'The City is vibrant'

For many expatriates in the City, Bengaluru is a home away from home. Sebastien Duran and wife Ha Tran-Duran, who are from Lyon, France, moved to the City with their children Mai-Linh and Quoc-Toan, more than two years back.

Sebastien works as the group manager of vehicle front cab engineering at Volvo India while Ha works with LGM Engineering India as a site manager. It was work which brought Sebastien and his family here. “The organisation needed a European to come in for the job title and development of the team,” he says.

He has worked in different work environments but this is his first expatriate assignment. “The overall picture is good,” he says. The work environment isn’t very different, since it is a European organisation. “A lot of expatriates have worked here. There are some issues faced with the co-workers though,” he says. “Sometimes, they expect a lot from one, and expect to be told about everything that has to be done. But that is not my role,” he says.
Sebastien says that in the beginning, it was quite exciting and challenging. “This helped in the transition process. It is easier to adjust during the ‘honeymoon’ period. But after that, as we stayed on, we realised that it wasn’t always easy to get things done.”

He says that a common talk among the expatriates is that our Indian colleagues have post-graduation degrees, but aren’t always qualified enough for a job. “They have a strong hold in the theoretical part but when it comes to applied knowledge, they face difficulties,” he says. Of the things that Sebastien believes should change is the necessity to be first in everything.

“People here are trained from their childhood to be the first and to win. But in companies like Volvo, team work matters most. The focus here is on the collaboration between different departments,” says Sebastien.

His wife, Ha who has been working for a few months, says that her work experience has been up to the mark. She recollects that she has worked with Indian colleagues, back in France. “My team here is extremely cool and very motivated.” She adds that the team is eager to learn about the French culture. “I have colleagues who take French language classes at Alliance Francaise.”

She adds, “But in the beginning, it troubled me sometimes, when someone would turn to another colleague to ask about things. I wasn’t always taken seriously at work and this could be because of the culture.”

Despite all these areas that could use improvement, Sebastien feels that the people here are ready to take up new projects. “They are very energetic and always willing to learn. They are very flexible,” he says. He adds that people at work and outside are welcoming and helpful. “Even when I have to travel or go somewhere, they are always ready to book tickets or arrange things. When other European colleagues are visiting, the team jumps in to plan trips for them and more,” says Sebastien.

Like all expatriates, the family says that they love the weather and going out to restaurants. “As an expatriate, it is very easy to settle in Bengaluru as one can get almost everything here. This makes things easy,” says Sebastien. But the family agrees that the traffic is unbearable. “Travelling time in the car is too long,” says six-year-old Mai-Linh, to which Ha adds, “The road infrastructure is not in place here.” 

When the family has some time to spare they go shopping or spend time in their gated community. “We have travelled to places like Rajasthan, Delhi, Agra, Goa, Mumbai, Pondicherry, Ooty and Mysuru,” says Sebastien. He says that comparing to these places; Bengaluru doesn’t have many historical sites.

Both their children go to Indus Early Learning Center. Mai-Linh says that the school is big and has good teachers. “We can do a lot of fun activities at the school. I like the swimming pool at the school too,” she says. She adds that she also loves playing the piano, though she admits, “I don’t like the homework.”

Despite everything, the family loves their stay here and is soaking in a different culture. Ha sums up, “The City is both calm and vibrant. This has been a good
experience.”