从印度搬到美国是什么感觉?（下）

Ankur Gupta
It feels like buying a bigger house with facilities like 24-hour water/electricity supply, excellent furniture and free wi-Fi, only to realize that you miss the warmth (the people) of your smaller home.
 
感觉就像是买了一个设施完备的大房子，比如24小时供水供电、优质家具和免费Wi-Fi，但最后却发现，你更怀念的是小家里的温暖——那里的人。
 
Sunder Chitturi
Late 90 (‘98), board the red bus (Singapore airlines) and come to California.
Cannot find enough of myself before boarding the flight… I am actually flying away from the only country I know. And sob for some time seeing my parents' pictures. I still remember that sinking feeling.
Get down and wait for that one Sr who said will pick me up. wait, wait and wait … no one comes and no know faces.
Seeing my plight for 6 or so hours a Pakistani taxi limo driver comes and asks Beta, knoun pick kar raha app ko? (Who is picking you up?). Answer him with my stupid young arrogance, oh my Sr from university will pick me up… I am fine. He smiles and says don’t worry I will drop you.
 
90年代末(1998年)，我登上了新加坡航空公司的红色巴士，来到了加利福尼亚。
登机前，我感到自己内心有些迷茫...我即将离开我所熟悉的唯一国度。看着父母的照片，我不禁泪流满面，那种沉重的感觉至今仍然记忆犹新。
我抵达目的地后，等待着那位承诺会来接我的学长。我等了又等，等了很久...但没有人出现，周围也没有我认识的面孔。
大约六个小时后，一位巴基斯坦出租车司机注意到了我的困境，他用乌尔都语问道：“小伙子，有人来接你吗？”我带着年轻人特有的傻气和傲慢回答说：“哦，我的大学学长会来接我...我没事的。”他微笑着安慰我：“别担心，我会送你到目的地。
 
Takes me around LA and shows places and all I am mesmerized is “cars”, decided one day I am going to get that mitsubishi eclispe (was my first “new” car, first car my son drive too, the same car)
Find out the guy who was supposed to pick me up was drunk his arse off and forgot.
Realize how petty I was thinking in terms of Indians, Pakistanis and how I am better. So stupid, realization hits.. we all the same.
Classes, cooking, taste burger for the first time (oh my heaven) … Sheepishly talk to this one drop dead beautiful southeast Asian girl trying to do some basic programming in computer lab. End up helping her and guess what :) she is my wife for last 25 years…. and cannot wait growing older with her and enjoying the rest of my life.
Life went on and now without all the minute stories and all … in my late 40s, I am thinking am I an Indian or American. What would have happened if I said my motherland is better and stayed back.
I don’t know that answer, but I can say, I lived here with what I could, no complains and no regrets. Anyone might disagree but America has treated me good, and I am very thankful for that.
 
他带我游览了洛杉矶，向我展示了很多地方，我对那里的汽车特别着迷，决心有一天要拥有一辆伊柯丽斯Eclipse——那是我拥有的第一辆新车，也是我儿子开的第一辆车。
后来发现，那个应该来接我的人喝醉了，完全忘了这回事。
我意识到自己过去对印度人、巴基斯坦人的看法是多么狭隘，我是多么的愚蠢。我认识到，我们其实都是一样的。
上课、做饭、第一次尝试汉堡（真是美味极了）……我还羞涩地和一个非常漂亮的东南亚女孩在计算机实验室里讨论一些基本的编程问题。最后我帮助了她，你猜怎么着？她成了我过去25年的妻子……我迫不及待地想和她一起老去，享受我们的余生。
生活就这样继续，没有那些琐碎的故事……现在我快50岁了，我在思考我是印度人还是美国人。如果我那时说我的祖国更好并留在那里，会发生什么呢？
我不知道答案，但我可以说，我在这里尽我所能地生活，没有遗憾。可能有人不同意，但我必须说，美国对我很好，我对此非常感激。
 
Pavan Kopparapu
Here is what changes, atleast in my case
You no longer worry about water, electricity, traffic, pollution etc, but instead worry about immigration, safety, job-loss, moving back to India etc
You no longer care about what your neighbors think, what your maid thinks, what your old school friend thinks, what some unknown stranger thinks, but instead care about what you think and what you believe in
You no longer care much about festivals, but instead care about the holidays associated with the festivals like veterans day, thanks giving break, christmas break etc
You no longer care about whats for breakfast (cereal, idli, poha, dosa etc), but instead care only about if there is time, for any breakfast
 
