Wooed by the city

Expat zone

It’s been about two years since Stanislaw Bobela fell in love with Bengaluru. Hailing from Warsaw, Poland, a chance decision made him come to India when he couldn’t find an internship back home.

He says, “I was studying at a university in Denmark and when I couldn’t find a job over the summer, I decided to venture out. Bengaluru showed up on the search list. I came here for a couple of months and fell for the place at first sight.”

He returned later to complete his Master’s thesis, found a job and has been working as a Community Manager at HackerEarth since September 2016.

“I never wondered if I will be able to manage here. Many of my friends told me that it is not the best decision, I should get vaccinated and that many bad things could happen to me. But I didn’t listen to any of that and I have never been happier,” he vouches.

However, the first week was a bit tricky. Laughingly,  he says, “When a fresh western meat comes to India, you should expect to be scammed. It happened a few times to me but nothing too painful to whine about. I learnt my way around quickly, so it was fine.”

Unlike many expatriates, Stanislaw prefers  Indian food throughout the day.

“I love the vegetarian meals at ‘Nagarjuna’, Andhra ‘biryani’ and almost everything from ‘Adyar Ananda Bhavan’.”

On weekends, he likes going to ‘The Tao Terraces’ and ‘The Humming Tree’. His undying love for Indian cuisine has given him a hope that he will be able to make it by himself one day. “I love going out to eat but I guess one day I should try cooking at home. I owe it to the country,” he says with pride.

This love for everything Indian has made him pick up Hindi as well.

He says, “The funny thing with languages is that you first learn all the words that put you in trouble. I guess it’s a very natural thing. But I’m picking up a few of the useful words too. It helps in my debate with the auto-walas!”

Though he doesn’t get too much time away from work, he does travel whenever possible. So far, he has been to Kerala, Chikkamagaluru, Kudremukh, Coimbatore, Pune, Bihar, Patna and a few others.

 “My favourite trip has been to Kerala. I even own two lungis now. I love wearing them here even though I get  weird stares from people,” he laughs. 

Recalling his hometown, he says that it is a peaceful place where honking means you are cursing at someone. His favourite activity to do there is to rent a yacht and sail with his friends for about a week.

But he adds, “I feel a lot more at home here. Firstly, because people smile back and secondly, because of the ‘masala dosa’ and ‘biryani’.” 

Comparing Bengaluru to Denmark, where he spent seven years, Stanislaw says, “Denmark is a very well put together country; people are happy and their lives are easy. But at the end of the day, everything is boring and slow. Bengaluru, on the other hand, is similar in some ways  but it is vibrant and makes me feel alive. Yes, there are irritating things around but being happy is what is important and that’s not too hard to find here.”