experiencing reality...

As you all know by now, i had reached the beautiful city of Dubai, picked up a nice job and also got admission into a reputed university.

While i waited for life to begin in this new fantasy world, i thought i'd might as well get to know the place a little better coz if was to live here, i'd have to adjust to the various complex lifestyles that people living here followed.

Before i ventured into the outside, i thought it would be wise for me to carry out a little research. I did not want to look like a completely lost soul wandering on the streets. After all, in today's times, Google had the details to every minute piece of information that i needed.

I got my stuff, and stepped out. The minute i set foot outside my building, it felt like i was being roasted in one of those giant ovens. The temperature was way above controllable. My belief is that is was definitely more that about 50 degrees centigrade. I got into the building in the same speed that i had stepped out.

This short roasting experience got me thinking again on weather or not i should take the risk of going out during the day time. Then i thought again, why the hell were taxi's for?!. i stepped out in style trying my best to stay calm in-spite of the scorching heat, waived out to an approaching taxi and off i was to explore my new habitat.

I must admit that during this exploration that i was set out on, my perspective towards the city did begin to change. The place was not so bad after all. I mean the work culture and way of life was perhaps not what i wanted but the place was good. I was not sure of how often i'd be able to visit these places of scenic beauty once i got into the grind but it felt good to see the marvels of human engineering and creativity.

While on the trip, i befriend-ed the cab driver who had lived a good 30-35 years of his life here. (Sad to think that all he did in 30 years of his life was drive people around in his cab!). i learnt from him that the king or ruler of Dubai, had this crazy passion to build the largest, tallest, longest and biggest of everything. He had built the longest bridge, had just built the tallest building, had constructed the widest road and was on the race to build i don't know what else.

The trip, in short, was good. I headed back into my apartment, went under the shower and whoa, what relief it was. After all that heat, the cold water from the shower felt like heaven.

I was certain to make a second trip outside later and this time maybe after sunset to explore Dubai under the street lights.  I had some nice supper that my mom prepared, checked my mail, logged into Facebook (like it was a ritual where i had to give my attendance once every day!) and then went under those cozy sheets for the night.

What lay ahead of me in the days to come would obviously be dealt with as it came. For now, Good Night! ;)

And so here i was...

The hunt for a job was definitely not easy. My father had to regularly get in touch with people from various backgrounds to see if they could get me in somewhere. I myself was getting up early every morning, checking the newspapers for job vacancies and of-course also checking on job sites for a prospective job opening. The college hunt was much easier as there were numerous colleges waiting to grab you for a seat in their university.

It took a while but at last i struck gold. I got a job that looked promising, narrowed down on a university that offered the course i was looking for at an affordable price and now all that remained was for me to start burying my foot on the ground to get started with the life i had not really looked forward to but was eager to experience.

How it all goes from here,will for obvious reasons, depend on how i navigate my boat of life. Ill keep you posted on how it goes. So far so good!. :)

Reality check...

It was after a grueling 4 years past my graduation that i finally saw a clear picture of where my life was headed. I realized that this was the time to take control and move out of 'auto pilot' mode. To my good fortune, my parents were based in the UAE and so that was like a gate pass. It didn't take too much of pursuing before my dad got me a visa to the gulf.

I landed at Sharjah international airport all excited about the fact that i had finally touched ground on foreign soil. The sight of a Porsche and Lamborghini on the road so close to the car i was in made me wanna jump with joy. But again, i had to focus. The purpose of my visit was not to see luxurious cars zoom past me but i was here to find myself a future.

Recession to me was just a word in the dictionary before i got to the gulf. It was here that i realized what it really meant. People with 10 and 15 years of experience were dying to get a job and here i was, a fresher from college with nothing more that some lousy customer service experience, looking to get a job that my degree promised.

I also realized that it was during times like these that word of mouth was a more powerful tool than applying for a job on some godforsaken middle-east job portal that claimed to have millions of jobs for freshers like me.

While on the hunt, i got a taste of what life really is like in the gulf. Housing rates were sky high, those people who came home in shinny dresses and wore dangling necklaces were actually living out of something called a 'bed-space' (a concept wherein all you have in a room of 10 is a bed!) and the Mercedes that they claimed to own was some beaten up old car that obviously was a merc alright but just for namesakes.

The reality show here was not pretty. I almost made up my mind not to ever set foot in a country where expats like me lived like beggars and saved every last penny they earned to send home. It was more than hard to adjust to such a lifestyle keeping in mind the lavish and extravagant life that i lived while in India.

But like they say, you got to forget certain luxuries in life if you want to achieve something. That something here was a life and a bright future that did not look bright given the circumstances.

I cleared my head and thought again. I was not going to be here my entire life. It was just a matter of a few years after which i could probably move out to a different country or maybe come back to india itself.

And so i started looking for a job that would pay me enough to lead a comfortable life and also began the hunt for a good college to do my masters as i believed that it would help me down the line.

The thought process...

Well,
To start off lets say that this is a first time attempt by an ordinary guy who wanted to share with the world, his experiences on going to foreign land, a place he hated to be in or so to say, a place where he eventually had to go to save his life.

It was not very long ago. Maybe a few years back. I had this mis-conception  about people moving out to the gulf. It was not that i hated the place but the mere fact that every second mallu from Kerala was in the gulf pissed me off ( I too am a mallu by the way). The movies portrayed these people as being filthy rich and wearing those dangling necklaces while they returned home on vacation. The truth behind that glamour and show was seldom shown.

I graduated from college, picked up a job in India and was quite content with the state of affairs. My bank account would be full during the pay day and would drain down a few hundreds at the end of every passing month. Not a single penny put towards savings. I didn't really see the necessity to save up. It was when i saw my friends buy houses and pricey cars and settle down for marriage that i began to realize how far behind i already was.

I also began to realize that a mere bachelors degree had no value in today's modern and fast paced life and that a masters degree was the need of the hour. Not to mention that almost every guy i knew had either already got a masters or was in the process of getting one.

This was when the tube light over my head suddenly began to glow and ideas to catch up with the world started to pour in. I had plans, that if implemented in the right manner, could take me places. But being the person i was, none of those wonderful plans ever came into existence.

(watch out for the continuation on my journey from India to the Gulf)