Testimony of an expatriate in India

Why go to India? A recurring question that I have been asked dozens of times. And why not? I had never been there before, never a foot in Asia but I was planning to go there one day after flying all over Europe. We might as well take this opportunity to see something else, see a country as an expatriate and not just a tourist.

Working abroad? I have never been opposed to it, quite the contrary. From the moment the work offered and the destination attracts me, I see no reason to hesitate. I am young and childless and my family ties are restricted, it’s time to travel.

If I’m ready to enter the professional world? Of course, since the end of my degree in fact, but my studies are not finished so I’m not there. And then “entering the professional world” is already done, I just spent a year there.

What did this year’s stay in India bring me? Culturally it’s indisputable,the Indian culture is so diverse and then I went to China and Thailand. A year abroad without soaking up the culture is impossible. At the linguistic level, a one-year immersion in an English-speaking country can only increase the level of English. At the technical level, I was finally able to see what the engineering profession was because it was the position I held during the year in the research laboratory. An engineer is above all an executive, and this year I learned to lead a team, manage my projects, solve problems… and all this in complete autonomy.

What questions! Enough to write a novel, and in several volumes.

The most amazing thing? The permanent contradiction. Throughout India, unlike the countries of South America, the poor live with the rich, i.e. between two beautiful villas of well-to-do families there will always be some handmade tents inhabited by very poor families. People understood that they needed one another: the rich offer small jobs to do to the poor in exchange for a salary: gardening, walking the dog, cutting wood, digging a hole, a swimming pool… And Indians are not naturally envious of others, money does not necessarily have value, what matters most is religion, so even the poorest people will have a smile on their faces. This is the biggest part of Indian magic beyond history and religion, just smile at someone to have a smile in exchange or a hand gesture from the children.

Many differences that make you hate the country by swearing never to set foot there again or that on the contrary you fall in love with it …

In any case India does not tell itself, it is lived …

A year of work in India is a fabulous experience to try,it allows you to discover a lot of things, but it still requires a good open mind, a certain curiosity, a lot of autonomy and a lot of patience.

The low cost of living allows you to travel cheaply and discover other cities, but it is the time that is sorely lacking when working, because train travel usually lasts between 8 and 15 hours and planes are expensive .

After spending a year in India I know I would come back as a tourist, there is so much to see that I have not had time to see but from there to work in India for several years I do not know , it will depend on the conditions of expatriationnegotiates negotiated with the company because in India everything is negotiated!