At first when I arrived in Bangalore, I felt really nervous about making friends here and finding community. I decided to reach out through hobbies and activities I enjoy. For example, I’ve met friends through yoga class, through a climbing gym, through dance classes and at local cafés. I’ve also made some good friends at the workplace. We always eat lunch together up on the rooftop.
Many barriers exist that make it difficult to integrate into the local community, such as language barriers and a lack of knowledge about cultural traditions or norms. To address this, I have found it important to keep a curious mind to try to better understand the local culture. This means trying to learn some of the local language. So, when I get into an auto-rickshaw, I try to greet the driver with "Namaskara," which means “Hello” in Kannada, the local language. And when I leave, I say “Dhanyavada”, which means “Thank you” in Kannada.
Simple acts like this mean a lot to local people, because it shows you care about their language and culture. It’s also a good idea to ask questions. I am often curious about religious and cultural traditions here, so I ask people and they are more than happy to tell me a story.
