Comments on: Just how far will you go?

By: Remembering a journey | Silent Eloquence

Remembering a journey | Silent Eloquence — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 11:15:24 +0000

[...] I moved and adapted to Germany, I wrote: I like bratwursts (sausages) and potatoes. I like the carnivals and the Christmas markets and the [...]

By: Pang

Pang — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 00:39:59 +0000

It’s ironic that just yesterday I was looking up on countries to move to after getting out of college. I have a couple of questions for you if you don’t mind answering. If you can email me back, that would be much appreciated! My question to you is: Why do you move to those countries and how old were you when moving to those countries? Was the transition hard? What’s your inspirations in all of this? As far as your question is concern, I think that we should sit back and be content with all that we have experienced during those different times in those different countries. Not many is blessed with what we’re blessed with. In short, yes, we should be happy with our nationalistic identities!

By: Silent Eloquence » What it means to be an Indian?

Silent Eloquence » What it means to be an Indian? — Thu, 28 Jul 2005 14:49:17 +0000

[...] The second one is on the flip side of this coin. Even as we struggle to be included as Indians, we have to fit in into the environs that we live in. Here is one of my old posts on how far I will go in adjusting to a new place. [...]

By: Arjun

Arjun — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Your questions remind me of Khalil Gibran's thoughts. Even though it speaks of Syria and America, the thoughts espoused reflect respect from where he came from and admiration for where he wants to get to.

I quote:

And what is it to be a good citizen?

It is to acknowledge the other person's rights before asserting your own, but always to be conscious of your own.

It is to be free in thought and deed, but it is to know that your freedom is subject to the other person's freedom.

It is to create the useful and the beautiful with your own hands, and to admire what others have created in love and with faith.

It is to produce wealth by labor and only by labor, and to spend less than you have produced that your children may not be dependent on the state for support when you are no more.

It is to stand before the towers of New York, Washington, Chicago and San Francisco saying in your heart, "I am the descendant of a people that built Damascus, and Biblus, and Tyre and Sidon, and Antioch, and now I am here to

build with you, and with a will.

It is to be proud of being an American, but it is also to be proud that your fathers and mothers came from a land upon which God hid his gracious hand and raised His messengers. Young Americans of Syrian origin, I believe in you.

By: Pleomorphous

Pleomorphous — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Do you want to be comfortable in different places? Do you want to blend into your surroundings, or do you want to stand out?

There will be moments in your life when you strongly desire an identity that marks you in a crowd. And if you, like me, have lived in different places, you will acquire something everytime you move to a new place. Erasing a part of what you acquired earlier.

I cannot merge with the Calcutta crowd. The Hyderabad crowd will see me differently. I don't think I can merge with the Delhi crowd. And despite living here for over a decade, there are times when I do not identify with the Madras crowd.

Now I identify myself with the country. There is nothing else I can do.

By: surreal reality

surreal reality — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

This post has been removed by the author.

By: Lucid Dreamer

Lucid Dreamer — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

"The moving finger writes.. and having writ.. moves on.. "

-Omar Khayyam

Such, my friend, is the callousness of fate.... There are some, much like myself, who do not want to stand out of a crowd. They want to be the crowd.

By: Surya

Surya — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

>> Arjun> I am very flattered with ur reference to the great Gibran..but the vision that he sets out, 'It is to be proud of being an American, but it is also to be proud that your fathers and mothers came from a land upon which God hid his gracious hand and raised His messengers. Young Americans of Syrian origin, I believe in you.' I think is very hard to achieve in practice. Its not easy to be proud of two or more different nationalities. Its like trying to be in two boats at the same time. As long as the currents are mild, it is ok, but when the river gets rocky, the going gets tough. Personally, I claim to be of Indian origin when people praise India, Singaporean when they say Singapore is ooh - so clean and so on and on. But when it comes to serious debates where I have to do the defense, I often scramble. Definitely not something to be proud of, but something that happens. And I have seen this with others too who are in similar situations, so I am sure I am not the lone evil one.

>>Polymorpheus > 'There is nothing else I can do'
Do u like it this way ? or would you have preferred to have one single identity? And if you could have gone back in time, would you (and could you) have fervently held to one chosen identity and refused to adapt..?

>>Lucid Dreamer >'They want to be the crowd.'
When the crowd around you keeps changing , sometimes it gets too tiring just trying not to stand out from the crowd..never had that feeling before?

By: Pleomorphous

Pleomorphous — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

The grass is always greener on the other side. Today I prefer a single identity. Tomorrow I ,might just take pride form the fact that being in different cultures helped me adapt quickly to different worlds.