India with Jessica | Navigating Indian Culture With Love

If you've ever wondered what the differences are between the educational system in Western countries, this episode is for you.  If you're an NRI wondering if you should move back to India, or if you are a Westerner thinking about making the shift to India, this is for you too. 

In this episode, Jessica details the major differences between Indian and Western education styles as well a a LIST OF QUESTIONS you need to ask a new school before enrolling your child.

Be sure to follow Jessica on social to keep up with announcements, giveaways and discounts.

How do you build relationships in India? Part 2 of this 2 part episode deals with the relational dynamics of living in India as someone who didn't grow up there. Skip the outdated guide books and listen in to this advice from Jessica, who first started living in India in 2006.

Friendships, finding common ground, how to manage house help and language learning tips are all here. 

Whether you are visiting or planning on living in India, these tips will help you go beyond surviving to thriving in India with these tips!

Mentioned in this episode

Download the Ultimate Hindi Learning Resource Guide for FREE

It is a 21 page PDF including curated resources of Jessica's top recommendations of Indian owned businesses who are creating the best Hindi learning tools!

The Guide Includes:

-Ratings of Hindi teachers, top classes, programs and apps!

-Contact information and discount codes for the best teachers and programs to learn Hindi!

-Personal notes and recommendations on ways to learn Hindi through native speakers.

-21 pages of Jessica's curated recommendations for teachers based on 16+ years of experience in learning Hindi

Get it here! 

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Other episodes to check out 

Surviving the Most Common Inconveniences in India Episode 18

My Top 5 Most Raw Experiences in India Episode 50

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Join our Patreon community for special content and perks!

 www.patreon.com/invisibleindia

What are the crucial elements you need to life life well in India? Part 1 of this 2 part episode deals with the practicalities of living in India as someone who didn't grow up there. Skip the outdated guide books and listen in to this advice from Jessica, who first started living in India in 2006. 

Negotiation, dealing with the complications of Indian currency, how to give and receive directions and of course tips on learning the local language(s) of the place you are visiting or living in.

Whether you are visiting or planning on living in India, these tips will help you go beyond surviving to thriving in India with these tips! 

Links mentioned in this episode

Download the Ultimate Hindi Learning Resource Guide for FREE

It is a 21 page PDF including curated resources of Jessica's top recommendations of Indian owned businesses who are creating the best Hindi learning tools! 

The Guide Includes:

-Ratings of Hindi teachers, top classes, programs and apps!  

-Contact information and discount codes for the best teachers and programs to learn Hindi!  

-Personal notes and recommendations on ways to learn Hindi through native speakers.  

-21 pages of Jessica's curated recommendations for teachers based on 16+ years of experience in learning Hindi 

Get it here! 

_____________________ 

Join our Patreon community for special content and perks!

 www.patreon.com/invisibleindia

Jessica dives deeper about having Indian in-laws as a foreigner. In this 2 part episode, Jessica discusses listener questions about having Indian in-laws when you didn’t grow up in Indian culture.

We talk about how to address conflict, what happens when you're in a multi-generational home and how to address the different view of boundaries in East vs West.

Be sure to listen to Part 1 to hear about meeting the inlaws for the first time and other popular questions about marrying an Indian.

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Links mentioned in this episode:

The "Hindi Hacks You Never Knew You Needed" course is live! Cut out the fluff and get the first phrases and concepts that you need to know to get you speaking quickly and on your way! 

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Download the Ultimate Hindi Learning Resource Guide. It is a 21 page PDF including curated resources of Jessica's top recommendations of Indian owned businesses who are creating the best Hindi learning tools!

Get it here!

_____________________

Jessica tells all about having Indian in-laws as a foreigner. In this 2 part episode, Jessica discusses listener questions about having Indian in-laws when you didn’t grow up in Indian culture.

You probably know Indian families are close knit. That is why having a good relationship with our in-laws is so important.

We discuss questions like what to expect when meeting the in-laws for the first time, gender biases, handling boundaries, managing questions about children and more.

Listen in as a guide for your own masala desi relationship.

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Links mentioned in this episode:

Hearing others' perspectives always brings out new perspectives. I interviewed two other women who are married to Indians who bring various cultural and linguistic background to their stories. Sheida is from Iran living in Canada. Parneet is French, living in Belgium.

I asked the various questions to bring out these women's thoughts and experiences:

1) Things you enjoy about being married to an Indian.

2) Your favorite thing about Indian culture.

3) One challenge of being cross culturally married.

Hear their thoughts, opinions and be exposed to different cultural perspectives.

Find Parneet @paris_punjabexpress and Sheida on Instagram.

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Links mentioned in this episode:

Devika Cariapa is an award-winning children’s author who uses her background in history and archaeology to creatively communicate with a young audience.

Her first book, India Through Archaeology: Excavating History (Tulika Books) encourages children to explore Indian history through the lens of archaeology.

It was awarded the Hindu Young World-Goodbooks Award 2018 and the Sahitya Akademi’s Bal Sahitya Puraskar 2019. She is also the author of India Through People : 25 Game Changers (Tulika Books) about the courageous men and women who left an imprint on the course of modern India, The Adventures of the Kohinoor (Juggernaut), an adaptation of William Dalrymple and Anita Anand’s book, Kohinoor and Uncle Nehru, Please Send an Elephant, a picture book for younger readers on Nehru’s ‘elephant diplomacy’. The Adventures of the Kohinoor is on the Neev Book Awards 2021 short list.

Listen to this conversation about children's literature in India!

Find Devika on Instagram @stories_from_stones.

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Links mentioned in this episode:

What are the top five verbs you need to now in Hindi to start most simple conversations? Jessica breaks down the basic verbs to listen for in Hindi conversation and how these verbs can be used for beginners and intermediate speakers of Hindi. 

This episode is a sneak preview of Jessica's upcoming Hindi course "Hindi Hacks You Didn't Know You Needed to Know." This course if different from other courses on the market.  If you've ever felt perfectionism stop you from trying to speak Hindi, this is a great place to start to overcome barriers and learn the most irrelevant. The first course will be released mid-March 2022 with many more to come! 

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SIGN UP for the Invisible India Newsletter to hear about Jessica's upcoming Hindi Course! It is coming mid-March. There will be a discount for subscribers of the newsletter. Sign up for updates here!

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Know a company that would like to sponsor the show? Have an idea for a guest who is breaking stereotypes in South Asian spaces? Write to me [email protected]

Eliza Keyton (Eli Kutty) and Jessica Kumar are both language learners of Indian languages. In the years since learning Malayalam and Hindi, Eliza and Jessica have become increasingly convinced that there needs to be greater representation of Indians and proper credit given to those who have taught their indigenous languages to foreigners.

Jessica and Eliza both share their clear intentions of uplifting Desi voices and pointing the attention back to native speakers of their target languages. They both speak about their unique experiences as white Americans and how one needs to be aware of white privilege while learning a language.

Hear Episode 68 for more information about Eliza and Jessica's personal journey of learning Indian languages. 

Find Eliza on Instagram @Eli.Kutty and YouTube!

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SIGN UP for the Invisible India Newsletter to hear about Jessica's upcoming Hindi Course! It is in the works now! There will be a discount for subscribers of the newsletter. Sign up for updates here!

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Know a company that would like to sponsor the show? Have an idea for a guest who is breaking stereotypes in South Asian spaces? Write to me [email protected]

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