It has been a month in Adelaide and it seems like a decade. It has been a month away from dust-grime and hustle-bustle of Delhi. I grew accostomed to a care-free life and shifting to Adelaide was a shift from my non-challant life. Its been a month away from home-cooked food, KFC, choicest street obscenities, Metro Rail and DTC buses.
Interesting observations about Adelaide
There are far less Indians in Adelaide than I expected. The Indians who I meet on streets are often students of University Of South Australia and the rest are Sri Lankans with whom I invariably start speaking in Hindi.
Australians are very warm and helpful people. This might come as a shock to many people back home who think Australians are uncouth and brash. The average Aussie is very courteous, helpful and street smart. The bus drivers give time to every passeneger who struggles with his ticket. The elderly have special seating in buses and driver starts moving the bus only when he has made sure the aged person has taken his seat. And people with physical disability have a ramp pulled down for them at every stop in the city. Aussie constitute the majority of happy-shining population of the world. Every where you go you are greeted with big smiles which is quite a change from the sulking atmosphere of Delhi. During one of my house hunt trips I asked an elderly gentleman for direction. He was deaf and was very old. He gave me direction to the place and to make it doubly sure he called his wife from neighbouring hairdresser who pulled out a map just to make sure that we’re not lost on our way back.
Australians eat big, think big and stay big. An average Australian eats more meat than an averge non-vegetarian savouring Punjabi family (...it might be a conservative estimate). No wonder the average Australian is well built and those who do not exercise end up being huge. Being an Indian in the city you can feel dwarfed. And if you are in a Bachelor's program say in University of Adelaide you’ll have more reasons to feel vertically challenged.(... there are very few Indians in UniAD).
Adeladean’s are homely people or just plain sleepy. City closes at 5pm. Banks start winding up at 4:30pm and people start qeueing the bus stands at 5:30pm. Only pubs, some exclusive super stores and restraunts open at night. This might be attributed to the familial nature of denizens and also because of an aeging population. Some of my friends from Mumbai got a bit depressed because they are living in suburbs and there is no one on the streets. Isolation can be tough for people who have lived all their lives in claustrophobic lanes of an Indian metro which is in perpetual state of insomnia.
Interesting observations about Adelaide
There are far less Indians in Adelaide than I expected. The Indians who I meet on streets are often students of University Of South Australia and the rest are Sri Lankans with whom I invariably start speaking in Hindi.
Australians are very warm and helpful people. This might come as a shock to many people back home who think Australians are uncouth and brash. The average Aussie is very courteous, helpful and street smart. The bus drivers give time to every passeneger who struggles with his ticket. The elderly have special seating in buses and driver starts moving the bus only when he has made sure the aged person has taken his seat. And people with physical disability have a ramp pulled down for them at every stop in the city. Aussie constitute the majority of happy-shining population of the world. Every where you go you are greeted with big smiles which is quite a change from the sulking atmosphere of Delhi. During one of my house hunt trips I asked an elderly gentleman for direction. He was deaf and was very old. He gave me direction to the place and to make it doubly sure he called his wife from neighbouring hairdresser who pulled out a map just to make sure that we’re not lost on our way back.
Australians eat big, think big and stay big. An average Australian eats more meat than an averge non-vegetarian savouring Punjabi family (...it might be a conservative estimate). No wonder the average Australian is well built and those who do not exercise end up being huge. Being an Indian in the city you can feel dwarfed. And if you are in a Bachelor's program say in University of Adelaide you’ll have more reasons to feel vertically challenged.(... there are very few Indians in UniAD).
Adeladean’s are homely people or just plain sleepy. City closes at 5pm. Banks start winding up at 4:30pm and people start qeueing the bus stands at 5:30pm. Only pubs, some exclusive super stores and restraunts open at night. This might be attributed to the familial nature of denizens and also because of an aeging population. Some of my friends from Mumbai got a bit depressed because they are living in suburbs and there is no one on the streets. Isolation can be tough for people who have lived all their lives in claustrophobic lanes of an Indian metro which is in perpetual state of insomnia.
Some of my generalisations and my self-styled stereotypes
1. If you meet a Chinese in Adelaide speaking fluent English then believe me he is a Korean.
2. You’ll meet all your Indian friends at the free Uni barbecue irrespective of its timing some might come even in pouring rain.
3. You must start speaking Gujrati if you have enrolled in an Engineering course at UniSA at the Masters level.
4. If you think you might be able to pay for your tuition fees working part-time you must be dreaming.
5. If you think an Aussie is laid-back you are wrong he is "lazy".
If you think you heard someone say “No Worries Mate” you are right you are in Adelaide.
