Emails, Weather, and Imposter Syndrome: The Great Mumbai-Toronto Migration

Dear reader, I'm thrilled that the headline grabbed your attention. Chances are, you're either a fellow migrant or just scrolling through your LinkedIn feed out of sheer boredom. Nevertheless, you're here, and for the next 5 minutes (depending on how quickly you read), I'll regale you with the wild journey of transitioning from Mumbai to Toronto and battling that pesky imposter syndrome along the way. Picture this: a person of Indian descent striving to leave their mark in the Great White North. Buckle up; the story has just begun! (If you pictured me doing the Indian head nod, your imagination is spot on!)

You see, working styles, it's like spice tolerance, completely different when you go from Mumbai to Toronto. In Mumbai, I could be all informal, chatting with clients on WhatsApp like we're best buddies. But in Toronto, oh boy, emails are the name of the game. In Mumbai, it was chat first, the document attached later for reference. But in Toronto, it's documented email first, then maybe a call to decipher the hieroglyphics in that email with carefully crafted paragraphs with impeccable punctuations.

In Mumbai, I could just say, "Hey, do this task," and bam, it's done! But in Toronto, it's all about being persuasive, like trying to convince your cat to take a bath – tricky business! And instead of just getting to the point, you gotta break the ice with some weather talk. I mean, it's Toronto; what more is there to say about the weather, right?

Oh, and in Mumbai, I was "Mr. Candid", but in Toronto, it's all about being reserved because half of the time I am in my own head repeating everything and checking if I make sense which mind you makes NO sense! Imagine me having a meeting with 5 people while having 5 people meeting in my own head. I'm telling you, it's like I went from a Bollywood film set to a library! And my communication skills, which I thought were better than a Bollywood dance number back in Mumbai, suddenly felt more like a toddler trying to put on a Shakespearean play in Toronto.

I read my emails in Toronto, folks. I read 'em again and again, editing them countless times, just in case they sneakily transform into a screenplay for a Shakespearean tragedy overnight. I'm talking about "Romeo and Juliet: The Email Edition." It's overwhelming, it's exhausting, it's like trying to herd cats at a cat convention.

But you know what? My heart goes out to all you brave souls who've embarked on the wild journey of migrating to a new country and trying to blend into the workforce. You are seen, you are heard, and you are definitely not alone! We're all in this together, like a diverse cast in a hilarious sitcom. So, keep perfecting those emails, keep discussing the weather like it's the most fascinating topic on Earth, and most importantly, keep laughing. Laughter is the universal translator that bridges even the quirkiest of cultural gaps. And if you ever think you've torpedoed your career with a typo, a not-so perfect sentence on a email/message or a "what-was-I-thinking" meeting comment, well, fear not because you've got a secret escape plan in your back pocket - welcome to the thrilling world of the retail workforce! We've all been there! If you know, you know!

That’s all for the rant today. I hope I could put a smile on your face!

Until next time. Cheers, everyone!