Traveler's Log: Conclusion

Looking out the car window at the Boston cityscape, I was struck with a feeling of deja vu. One month ago today I looked out a car window at a similar cityscape in Bangalore. I remember thinking how similar it initially appeared to Boston. I saw the same possibility, the same familiarity, the same excitement as I did when I gazed upon Boston for the first time since early July. The only difference was that seeing Boston today marked the end of my experience and therefore, there was a sense of bittersweetness, whereas, Bangalore was the beginning of my experience and thus invoked a sense of excitement and eagerness. While I may have put India behind me-- for now!-- the lessons I acquired while there will stay with me for years to come.

The first, and without-a-doubt the most important, lesson I learned in India was that being an expert in one language does not mean you'll be able to communicate with anyone. The language barrier I encountered while abroad was definitely the biggest challenge for me. Despite English being one of the official languages of India, everyone I encountered while there either spoke it with a very broken dialect, spoke it in addition to using another language, or simply didn't speak it at all. 

In fact, it took me at least the first half of my trip to begin to really understand the English dialect used in India. I realized that the more I listened to other people the weaker the language barrier became. That's probably the best first step you can take to learn a new language or improve your capabilities in a language: the more you listen, the more you'll understand. Granted, I still wasn't able to understand everything by the end of my trip, but I was definitely able to have more meaningful conversations by the end. I briefly describe my experience of talking to a poojaris at a temple here. 

The second lesson I learned in India was how important cultural identity is. I know I didn't write about it much--in retrospect perhaps I should have-- but I have never felt more American than I did last month. There are without question certain privileges that come with your cultural identity; that is, what kind of passport you have. As I've stated in previous entries, I don't want to talk about this topic much, but I experienced so many different things that made me realize how much privilege there is in being an American citizen, especially at the airport.

I mean, despite it being frustrating to me that many Indians seemingly want to embrace American culture rather than their own, I can understand why they would want to. If you haven't read my entry on the ad I saw that was perpetuating western culture you can do so here. Even in Bollywood movies, American culture is almost mythical. If you ever get the chance and are inclined to do so, watch Kal Ho Naa Ho and you'll see what I mean. 

I believe that no one should entirely embrace a cultural identity that is not their own, or rather, you should never entirely give up your own heritage. If you're Indian, you should be Indian. If you're Chinese, you should be Chinese. If you're Hispanic, you should be Hispanic. Of course, you may have to adapt some things from another culture especially if you're living in one. I know in India, despite being American, there were still a number of cultural aspects that I had to adapt; however, even so, I didn't relinquish my American identity in order to "become" Indian.

The third lesson I learned on my trip was how important it is to accept help, especially when in situations you're unfamiliar with. I would have been so lost without the help and support of my friend's family. I think it would have been possible to figure things out in India on my own, but because I had a lot of support from my friend and her family I was able to enjoy the culture without having to figure much out on my own. 

This lesson is applicable to pretty much any area in life. Accepting help from others is crucial to the learning process. In fact, you could look at the teaching of any kind as a profession structured around helping others; that is, the teacher knows something and helps whoever understand it. That being said, teaching is typically most successful when the other person is open to accepting help. Being independent and doing things on your own seems to be respected in western culture and they are both admirable qualities, don't get me wrong, but realistically speaking, everyone needs help sometimes. So don't be afraid to reach out.

The fourth and final lesson I learned was how important it is to be patient and keep calm in unfamiliar situations. When I first arrived in India, I was not patient and I did not stay calm. Read about my initial experience here if you haven't done so already. As I experienced, if you aren't patient things tend to become a lot more stressful than they need to be and stress could potentially lead to a bunch of other negative things.

I probably don't need to say this but learning a language or working on improving your proficiency in a language requires a great deal of patience and a calm disposition. Actually, most things in life require both of these because think about it: if you're impatient and stress yourself out, who's the only one that is affected? Staying calm and being patient allows you to see things more objectively, and therefore, consider them more logically. Letting yourself become overwhelmed with stress is not a recipe for success. By the way, the answer to the above question is you!

Speaking of patience...

The reason I was not able to post this Sunday night was because my first flight from Bangalore to Doha was delayed by six hours which caused me to miss my transfer flight. This meant that I had to spend the night in Doha. Talk about being patient and calm. Airports require the utmost of both, as I mentioned above, especially if a flight is delayed. Airport personnel don't really tell you when a delayed flight will be ready, probably because they themselves don't even know. It seems to me there are two potential reactions to such a situation: get upset and complain or be patient and calm. I choose the second option.

Now I'm not saying don't ask questions to stay informed, but I just think getting upset over things that can't be controlled is a bit ridiculous. While waiting for my first flight to Doha, so many people choose to get upset and impatient. They were yelling at the attendants and complaining to anyone who would listen including my friend and I. I understand that waiting for a delayed flight can be stressful--trust me, it wasn't fun for me either-- but as I mentioned above, by getting all stressed out, the only person you're really impacting is you. And of course the attendants who get yelled at.

Long story short: we finally took off around 10am--the flight was supposed to take-off at 3:45am-- and arrived in Doha around 2pm. By the time we arrived out flight to Boston was long gone, so as compensation, we were given a hotel room for the night. I don't want to get into all the details but the hotel was pretty good. Our new flight was the following day at 8:05am. From Doha we went to Munich, Germany, and after nearly missing our transfer flight, we were en route to Boston around 4pm.

While it definitely wasn't an enjoyable experience, I think it was nonetheless a good one to have. I was able to experience the Middle East for a day and was able to get some exercise while running through the Munich airport to catch my flight. Remember: life is all about how you perceive things and how you see things is always up to you; that is, you choose how you want to react to something. Do you want to see a delayed flight as a pain or a genuine learning experience? The choice is, and always will be, yours!

Overall, traveling to India has given me a new perspective on things. I experienced so much, both good and not-so-good, over the past month, probably more so than I ever have before. As you might imagine, there was a lot I was not able to do, but what I was able to do changed the way I view things. I feel like developing a certain proficiency in English is so crucial, especially if you are planning on working in a country that speaks predominantly English. Even in India, the people who spoke English rather well seemed to be in a more advantageous position than those who didn't. 

Do you agree? What lessons have you learned while traveling abroad or even just in general? Let us know in the comments or message us on Facebook. I hope you have found my traveler's log entries to be both beneficial and enjoyable. Let us know if you would like future blog entries to be written in a similar way.

-Ryan M. Shea, English Proficiency Specialist