Time Zones
International Students’
Experiences
The African Safari
From the Kingdom of Swaziland
By Siyabonga Menon
Siyabonga Menon is a third year student at NITK, who hails from the Kingdom of
Swaziland in Southern Africa. He can adapt to any situation,and constantly transforms obstacles into stepping stones for achievement.
I
first learnt about NITK after I received my letter of acceptance. I immediately googled the acronym, and there were
thousands of search results - a private beach, five-star hostel
facilities, an Olympic sized swimming pool, and the top NIT
in India. What more could I have asked for? Having had little prior
knowledge about India, let alone NITK, it was surreal for me at
the time, and I had mixed feelings over how my new life would
pan out. I tried my best to keep calm and not expect too much.
I first landed at Mangalore International Airport on the 26th
of July 2011 on a rainy monsoon day. On arrival, an immigration
officer at the gate stamped my passport and asked me what the
purpose of my visit was. “Study”, I said. He gave me another stern
look and asked me where I would be studying. I pulled out a letter
from the Indian Council of Cultural Relations that explained that I
was a foreign student from the Kingdom Of Swaziland who would
be studying on scholarship at the National Institute of Technology
Karnataka. His face immediately lit up; he shook his head with a
smile, and quickly stamped my passport. He was even nice enough
to show me where I could take a taxi.
When I reached the taxi stand, it was raining heavily and I had
no umbrella. So, the driver helped me quickly load my luggage
into the trunk; he asked me where I would be studying. “NITK”
I replied. He too shook his head and said “Super!” Throughout
the journey to NITK, the driver would not stop talking about the
college. At one point, I even remember asking myself how much
NITK had paid him to market the college to his clients!
Upon arrival at NITK, I reported to the Dean of Academics, at
the time a very stern and powerful looking man, who explained to
me the registration procedure, and made it clear to me that I was no
different from any other student in the college and I should follow
all rules and instructions and not expect any special treatment. At
the time, it really helped establish my perception of the reputation
of the college as one which was impartial and unbiased when it
came to academics and student welfare.
The first two weeks of the physics cycle passed by in a whirl,
and I still hadn’t come to terms with the new environment. I was
totally culture shocked, depressed, and I complained about everything. Soon after, we were buried under mountains of work, tests,
and mid semester exams. I had met so many new people, and made
so many new friends, some of whom really gave me hope and
showed me a different side to each situation I was faced with.
Of the many challenges that I had faced in my first year, per-
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The Shoreline
haps the biggest was that of eating vegetarian food. Coming from
a traditional Zulu background where any meal served to a guest
without meat is an insult, I had only two choices - I either had to
eat all my meals in restaurants outside the college, or I had to stop
expecting to be treated like a guest. And as the saying goes “when in
Rome, do as the Romans do”, the obvious and more economically
efficient choice was the latter, so I lived just like any other NITKian.
By the second semester, life had become much better. I stopped
complaining so much, and started trying to understand why certain
things in in India are done in a certain way. Feeling more comfortable in my new environment, I grew a sense of control over my
thoughts and feelings, and it was life changing. I had learnt so much
of the South Indian culture, and developed a mindset of tolerance
and appreciation for the vast diversity in culture and religion and the
way of life of the common Indian.
Three years down the line, now I’m in my sixth semester, and I
am still overwhelmed by the positive and exciting experiences which
continue to mould me, not to mention the immense hospitality and
respect which is shown to me in a place so far from home. Why
has India been so good to me? Maybe I’m just lucky, or maybe I’ve
been looking at India differently to get a very different treatment
for myself.
Do people stare at me a lot in India? Yes they do, and it doesn’t
really bother me. I’m sure they stare at other travelers with the same
curiosity. After all, isn’t it a natural reaction to stare at something
which is considered exotic?
Can I generalize my overall experience of India? No, I most
definitely cannot, and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to. No one’s
experience of India can be generalized. After all, India is home to
a sixth of humanity, and thus every foreigner only gets to interact
with a small fraction of people. All I can say is I’ve had some good
experiences, and some bad experiences, but I can confidently say
the good ones far outnumber the bad
.