Taken from those who've studied abroad, for the benefit of those who're about to go.
No, they won't. Even after repeating it a few times. And in some cases even after repeating it many times. Like this dude Ramakrishnan who got a totally new name. Neither Rama, nor Krishnan, he was christened as - wait for it - Idli (after his favourite dish).
You'll get their names. How difficult is a phonetically straight Tom, Dick and Harry to pronounce. But you won't understand what the Dick just said.
One Indian girl (let's call her Neha and protect her identity) said the two words she used the most in the first six months were 'sorry' and 'excuse me', till her Pakistani room mate suggested she should instead just nod and laugh.
No, you will not get a "lota" or "spray jet" there. And how often are you going to sneak in 50 ml bottles (how much can you achieve with that anyway). You will have to get used to scrubbing it off with the toilet paper.
This deeply entrenched Indian habit is not going to leave you.
And guess what, you will learn that you're better off spending 50$ on beer kegs and burger rather than vegetables.
One guy in Latvia said he ate chicken burger five times a week for lunch and dinner.
In middle of a calculus lecture all you can think of is a plate of panipuri. Yes Indian street food is going to haunt you.
Your roots are in dhol and bhagara, this you learn only when you're studying abroad. Blue Hai Pani Pani is a classic (no matter how much you cursed it here) and Himesh Reshamiya's "Aap ka Surooooor" is going to make you jump right off the bar stool and onto the dance floor like a maniac.
Ofcourse when you return to India you're going to curse them and swear allegiance to EDM. That's earning your stripes as a phoren return.
Good old times when the house help would bring in the food laden tray, or would just lay it on the table. Hot and delicious, ready to be ravished. (The food, not the maid!)
The dirty clothes which you threw in any corner of the house and they magically reappeared in your cupboard within a couple of days. Clean and ironed. That wasn't magic, bitches. That was maids.
You won't get them there, and you'll miss them like crazy when you have to cook, clean, wash, fold, iron.
Idli (see point 1 to know who Idli is) said when he saw a bar on the campus, he stood infront of it staring. Bar on a campus! It seemed, he said, days of drinking bournvita were finally over.
Quite easy to fall in love there. Especially with another Indian student. You're lonely in a cold, foreign land, maybe insecure. It won't be long before you are hopelessly in love.
Unless you are in so much love with your freedom that you won't mind the lonliness. In any case, you will find love.
No shit that. Just like your love, your best friends are going to be all brown. And not the Latin American light brown, it's going to be sub-continent dark brown all the way.
Birds of a feather flock together. You're likely to have an awesome time with firangs and you'll make some great safed dost, but in the end your best friends are going to be Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis.
There have been times when you haven't gone back to your place in days. When you're back your mom's going to ask you 'where you are and when you're going to return?'
You've had the craziest and the wildest times there, and back home there will be hardly any places for that.
You have lived your dream, explored and discovered new things, made amazing friends, and now you have to return.
It will be tough. But the memories, you'll trade them for nothing in the world.
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