以下是我经历的一些变化：
我不再担心水、电、交通、污染等问题，反而开始忧虑移民身份、个人安全、失业风险、是否要回印度等。
我不再在意邻居、家政、老朋友或陌生路人的看法，而是更关注自己的想法和信念。
我对节日本身的兴趣减少了，更关心的是节日带来的假期，比如退伍军人节、感恩节假期、圣诞节假期等。
我不再纠结早餐吃什么（麦片、蒸糕、印度粥、多萨等），而是只关心是否有时间吃早餐。
 
You no longer care about getting the work done with the maid and checking if its done, but instead go ahead yourself and get the dishes, laundry, toilet done
You no longer care about going to a ATM machine and carrying cash all the time, but instead have one type of card each in your wallet - Visa, Mastercard, Discover, Amex
You no longer care about if the guy at the petrol station is filling in petrol correctly or not, but instead you fill it up yourself
You no longer care if your kid is studying good enough to secure a seat in an engineering/medical college, but instead confidently tell your kid to excel in what he likes and believes in
Last, but not the least, You no longer care about filling up the CASTE section in the application forms, but instead leave out the optional race section :)
 
我不再依赖女佣来完成家务，也不再检查她们的工作是否做完，而是自己亲自动手，无论是洗碗、洗衣服还是打扫卫生间。
我不再需要经常去自动取款机取现，或者随身携带现金，而是在钱包里备有各种信用卡——无论是Visa、Mastercard、Discover还是American Express。
我不再担心加油站员工是否正确加油，而是自己来操作。
我不再过分在意孩子是否能够学得足够好，以确保进入工程或医学院，而是鼓励他们追随自己的兴趣和信念，在自己热爱的领域里追求卓越。
最后，但并非最不重要的是，在申请表格上的“种姓”一栏，我不再需要填写了，而是选择跳过这个可选的种族信息。
 
In my opinion, in simple words:
If living in India is “sailing in a boat with 10 other people in an ocean with a lot of whales, sharks etc”, then living in the USA is “walking in the desert alone or with a little group, but always with plenty of drinking water, food and shelter”. In the end, if you have the skills and energy to deal with the whales and sharks all the time, then you can be good even with sailing in the ocean, until there is a tsunami(less probability). But, if some unknown attacks you in the desert, for food, you may be helpless ..
 
简单来说，我的看法是：
如果在印度生活就像是“和十个人一起在充满鲸鱼和鲨鱼的大海中划船”，那么在美国生活就像是“独自或与一小群人在沙漠中行走，但总有充足的饮水、食物和庇护所”。最终，如果你有技能和精力去应对海洋中的鲸鱼和鲨鱼，那么在海上划船也能做得很好，除非发生海啸（这种情况概率较小）。但如果在沙漠中有未知的东西攻击你，抢夺食物，你可能会感到无助。
 
Sudarshan Kadam
Moved to US (Atlanta) in January 2014.
It was overwhelming at first. First thing I noticed was the clean air and general cleanliness. Later I noticed organized traffic, lack of people walking on roads (I still haven't gotten used to this), availability of different types of restaurants etc.
Once I moved from hotel to my own apt, the process of taking apt (lease, insurance etc.) was impressive. Over the period I got used to a lot of small things which Americans take for granted but developing countries don't: e.g. potable water through your tap, almost no power cuts, lack of pollution, general abundance of trees (Atlanta is as good as a forest), people owning a car, availability of supermarkets for groceries(mostly).
Cultural shift is really noticeable. People are more polite. Thank you, sorry, excuse me are used (and expected from you) all the time. People are interested in you and your culture. They have their assumptions and misconceptions) but they usually make sure to ask and confirm any such assumptions.
 
2014年1月，我搬到了美国亚特兰大。
一开始，我感到有些不知所措。首先映入我眼帘的是清新的空气和处处可见的整洁。接着，我注意到了井然有序的交通、道路上鲜有行人（这一点我至今还在适应中）、还有各式各样的餐馆可供选择。
当我从酒店搬进自己的公寓后，我对租房过程中的一系列事项（比如签订租约、办理保险等）印象深刻。随着时间的流逝，我逐渐习惯了许多在美国被视为理所当然，但在发展中国家却难以见到的小事：比如，自来水可以直接饮用，几乎不会遇到停电的情况，污染程度低，树木繁茂（亚特兰大绿树成荫，几乎像一片森林），几乎人人都有车，超市里日用品琳琅满目。
文化差异也非常明显。人们更加注重礼貌。“谢谢”、“抱歉”、“借过”这些词汇不仅频繁被使用，而且也是人们期待你使用的。他们对你和你的文化感兴趣，虽然他们可能有一些先入为主的看法和误解，但通常会主动询问并确认这些观点。
 
It takes a while to get over the Rs to USD comparison on everything you buy. You start thinking like an American. It is very contagious. You think like them, you spend money like them, you act like them, you drive like them, you party like them, you do vacations like them.
Finally, one day, you start taking your water with lots of ice. That day is when you stop being whoever you are and become an American.
P.S. Draft beer. The magic of draft beer is to be experienced than told. That was one of the best things I discovered in the US.
 
