The Global Man With A Global Family

Twenty world cities later, we, a couple of so-called Global Citizens, find themselves attached to the most unexpected of friends in the most unexpected corner of the world—to find that human relationships go beyond caste, creed, race and geographic boundaries.

October 2005: As my Air India plane hovered over LAX International, I was in awe and admiration of all the neat homes with pools and well paved streets below. Three years into my career in the Information Technology industry, I was landing on foreign soil for the first time ever. I was one of the first people in my friends’ circle to do so and as expected, I had a lot of requests—things to buy, places to see and pictures to take.

To date, I recall every minute I spent in Orange County during that first trip. The visit to Disneyland, riding in a convertible without the roof, Las Vegas, and the crazy shopping malls are still fresh in my mind. Since 2005, I had the opportunity to travel to over twenty cities across the world in every continent except Africa and Antarctica. Luckily for me, my wife was able to time her vacation from work and join me in most places too. While it did take a toll on my health and pulled me away from family and friends, it opened my eyes to a whole new way of living—Global Living.

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Global Living, in my view, is the ability for one to live in any city in the world and adapt to the food, culture, working styles and other environmental conditions, much like a chameleon. While abroad, I started to consciously eliminate certain habits that were considered okay in my country or culture. I changed my language when required, sometimes even the accent to make it easy for the listener. I gathered facts about the city and culture I was in as useful conversation starters and it worked really well. One may think of this as being negative, since you perhaps lose your identity, uniqueness and your roots, but hey, remember the nomads? They had their own unique way of living that was not limited to any geography or culture—it was global.

Today, when any man converses with me, he tends to say that I look Indian but don’t seem Indian. How do I tell him that I am just being sensitive to his culture and the way he thinks so I come across as more affable to him? Thanks to my travels and an open attitude towards life, I made friends in every corner of the world—from the Unites States and Buenos Aires to Dalian and Singapore. Thanks to social sites, they remain connected to me for a lifetime; thanks to the magnets on my mother’s refrigerator, the memory of every city will remain etched with me forever.

However, nothing of being a nomad could prepare me for May of 2011, when I landed in Manila, Philippines for a two-month project. Little did I realize that by the end of these two months, my wife and me would end up making Manila our home for the next five years. As it goes, during the course of the assignment, I met a dynamic and inspiring leader at the Manila office, who asked if I was keen on moving to the Philippines. I requested my wife to fly in to get a feel for the place. Thirty days later, I accepted the offer. We moved three months later, to an absolute shocker of a city—Metro Manila.

What surprised us was not the people, the work culture or the food. It was how wrong we were about the cost of living comparison. No amount of web research or consultation with others could prepare us for Metro Manila. We went from paying less than a cent for a minute’s phone call to almost twenty five cents per minute. The price of milk went from twenty cents to over a dollar per liter. Finally, the killer—electricity—went from being a few hundred back home to a few thousands in Manila. Thanks to the support I received from office and friends around, we survived and gradually found ways and thrived. Over the next five years, we got pregnant twice, had a failed gestation period and were blessed with an angel of a son on the second attempt. We built our financial and social statuses, saw unseen success at work and made friends for life.

Last year, we decided it was time to “settle down” so as to provide our two-year old ‘Made In The Philippines’ son the stability he deserves, an identity he needs to create for himself, and quality education at affordable prices. Unfortunately for us, we did not see the Philippines meeting two of the three criteria and I started pursuing career options elsewhere within my firm. At first, the option to move to the UK seemed to work out. But it wasn’t meant to be. Discussions failed and programs expected to come through did not work out. But when one window closes, destiny holds another open. This time, it offered us the opportunity to go ‘Down-under’.

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In six to eight weeks, we will move to Melbourne—a city with one of the best living standards, top class education and a cosmopolitan population.

Last week, we vacated our home to move into a short-term rental home, which facilitated a timely disposal of our possessions and an easier exit once our visas came through. Moving showed us how little these possessions meant to us and how easy it was to donate a bunch of our clothes. As we stood in the empty home, the first home of our toddler, our eyes welled. The memories the home held for us was invaluable. My son wept as we bid adieu to the walls that became home—a home that will forever be close to our heart.

Last evening, something unexpected happened to me. As I toasted at a party at our new place, a last get-together with a few friends we made in The Philippines, I found myself holding back tears, unable to sing a very popular Hindi song—Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna (Never say Farewell). I already see all of our remainder weekends packed with meeting friends, dinners and send-off parties. We have extended our roots to this land and will leave a piece of us here when we leave.

Thirty years in India and twenty world cities later, a couple of so-called Global Citizens find themselves attached to the most unexpected of friends in the most unexpected corner of the world. This goes to show that relationships go beyond birth, caste, creed, race and geographic boundaries. As an exciting future beckons, we hope to cherish every minute in Manila. It’s going to be hard to leave this beautiful country and the beautiful friends we have made, but we will carry with us beautiful memories that will last a lifetime.

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Photo Credit: Author