Indian Immigrant Women and Work by Ramya M. Vijaya Bidisha Biswas

Author:Ramya M. Vijaya, Bidisha Biswas [Ramya M. Vijaya, Bidisha Biswas]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Ethnic Studies, General, Women's Studies, Regional Studies
ISBN: 9781134990245
Google: GDBuDQAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2016-11-03T06:03:53+00:00

Changes in the networking space

Women who arrived in later decades were able to take advantage of increasingly sophisticated networks that had been created, in part, by previous waves of immigrants. Over the years these networks have provided an important counterpoint to the barriers of ethnicity and gender that the early immigrants encountered in the initial stages of their journey. Rekha, who arrived in the US as a student in 1975 and is now a professor, observed, “These days, I see Indian students being picked up by other students at the airport, being housed by them. We did not have any of those things when I arrived.”8 Padma arrived at a large research university some years after Rekha. She recalls being confused about how to send a telegram to her parents and encountering another Indian woman at the post office who became her friend early on. While Padma benefited from a large South Asian community in her university, she also recalls feeling out of sorts with the systems in the US. Another respondent recalls being baffled by how to use an ATM and asking another international student for help.

It is unlikely that a more recent student arrival would encounter similar challenges to adjusting to life in the US. As she was preparing to arrive as a student in 1999, Biswas received a detailed email with information on what to bring and not to bring to the United States. “Don’t bother bringing a coat to Chicago just to save dollars,” noted the email. “You will not find anything in India that will prepare you for Chicago winters. When you get here, we will tell you about the stores where you can get discounted winter coats.” “Do bring a large pressure cooker,” the note added. “Your roommates and you will often cook your meals together.” Bidisha had a friend in Chicago with whom she stayed for a few days immediately after her arrival. Her eventual roommate, also a newly arrived student, was housed by other Indian students. Both Biswas and her roommate were able to glean valuable information from the Indian student network on how best to adjust to their university and their adopted city.

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