I can't imagine living anywhere else'

Expat zone

It’s not often that one is completely comfortable  moving to an unfamiliar place and settling down there.  Huich Goh, a Singaporean, didn’t think twice when she had to leave Australia and move to India five years ago.

“When I completed my law degree, I wanted to do something interesting before I started working full time. I was looking for an internship and Ahmedabad popped up as one of my options. Ahmedabad was a city that I’ve never even heard of! But I took a leap of faith and ended up loving it,” she says.

After living in Ahmedabad for 5 years, Huich moved to Bengaluru a year back in search of a good music teacher. With a deep interest in Indian classical music, she wanted to improve her violin skills with the right professional help.

Huich now works as the International Business Development Manager at Amrep Supplier Management Services. When asked why she didn’t continue as a lawyer here, she laughs and says, “India completely changed the way I think. I was open to trying something different when I came here.”

Though she has lived most of her life in Australia, she hails from Singapore. About the transition, she says, “I’m actually a Singaporean of Chinese origin. I was in Singapore till I finished my primary school before my family migrated to Australia. If you ask me where I consider my home to be now, I’d say that I have many homes — Singapore, Australia and India.”

She says Singapore has the drive to survive with its limited natural sources. “As a country, it is very small. There aren’t many natural resources so we have to live with what we have there. There’s a constant drive to succeed which I would love to take with me to Australia,” she explains.

Her life in Australia was also a lively one.
Huich says, “I absolutely love the culture there. People are very open, extremely friendly and easy going too. Having lived in Melbourne has helped me adjust to the lifestyle here as well.”

When she moved to India, she thought there would be cows in the traffic. The notions she had about the country disappeared as soon as she landed.

 “I couldn’t believe it,” she says. “Since Ahmedabad is a small city, I didn’t have any problems. But it was a different lifestyle when I moved to Bengaluru. I could relate to it more because I was used to living in a city. In my opinion though, you have to learn about every place you move to. For example, when I was in Ahmedabad, I had to learn Gujarati and Hindi to get around; here, everyone speaks English. This sort of jump was something that I didn’t expect.”

Since music was the main reason she shifted here, she was impressed that there are many followers for metal music here. However, she hasn’t been able to commit to her violin lessons as expected due to her busy work schedule.

“My aim of coming here took a different turn. But I’m part of a few bands which play for gigs during weekends, so I guess I’m making it work somewhere,” she says.

During her weekends, she studies music and attend musical performances based on social issues.

She also goes trekking with her friends at least once a week. She makes sure that she spends her free time doing something new and exciting like practising the violin or learning computer programmes.

Unlike many expatriates, Huich has never had a problem with food. “My comfort food is ‘onion dosa’. I’m not a conscious foodie but I’m open to exploring. However, Andhra food might be pushing my spice limits,” she laughs.

She loves the monsoon  even though she feels it’s an   inconvenient season. She says there’s something enchanting about it.

Surprisingly, Huich doesn’t find traffic too much of a problem.  “I try to skip through these small practical things. So if there’s a lot of traffic or I’m stuck on a crowded bus, I just tell myself that it’ll happen and I don’t need to push it. I think with a little patience, we can all just get by,” she says Looking back, she says that she is happy with her decision and can’t imagine staying anywhere else.

 “My parents might silently think that I’m a little crazy to have chosen a place like this, but I’m so comfortable with the way things are here and I can’t image living anywhere else,” she adds.