During their free time, American expatriates explore the city and
surrounding areas. Arman Zand plays tennis, goes to movies, and
has visited the
Taj Mahal. Cecilia Villalon says she likes to hit
the shopping malls because "I feel like everything is on sale for
me." Susan Chopra takes cooking classes and is learning the Hindi
language. And everyone keeps up with news in
America through the
Internet.
Joanna (last name withheld) has lived with her husband in Bangalore
for eight years, raising their young daughter and helping run a
content-development firm. She likes to get out of the city on the
weekends, taking short trips to spas and the
Bangalore Bannerghatta
Zoo. However, her expatriate experience is somewhat different than
most. She's witnessed the city's phenomenal growth over time, and
notes that shopping malls and big grocery stores were virtually
nonexistent four years ago. Her family loves living in
India. But,
she says, socializing with American expats doesn't always depict
the most flattering view of her homeland.
After having a recent lunch with four American expat families, she
and her husband later realized how the conversation had turned into
a "dump on India" session. "Complaints about the roads, the lack of
planning, the lack of customer service, just dump, dump, dump,"
Joanna says. "We both reflected [on] how, often, when we get
together with Americans, it becomes a dumping session. But in our
minds, and even in our hearts, we could only reflect on being
thankful for the opportunities we have here."
Like all expatriate tech workers, Americans will follow the jobs,
which, for the moment, means they are happy to stay in Bangalore.
The weather is always beautiful, hovering between 60 and 90 degrees
year-round. And the experience of living in another country opens
the eyes to other cultures, as well as allows for a more
philosophical view of your home of origin. When asked if they would
move here again if given the chance, a resounding yes was the
answer.