My Old Blog

I occurs to me that I live in India for a fair amount of time. I am here longer than most people. I know something about India and life as an expat.

I said when I lived in Taiwan that “This is probably the best I’ll ever live, the richest I’ll ever be.” Teachers are well respected in Asia, and so are foreigners. I made good money; I lived like a king. I worked 25 hours a week or less and had no real responsibility. Its hard to compete with that.

I think India is better though, or at least as good. I work more here, but I make more too. I do better work and help more people. I am still very well respected and I definitely live like a king. Work is fun because I do lots of stuff, but I have no real accountability….so I can make up whatever I like, whatever I think is useful. That makes it both lazy and super productive at the same time….depending on what I like.

For the first, and perhaps only, time in my life I don’t think work sucks. Work is just a part of everything else I do and as long as its useful….then its worth it. I like living at a 5 star hotel and I like the weekends where I sleep till noon and call room service to serve me brunch in bed…..but I also like going to work for the most part. Its well worth the money I make to do it….which isn’t that much.

Pete tells me that it loses its draw, the whole travel thing. I agree and disagree. It isn’t the same….but it is always different. Take today for instance. I was out and passed some shops, some grocery-type stores, and I thought “You know, I buy alot of the same shit back home…..but its somehow more interesting to buy it here.”

Just walking down the street is different…educational, entertaining. You see hundreds of small nuances that make you more aware of where you are…more present in what you’re doing.

Take last weekend, my last post. I could’ve gone rafting in Atlanta. But on the Ganges you wash your sins away, you see hippies leftover from the 60’s in Rishikesk, you see the Himalaya….and you see dead people. Its the same as Atlanta….but different.

I keep thinking that somehow I have failed to understand the draw of the US…..why I can’t seem to stay. There is my answer: Everything…even going to buy groceries, is somehow more than it is back home.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 12th, 2005 at 7:08 am and is filed under India. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.