Approaching the owner, I shook his hand observing his bald head and made him aware that I was not one of his regular customers. Sid pointed me to one of the elegant tables to take the time to enlighten me about his culture, his business and obtain his perspective about his journey. After explaining the purpose of my visit, he began: "Coming to the US I felt I was minority, being in my country I was one of them, now I am an outsider. I was born in India and just by being born there I am able to speak three different Indian languages: Hindu, Punjabi and Telegu. Even though the mother language in India is Sanskrit, most people speak Hindu. There are a couple of more famous ethnicities, such as Hindu and Muslim. These are only a few of the many languages like Marathi, Konkani, Assamese, Urdu, Sindhi, Tamil and Oriya. "At first I had difficulty to adapt and learn the English language. I still get looked at in a weird way because of my accent. At times, Spanish people would start talking while looking at me and it was frustrating not knowing what they would mumble. That would make me feel more out of place. Having to repeat myself multiple times before the person I was speaking to could understand me was aggravating. It was very difficult to familiarize to the new life style, new people and the way of doing things because it wasn't what I was used to. Acquainting with the people, the fast food, feeling restrained when I ate, and driving on the right side instead of the left, were part of the modifications. In our culture we use our right hand to eat but people look at us in a strange ways while eating ", he stated. "We should be able to do what we want without being stared at. To me everyone was just hypercritical ". Isn't America a free and liberal county? I ask myself.
By the age of fourteen he had his Bachelor's Degree, "In India they would test your skill set and if you did well, you were promoted to a higher level"; he stated that many people of the Indian culture are very highly qualified.