适应用美元来衡量购买的一切，需要一段时间。你开始逐渐习惯用美国人的方式思考问题。这种思维方式非常有感染力。你开始像他们一样思考，像他们一样消费，像他们一样行动，像他们一样驾车，像他们一样社交，像他们一样度假。
最终，有一天，你开始习惯喝加了很多冰块的水。当你这么做的时候，就意味着你已经不再是原来的你，而是一个美国人了。
顺便说一句，生啤的魔力只有亲自体验才能真正领会。在美国，我发现了生啤的美妙，这是最让我惊喜的发现之一。
 
Rohan Parikh
My answer will be based on my experience as an international student who has moved to US to pursue further studies.
It was very difficult at first. I was pampered during my childhood. Even though I had lived in a hostel before I came here, I used to go home every weekend. Never ever had I cooked food before, washed my dishes, ironed my clothes or even put them in the laundry machine. Everything was taken care of. Above and beyond that, except my internship I had never worked odd jobs before. And here I was in New Brunswick searching for an on-campus job for my survival. For the first two months I used to count each and every dollar that I would spend and multiply it by 60. Finally I landed a job in my university cafe as a burrito maker. 7.5$ an hour. Ok, that's how it feels to work at minimum wage. Working in the food industry is very difficult. You have to deal with bad customers and a lot of broken burritos :).
 
我的回答将基于我作为一位赴美深造的国际学生的经历。
起初，适应过程非常艰难。我从小被宠爱，尽管我以前住过宿舍，但每周末都会回家。我从未自己做过饭、洗过碗、熨烫过衣服，甚至从未使用过洗衣机。所有这些都有家人帮我打理。除此之外，除了实习经历，我从未打过零工。而如今，我在新布伦瑞克（加拿大）得寻找校园工作以维持生活。
在最初的两个月，我甚至要仔细计算每一美元的花费，并将其分散到60天。最终，我幸运地在大学咖啡馆找到了一份工作，担任墨西哥卷饼制作员，时薪是7.5美元。这让我真切地体会到了最低工资劳动者的艰辛。在餐饮业工作真的很不容易，你得应对挑剔的顾客，还得处理那些制作过程中破损的卷饼。
 
First important lesson learnt - I started to actually "value" money
I had a lot of friends back home. Weekdays I used to stay at my hostel and weekends I used to hangout with my school friends. I barely used to spend time with my parents. I would only have a 5 min phone conversation with them every night. Come here and I realize that they are the most ignored best friends that I always had.
Second important lesson learnt - My parents are my best
 
第一个重要的教训是——我开始真正地“珍惜”金钱。
在国内，我有很多好友。工作日我通常待在宿舍，而周末则和学校的朋友们外出聚会。我很少花时间陪伴父母，每晚只和他们进行大约5分钟的电话交流。来到这里后，我意识到他们其实是我拥有的最被忽视的最好的朋友。
第二个重要的教训是——我的父母才是我最好的朋友。
 
Now some of the other lessons learnt
1) Stopped slamming doors on people walking behind me.
2) Started being courteous to everyone.
3) Started taking pride on whatever work I did.
4) Keeping fit and healthy is very important.
5) We Indians are more connected to our homeland than we realize.
 
以下是我学到的一些其它经验教训：
有人走在我后面时，我不再“砰”地一声关上门。
我开始对每个人都表现出礼貌。
无论我做什么工作，我都开始感到自豪。
保持身体健康非常重要。
我们印度人与祖国的联系比我们自己意识到的要紧密。
 
Now the fun part
1) My first visit to NYC. Ok, this is unreal. How can there be so many good restaurants, tall buildings, concerts, bars, pubs etc. at one place. NYC is NOT at all over rated.
2) So may varieties of beers. I am not going back
3) Kayaking, mountain biking, marathons etc. There are so many outdoor activities to do every weekend.
4) Driving a muscle car (6 cylinder engine). Even though the speed limit is 60 mph.
 
现在来谈谈有趣的事情：
我第一次去纽约时，感觉那里太不真实了。怎么会有这么多如此棒的餐馆、摩天大楼、音乐会、酒吧和酒馆聚集在一个地方，纽约绝对名不虚传。
啤酒的种类繁多，我决定不再回去了。
每个周末可以尝试非常多的户外活动，比如划皮艇、山地自行车、马拉松等。
开着一辆六缸引擎的肌肉车，不过限速是每小时60英里。
 
The sad part
1) India is diverse. So many languages, cuisines and cultures. You don't get that diversity here.
2) Festivals. No I don't want to shop during festivals. I want to be with my loved ones
At the end I would say that it has been a worthwhile experience to come here.
 
