Oct 07 2023, 09:59
American dreams in Charlotte:
The US continues to be a passport to a ‘better life and big opportunities’.
Even though studying in the US is highly expensive for Indian students, many hope to land a job in multinationals and stay on to live the American dream.
However, for most, it’s a ticket back home after the studies are over.
If you are an Indian tourist ticking the US off your bucket list. It doesn’t have the vibe of Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, or the Big Apple. One can easily mistake it for a sleepy little town. But this is where a lot of Indian students come every year to study at the University of North Carolina.
Like any other restaurant in India where you can get ‘Indian Chinese’, local beer brands, dal, and an assortment of other popular Indian dishes, with old Hindi songs playing in the background.
When you enter Suvidha, an Indian supermarket that sells spices, ready-to-cook Indian meals, packaged snacks, and more, the feeling is distinct that Onam is over and it’s time to celebrate Ganapati Bappa. There are Ganesha idols all around Suvidha.
The number of Indian students at the university has doubled in the last seven years. These students don’t chase NEET, CUET, or CAT. They leave India to pursue higher education and live the great American dream.
Mahesh Reddy from Telangana is one such student seeking to make it big in the US.
Reddy, who is pursuing graduate studies in Computer Science, works at Sarangi part time, twice a week. “My parents have put in a lot of effort and money in sending me here. More than their decades of savings, and money from a house they sold, helped fund my passage to UNC. I can’t disappoint them,”
Reddy stays with five others, all from Telangana, in an apartment owned by an Indian. A local American will not permit so many in a two-room apartment, points out Reddy even as he rues everything is expensive.
The shared apartment helps bring down the rent to USD200 per month per person for Reddy and the five others.
Charlotte, the capital city of North Carolina,is also the corporate head office of Bank of America, Honeywell International, Wells Fargo, among others.
Maya, who just started her undergraduate studies.
“I don’t want to go back,” says an excited Maya. She plans to stay on after studies and eventually wants to become a US citizen.
“Things are expensive here. But look at it, even a hospital nurse starts at USD50 an hour, which can increase to USD70 in about five years. Even working five hours a day for 20 days a month will pay USD7,000,” says Maya.
“Many might feel the American dream is fading. But when you come here even as a student, there’s a distinct pull of a ‘better life and bigger opportunities’, minus the daily friction of living in big Indian cities. That keeps me motivated to look for those breaks here,” says Maya.
source:et
Oct 10 2023, 09:00
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