So, this article is for everyone from South Asia heading to university, leaving their families for the first time. This includes the Indians, Sri Lankans, Pakistanis and honestly anyone else who can relate.
One thing that really pleased you about coming abroad to university was the fact that your parents won’t be breathing down your back; at least that’s how I felt. Now that they’ve actually grasped the concept of space and independence, it’s a little weird not getting calls from them every hour. You kind of miss hearing, “have you eaten, where you going and who are you going with?”
As the stereotype goes, brown folks like their spicy food. But if you were anything like me, you would have avoided your rice and curry for some Western food for a while. Now that all the food you’re eating is more or less Western, you’ll have a tenancy to crave naan and chicken tikka or some rice and curry.
Another annoying part of South Asian culture is how nosy folks get, especially the aunties. This isn’t limited to your own family, but any woman older than you would have been considered an auntie. You’ll miss them constantly asking you if you have a boyfriend and when you’re going to get married, even though you’re only 19 and you just finished school. You’ll miss gossiping alongside them because if you are South Asian, whether you like to admit it or not, you’re bound to have a little auntie-ness inside you.
With aunties, come uncles. These uncles will either be really funny when they’re drunk or they’ll make you uncomfortable. Either way, they are the life of the party most often and will always be missed.
The best part about South Asian families not grasping the concept of adulthood is that they treat you like a child. So when you’re feeling a little moody, your mother is bound to have come behind you with a plate and fed you your food. Nothing, I repeat, nothing, tastes as good as your mother feeding you your favorite foods.
The fact that they actually check IDs at bars in the US is a real bummer. In my experience in South Asia, you can get alcohol at a bar without a problem, as long as you look at-least 18. The easy booze access is surely missed.
At home bouncers do not check your IDs at clubs unless really necessary. Most kids start their clubbing journey at the age of 16. If their skirt is short enough you are bound to get in.
You would think, the humidity is something you wouldn’t miss. But when winter comes, you would rather be drowning in a pool of your own sweat than have your fingers frozen. The perk however of humidity being gone is great skin and lovely hair.
The most annoying thing that can happen to anyone with brown skin abroad is to be called Indian, unless you’re Indian. When you live in a South Asian country, for obvious reasons, you don’t get mistaken as a nationality other than your own. That indeed will get on your nerves. (NO HATE TO THE INDIANS HERE, I LOVE YOU ALL).
Because a lot of South Asian countries are a little behind academically, the kids who are South Asian are bound to be 19-20 when they join university. However, we look so much younger than those who have been born and raised in the States.
As any goodbye goes, it will be tough and tiring to say goodbye to the humid insect biting home you come from. The mosquitoes will not be missed for sure though. As every cheesy quote about goodbyes go, it’s just an end of a chapter and a beginning of another chapter. In 4 years time, you’re going to have a tough time saying goodbye to your college too.
Make the best of your Uni experience, because it sure as hell is worth it!
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