The kind kid from Kalol

Recuperating

in Vadodara, where he did most of his schooling. He first enquired about coming to Australia in 2005, specifically to undertake formal training as a nurse. to his delight, he was, in anticipation, granted a year and a half’s advanced standing, in the 3 year course in nursing at university of western Sydney. when i asked him why australia, rather than the uSa, Canada or great Britain, he confessed that he wasn’t too keen on the uS as “too many gujaratis go there to study”. Canada and the uK were too cold; besides he liked the friendly informality of the several aussies he had met and he felt that the climate here would be similar to home.

Rushi was justifiably confident about his English proficiency, as he regularly used English at home, especially with his father. the family frequently visited an ashram in Mumbai and their guru often used English; besides there were several foreign students, including australians with whom rushi practiced and extended his English. So in mid-2006, rushi arrived in Sydney, alone, jobless but undaunted. he laughingly shared with me his first impressions, “It was very cold!” followed by “where are all the blondes?” ypically, Sydney airport had so many asians. couldn’t tell if they were Japanese, Chinese or he was convinced he had boarded the wrong plane, and had landed “in tokyo, or hong Kong, or somewhere in asia, but not Sydney.” fter about a year of travelling around Sydney by public transport, rushi invested in a car, particularly since he had finally begun to get casual work in various hospitals, scattered across Sydney, often requiring him to be there at short e began full time study at the university estern Sydney, and was awarded the degree of Bachelor of Nursing in February 2008. as a part of his nursing experience, rushi had worked at the Sydney adventist hospital (the San) and, when he placed this hospital as number one on his preference list, he was delighted to be offered a position there. he now moved to thornleigh, much closer to his place of work, and a pleasant, green and leafy bushland suburb (where, as it happens, i have lived for 35 years). in March 2009, his parents came to Sydney to visit their son. his father had to return home after a month, but his mother stayed until May. according to rushi, his parents loved the green, open spaces, the australian bush and animals, and places such as the Blue Mountains (“very cold”) and the gold Coast, an obvious favourite. understandably, rushi’s family ties remain very strong and he thinks he will stay in australia for about five years, during all of which he smilingly expects continued pressure from his parents to find “a nice, suitable Indian girl (either in australia or back home), settle down and have a family.”

Following the common pattern among indian students, he had been directed to harris Park, where he stayed for about two months, working as a casual in a marketing call centre. although he valiantly tried to get work as assistant in Nurse N), he ran afoul of the circular dilemma that he couldn’t get a job because he had no local ussie) experience, and he couldn’t get local experience until someone gave him a job! For six months or so, he eked out his existence in a variety of casual jobs, “everything except nursing.” the size and scattered nature of Sydney was initially daunting, but rushi used the internet to “get the reater Sydney, and bravely used public transport, always planning his trips so as to be on time for interviews (rushi places high emphasis on punctuality, although i must uncharitably remind him he was late for our interview on which this article is largely based.)

He relates a delightful experience the first time he tried to find the University of Technology in central Sydney. he went into a small convenience store to ask for directions and must have looked so lost, that the shopkeeper, although alone, took him out into the street and made sure he was “on the right track”. rushi often comments on the openness and friendliness of the people he has encountered. (his own manner is always courteous and polite which, even in a soulless big city, often helps.)

Like all people moving from overseas, rushi has had to come to terms with and adapt to an environment and lifestyle quite different from “back home”. he has been very honest in describing this to me. he is clearly not an “inner city”, “night life”, “high liver” sort of person. he prefers a quiet, meditative and peaceful life. He freely admits that, as an only son, he has been “spoiled” at home, where “everything was done for me”. in australia he had suddenly to learn to be independent, cooking, washing, renting accommodation, and organizing his finances, as well as his social life. his daily schedule was, and remains, busy and tight, including continued study and frequent night shifts. He remains in frequent contact with his parents who are happy for him. he readily acknowledges the support and help of his parents, not least of all given that the cost of living in Sydney is 2-3 times higher than back in his home town.

Our interview ended with Rushi quietly acknowledging that, while living at harris Park, he was once the victim of a gang, who accosted him about 8 pm once night and stole his mobile phone (which was rather pointlessly recovered one year later). Neither then not now does he see this incident as racist per se. he believes he was targetted merely because he was alone at night. he believes that overseas students, including indians, gain maximum experience by not living in enclaves, but by seeking to participate in mainstream activities, including enhancing their English language skills. rushi himself is a successful example and already (almost) an aussie character.