The two foreigners..
It was 2:00, time for lunch. I took my meal from counter and found a seat in a corner. I could see the entire canteen from my table.
Like everyday, I started with salad. The canteen was fully occupied, which was usual for this time.
The sight was like just another canteen of an Indian IT company.People with lunch looking for somebody known to join. Some came in groups. Some settling for the first seat in view.People just kept talking and the canteen was filled with the discussions and chats that seemed endless.I started with my food.
The Tv was on.Satyam had made it to the headlines today again. New board members were appointed.Good.
My eyes went on two foreigners having food. Both were around 50. Actually you cannot guess the age of a white.They always look older to their age.Its the opposite in case of an Indian.They had few Indian members accompanying them.
Few questions crossed my mind. What might have he selected ? The food is spicy. Poor guys !!. Maybe they'll like it. Who knows.
While thinking this, I went back to the days when I was a foreigner in Dutch canteen. Maybe the dutch there had the same questions on their mind. I used to bring food I prepared. I am damn sure they might be thinking Whats that thing in her lunchbox. Never seen anything like that ! But sometimes I had to get the meal from canteen. It was really difficult for me to select since I had to search for non-vegetarian dishes among those prepared. Really a tough job.
Comparing the two canteen, maybe it was more difficult for the foreigner to settle in Indian canteen than me in dutch canteen.It was much spacious and less noisy compared to our Indian canteen. Another evidence of over-population.
Two other guys joined my table with lunchbox. Married guys usually get their lunch from home. I had finished my lunch. In fact, just dragged the food down my throat. Another thought, There was a time when I was yearned for this food, when in Holland. You always care for things when you don't get it.
The canteen was getting more crowded by every moment. I decided to leave. The two foreigners were still having food.Hope they did like the Indian food. I smiled to myself and left.
Like everyday, I started with salad. The canteen was fully occupied, which was usual for this time.
The sight was like just another canteen of an Indian IT company.People with lunch looking for somebody known to join. Some came in groups. Some settling for the first seat in view.People just kept talking and the canteen was filled with the discussions and chats that seemed endless.I started with my food.
The Tv was on.Satyam had made it to the headlines today again. New board members were appointed.Good.
My eyes went on two foreigners having food. Both were around 50. Actually you cannot guess the age of a white.They always look older to their age.Its the opposite in case of an Indian.They had few Indian members accompanying them.
Few questions crossed my mind. What might have he selected ? The food is spicy. Poor guys !!. Maybe they'll like it. Who knows.
While thinking this, I went back to the days when I was a foreigner in Dutch canteen. Maybe the dutch there had the same questions on their mind. I used to bring food I prepared. I am damn sure they might be thinking Whats that thing in her lunchbox. Never seen anything like that ! But sometimes I had to get the meal from canteen. It was really difficult for me to select since I had to search for non-vegetarian dishes among those prepared. Really a tough job.
Comparing the two canteen, maybe it was more difficult for the foreigner to settle in Indian canteen than me in dutch canteen.It was much spacious and less noisy compared to our Indian canteen. Another evidence of over-population.
Two other guys joined my table with lunchbox. Married guys usually get their lunch from home. I had finished my lunch. In fact, just dragged the food down my throat. Another thought, There was a time when I was yearned for this food, when in Holland. You always care for things when you don't get it.
The canteen was getting more crowded by every moment. I decided to leave. The two foreigners were still having food.Hope they did like the Indian food. I smiled to myself and left.
True Megha, such cross cultural experiences often makes us closer to our own culture and traditions.
ReplyDeleteI often feel like actually going, interacting and talking to foreigners about what differences they find between two countries and the like
Ya, I think we should really go ahead..
ReplyDeleteWhat u say ;)
This one is cute! :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, eating food for us outside is hard, but for them like you mentioned it must be hard too. I lived outside of India my whole life, but I'm still for 'bhaaji' and 'roti' :D
"There was a time when I was yearned for this food, when in Holland. You always care for things when you don't get it." - Very true! My mom asked me the other day what I wanted to do the first thing in India, and I told her 'sambhaji park chi bhel puri' :P That's like the best bhel puri at least according to me. She just shook her head thinking I'm crazy, but I have a huge list of only food! :D
hehe...ya....the grass is always greener on the other side....
ReplyDelete