How to survive in India

Alesya is a beautiful lady with a good character. She is an experienced English teacher.  Nowadays she lives in India, in the city of Indore, and teaches in school. Today she agreed to give an interview and to tell about her new life in a foreign country.

Alesya, good afternoon! You are from Russia and you’ve spent more than a year in India, haven’t you?

-         That’s true. I moved to India in June last year and it’s the 2d year that I’ve been here.

Tell me, please, do you like India?

-         Well, generally yes. It’s very warm here all the year round. Additionally, variety of vegetables and fruits is always available. There are a lot of bright festivals and celebrations. People visit weddings and parties to unwind. In a word, I find that in regards to work and leisure activities, there are more opportunities to build a balanced life than in Russia.

What about life there, traditions?

-         Indian culture is bound with many traditions which are followed in everyday life. They are based on respect; first of all, respect of elders. Taking blessings from elders touching their feet with a bow is a must. Their communication manners are filled with courtesy and hospitality. There is a very important rule to never refuse directly to anybody for a request. Also, Indians are very religious people, they pray to gods daily and offer them the first food of the day, sing religious mantras while cooking. They preserve their heritage and follow some believes, which can look mysterious from the first sight.   For example, one neither drink s water, nor eats food during the time of eclipses, or, in the beginning of the day, for a day to be good, they pour water from a jug, holding it above head.

 Why did you decide to move to India?

-         My husband is from India, I got married with him and that’s how I came to this mysterious land.

Who helps you there?

-         Mainly it is my family who helps me. Indian families are large, it’s not just you and your husband, but a lot of family members. Beside us, there are 11 more people in our house. Everybody is very caring and helpful, Indian family culture is  rich, people see family as the first value.

What do you do there?

-         I teach English in a private school. The time out of work, we spend with our family.

How are schools there? Is there any difference between schools in Russia and in India?

-         Well, here I teach in a private school, in Russia I used to work in government schools.

         In school, where I work now, there is less bureaucracy than I met in Russia. We don’t have to do a lot of reports. Lessons plans are written for two weeks ahead and still it takes hardly about 3pages, you only have to generally describe your view of the topics to be taken. Then, we have a different schedule for classes, for English we often have double periods of 70 minutes, time of break is not exactly determined, it’s a long lesson where the students are supposed to rest while copying something from a blackboard or getting ready for an activity. An interesting feature is that we don’t have to correct their mistakes, but to only circle them. The students have to improve their work themselves. Also, the grades are not given for every written work, teachers just sign that they have checked class work. Grades are given only on the special days. And we don’t write grades in class registers. After revision tests we have to enter the grades in the computer system. Last week there was a sport week at school, classes were taken from lessons for different activities, like to do yoga or to play cricket.  None of these things I saw in Russia.

Was it difficult to make a decision to leave Russia, leave your home and to move to India?

-         It was not easy for me, but at the same time it was not very difficult. I always was fond of foreign languages and countries. May be , due to it , I  didn’t have big problems to change country of living.

What are your plans for future?

-         I still have to improve my Hindi. I study it daily and progressed a bit, but as a matter of fact, I can manage only basic communication in Hindi. Definitely I want to travel and see more of this country and the world. Then, I want to learn to drive a car here and get a license. Once I can reach places on my own, I would also join a yoga studio, cooking and dance classes. As well as I would welcome any opportunities I’d meet for professional or personal development.