A foreigner who recently moved to India for work has sparked a discussion online after sharing his experience of what he described as a "culture shock", saying people he meets often talk about their achievements and ask several personal questions.
In a Reddit post titled 'Culture shock as a foreigner', the European professional said that he had recently moved to the National Capital Region (NCR) and noticed the pattern soon after arriving. According to him, many of the people he met quickly began talking about their educational qualifications, professional achievements and family accomplishments, often before asking.
"Every time I meet someone, they start listing their achievements and background without me even asking (I.e., 'I went to IIT, I work at company X and my son is living in the US'). This has happened to me multiple times (6x in 1 week, to be precise), the Reddit user wrote.
The foreigner said that he also noticed that people would ask him several personal questions, which he felt were aimed at placing him in a "hypothetical hierarchy" and deciding how they should treat him.
{{/usCountry}}The foreigner said that he also noticed that people would ask him several personal questions, which he felt were aimed at placing him in a "hypothetical hierarchy" and deciding how they should treat him.
{{/usCountry}}The OP said that this behaviour was very different from what he was accustomed to in Europe.
"In my culture (I'm European), it is very rude to do this and you should always be humble and either let people find out about your achievements indirectly or sometimes never. I'm not saying this is a better approach - my point is that I'm not used to behaving any differently in this regard," he said.
The foreigner said that this left him wondering whether he should change the way he introduces himself in India. "My question here becomes: should I do the same and hype myself up when I meet other people so they don't treat me badly? Or should I stay in my lane and let people think whatever they want to think?" he asked.
He also wondered whether choosing the latter approach could leave him vulnerable to being taken advantage of and asked Reddit users for tips on adapting to Indian workplace culture.
(Also Read: Foreign woman says she’s often ‘undercharged’ in India, praises ‘incredible hospitality’)
Social media reactions
The post received several responses, with some users telling him not to change his personality simply because of a few encounters.
Reacting to the post, one user wrote, "ignore those 6x. there are humble souls here too. bragging is looked down upon by truly learned ones. do what matches your ethics."
"You're pretty accurate - they are trying to put you in a hierarchy. Don't really have recommendations on if you should change yourself or not.But maybe have some fun with it in the name of science/social experiment. Tell some people that you're a descendent of a certain royal family. Or a famous scientist. Or whatever. And see if the behavior changes," commented another.
"I think it's just the Indian way of doing 'introductions'. People dont know what else to talk about except for their education. Most people never had luxuries of doing stuff (like travelling, etc) other than education/work," wrote a third user.
(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)