Back to work today. On the bright side, I’m no longer working a morning shift, so I hope to have some time to get around and see some sights before I head into work.

I wore my Salwar to work today and everyone was very surprised at how quickly I’ve adopted local clothing. It’s very comfortable and I’m slowly getting used to the stole that’s worn around the neck. All I need now is a set of traditional Indian shoes to complete my outfit.

Divya has invited me to have lunch in her home on Sunday. She was hoping to have me over during festival, but wasn’t able to until the upcoming weekend. It will definitely be interesting and I’m looking forward to it.

It was a very long day at work today and I don’t have much non work related information to share. Anand is arriving at midnight tomorrow and everyone is very excited. I think I may be the most excited of all, since it will be very nice to have someone from home to talk to about familiar friends and places. That, and since I’ve run out of chocolate, I could use the additional chocolate bars he’s got stored in his suitcases to share at work!

I’ve been working with Anand for slightly over 4 years and know he’s going to impress everyone with his dedication and work ethic when he arrives. While I’ve worked with him for a while, I’ve learned more about his cultural and family background in Bangalore than in Winnipeg. I guess family is one of those things co-workers don’t really talk about much in Canada. Back home, unless you are close friends, you don’t tend to discuss family or cultural origins in too much detail. Instead, we tend to focus on a persons work ethic and their demonstrated abilities.

In India, family and strong family relations appears to be prized above all other things, so I’ve learned much about Anand’s background over the last few weeks. Anand’s mother is from Chennai (Madras) and his father is Malaysian. He was raised in Brunei and moved to Canada 8 years ago. This is his first trip back to India since he was 14 and he’s looking forward to meeting some of his relatives in Chennai before he returns home.

The strong familial relationship is something that is taken for granted in India. Parents provide for their children for many years, and will be provided for by their children as they age. It’s common for many generations to live together, eat together, and pray together. The North American phenomenon of ‘picking’ your family – adopting friends as second mothers, sisters, brothers, aunts, etc. – isn’t something you see in India. While we tend to replace existing family that we are separated from due to distance with close friends, in India there is no need as many people live with or very close to their family members and it’s common for those who are separated to make a trip via train, bus or plane to visit family over weekends.

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