I’ve spent exactly one half of my life in India and the other in the United States. Most days, I feel like an Indian living in America. But every time I cross an ocean and get off the plane in Chennai, I instantly transform into an American in India. With every remark about “how different everything looks now,” each contemporary cultural reference that is lost on me, I’m reminded of my status as an outsider, a visitor even when I’m home.
I’ve spent exactly one half of my life in India and the other in the United States. Most days, I feel like an Indian living in America. But every time I cross an ocean and get off the plane in Chennai, I instantly transform into an American in India. With every remark about “how different everything looks now,” each contemporary cultural reference that is lost on me, I’m reminded of my status as an outsider, a visitor even when I’m home.