但也有让人感到失落的部分：
印度的多样性令人赞叹，有那么多不同的语言、美食和文化。在这里，你是找不到那样的多样性的。
节日的时候，我并不想去购物，而是想和我爱的人在一起。
最后，我要说的是，来到这里是一段非常有价值的经历。
 
Shivani Jain
The experience is overwhelming to say the least!
However, with so much already written by so many people about their experience of moving from India to US, may be I should talk about how it’s like to move back from the US to India, just to add my perspective to this already lengthy trail.
Having lived in U.S. for a couple of years, I started to take a certain things for granted. Things like water- especially sparkling drinking water straight out of the taps, fresh air, 24X7 uninterrupted power (electricity) supply, and other basic necessities, which I managed to acknowledge only when there was lack of it after the move.
 
这次体验至少可以说是令人震撼的！
尽管已经有许多人分享了他们从印度移居到美国的经历，我想我可以谈谈从美国搬回印度的感受，为这个话题增添一些我的个人见解。
在美国生活了几年后，我开始把一些事情视作理所当然。比如，自来水——特别是直接从水龙头流出的清新饮用水，新鲜的空气，全天候不中断的电力供应，以及其他一些基本生活需求。这些在我回到印度后变得不那么随时可得时，我才意识到它们的重要性。
 
Then there are other things, some petty some not; but are a way of life for most people in the U.S., for example- owning a car in the U.S. is no big deal as everybody has it, partying till 2am is again no big deal, women in short clothes on streets on their own till wee hours of the night is OK, public transport is awesome, personal space is a real concept, and free education is good for all. People there smile a lot, have more fun than an average Indian resident and have a better quality of life (without really struggling for basics) in general.
Now, when I moved back to India, I realized that culturally, socially, mentally and physically I was a changed person because I got all of the above without really asking for it and without spending too much money on it, and unintentionally it became a way of life for me as well.
 
此外，还有一些生活习惯，有些看似小事，有些则不然，但它们构成了大多数美国人日常生活的一部分。比如，在美国，拥有私家车是件平常事，几乎人人都有车；聚会玩到凌晨2点也是常有的；女性深夜独自穿着短裙在街上行走是被社会接受的；公共交通系统非常便捷，个人空间的概念得到普遍尊重，而且所有人都能享受到优质的免费教育。那里的人们常常笑容满面，相比一般印度居民，他们的生活更加快乐，总体生活质量也更高，通常不需要为了基本生活需求而过度奋斗。
当我回到印度时，我意识到自己在文化、社会、心理乃至身体层面上都已发生了变化。在美国，我无需刻意追求就能享受到上述的一切，而且花费并不多，这无意中已成为我生活的一部分。
 
Hence, I was disappointed to come back, I still am! It’s just too difficult to settle for anything less now.
Of course, there were issues in the US- issues of guns and racism and culture and how home sick I was and how I missed the Indian food.
But all these issues became secondary, when I had some primary survival issues to handle; when everyday became a struggle- a struggle to get 24X7 electricity supply, a struggle to get fresh air (considering I live in Delhi), a struggle to get uninterrupted internet connectivity, a struggle to beat the crowd, the traffic, a struggle to find peace and most importantly a struggle for freedom…..
 
因此，我对回国感到有些失望，现在依然如此。现在要我接受比那更低的标准实在是太难了。
当然，美国也有它的问题——枪支问题、种族主义、文化差异，在美国，我会深切思念家乡，我渴望吃到印度食物。
但当我有一些主要的生存问题需要处理时，这些问题都变得不那么重要了；当每一天都变成了一场斗争——为了获得24小时的电力供应而斗争，为了在德里这样的城市呼吸到新鲜空气而斗争，为了获得稳定的互联网连接而斗争，为了在拥挤的人群和交通中穿梭而斗争，为了寻找一丝宁静而斗争，最重要的是，为了争取自由而斗争……
 
Freedom of speech, freedom of choice, freedom of freedom!
As a woman I struggle more in India than I did in the U.S.
Hope it helps you make up your mind about the move.
In case you need any financial assistance to start over as a student or for a business in the U.S., then there’s nothing better than fin-tech lending institutions catering to under served migrant population of the US, especially Indians.
All the best!
 
言论自由、选择自由，以及自由本身！
作为一名女性，我在印度感受到的挑战比在美国时更多。
希望这些能帮你在是否搬家这个问题上做出决定。
如果你需要在美国作为学生重新开始或开展业务的任何财务援助，那么金融科技贷款机构是一个很好的选择，它们专门为美国服务不足的移民群体提供服务，尤其是印度人。
祝你好运！