Hah! This blog is sadly coming to a close. Or at least the motivation for it. After 4 German summers, this has become my last one for the foreseeable future. But you never know.
And now to the new tasks. Back in India, even my home town, I am looking for rental apartments. Not a complicated issue. Except this is a city, I have been away for 11 years and I know next to nobody whom I can use to connect me. So I tried the online sites and agents.
And it reminded me a bit of a meeting with a tenant- not landlord, who told me "wir haben probleme mit indern" (we have problems with (giving apartments to) indians). My colleague a Japanese person, however he claimed "hat bessere chancen" (has a better chance). So I know continental Europeans tend to keep this in the family, and are quite colour concious. But to have it told to me on my face was quite a shock, offending my Indian sensibilities of politeness and propreity.
So I was curious if I would get reverse treatment- you are from here, we will give you discounted rates- looking for apartments in India. Sadly, not really. Help has been forthcoming, but its mostly normal stuff. Still, it feels good not to be the one who is excluded from society.
So Xenophobia, fear of the strange (greek), as related to me by my German colleagues is part of the German psyche. But need I accept it? How relevant is it in the new world where connectivity is ever faster between the different parts. Besides being quite an unenlightened attitude.
More thoughts on this some other time.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment