'Bad' habits of desis abroad

[Cryin Out Loud]

I can speak for Indians.

1. Stare/ Gape: We stare at people - on the street, in offices, in restaurants- as if they're aliens arrived on earth just for our viewing pleasure! Most embarrassing. I caught myself doing that when I first came to the US.

Now, on a recent trip to India, I saw it all the time!

2. Rush into elevators as if our lives depended on it: I notice people from East Asian countries do it as well. Westerners generally wait a bit when the door opens - to give time to let people get out I guess. We charge in and the devil take the hindmost!

Anything else?

 

[Oxy]

Easier to start a thread of 'Good habits' - that way it'll be a very short thread.

 

[12thMan]

...2. Rush into elevators as if our lives depended on it:...

The practice to get on the bus is paying off.

BTW: How much do you make?

 

[Cryin Out Loud]

Yeah the old 'How much do you make' question. Almost forgot that.

 

[tmac4real]

to stink up the joint and give all desis a bad name.

 

[12thMan]

Yeah the old 'How much do you make' question. Almost forgot that.

I am just asking how much you make so I can be assured that you are not taken advantage of.

Now I am suspicious. Are you a citizen?

 

[moumotta]

Chasing free beer on flights. I have seen some very funny incidents. A group boarded at Delhi airport. Drinks arrived and not knowing they were free one guy let it pass. Some time later another of his mates shouted from his seat a few rows behind asking why he was not drining and mentioned they were free. The first guy left his seat and ran to the trolly, like an arrow shot, to get his free beer.

Misusing free return policy. A guy bought a video camera on a Friday, a day before his sons birthday party and returned it for a full refund on Monody.

 

[Hash]

'How much money do you earn'

ARGHHHHHHHHHH

That question really does my head in. And if some fat uncle or auntie asks me again I swear I will spill shorba and saalan all over their brand new carpet.

 

[Kashif]

'How much money do you earn'

ARGHHHHHHHHHH

That question really does my head in. And if some fat uncle or auntie asks me again I swear I will spill shorba and saalan all over their brand new carpet.

Especially back home. Blatant in your face questions to determine whether you are worth knowing.

 

[12thMan]

...Misusing free return policy. A guy bought a video camera on a Friday, a day before his sons birthday party and returned it for a full refund on Monody.

That is something I have done. I once drove from East coast to West cost (USA). This was a 4-5 day trip. I was alone in the car and fine. Another person was driving with a 5 year old and was worried about the kid and how to deal with 3-4 hours of drive until break. So we stopped at a store and bought a laptop and 2-3 movies. The kid watched the movies and played with his toys and it was easier on the other driver. The laptop was returned to a store in west coast.

 

[The Blazer]

'How much money do you earn'

ARGHHHHHHHHHH

That question really does my head in. And if some fat uncle or auntie asks me again I swear I will spill shorba and saalan all over their brand new carpet.

) ) )

You should also goat-nap their bhakras on Eid and ride them away into the sunset!

 

[Vegitto1]

Returning used products.

I find it absolutely embarrassing.

 

[The Blazer]

Returning used products.

I find it absolutely embarrassing.

Thank God there's some products that can't be returned after they've been "used".

 

[Ghoshtbuster]

Thank God there's some products that can't be returned after they've been "used".

Is this a reference to goats aswell??

 

[Joseph K.]

Yeah the old 'How much do you make' question. Almost forgot that.

This is not limited to Desis only. All ignorant and uneducated people like to quantify everything to judge a person's worth. If a white person finds out you went to university, his next question would be 'what' did you become after reading all those book. If you fail to overawe him with a six-figure salary, he'll look at you as if you wasted your time. Ignorance and jihaalat is not the prerogative of any one race only.

 

[switchblade]

Chasing free beer on flights. I have seen some very funny incidents. A group boarded at Delhi airport. Drinks arrived and not knowing they were free one guy let it pass. Some time later another of his mates shouted from his seat a few rows behind asking why he was not drining and mentioned they were free. The first guy left his seat and ran to the trolly, like an arrow shot, to get his free beer.

Misusing free return policy. A guy bought a video camera on a Friday, a day before his sons birthday party and returned it for a full refund on Monody.

I've seen jews do much worse than us on the cheapness thing.. Guy bought even can opener and returned it after using it once

 

[The Blazer]

Is this a reference to goats aswell??

Nope, I didn't know goats were intended to be used in that way!!

 

[Joseph K.]

What disgusts me most is the special love us desis have for freebies. My next door neighbour passed away and his sister-in-law came to clear the place. She asked me if I wanted his fridge and cooker. I refused but when a friend found out about this, he started badgering me to get the stuff for him (although I knew that he had neither need nor space for those things). Another friend won a DVD remote control on ebay for 1 p. What a bargain as those remotes go for around £15 (inc. p&p) but he did not want to pay £3 for postage and was willing to drive to Greenford (burning £3 worth of petrol and wasting over an hour of time). Since he uses my eBay account, I just send £3.01 to the seller via Paypal. Once someone sent me to the local dispensary to get him milk for his baby. Without telling me, he gave me expired milk-tokens. The embarrassment I had to suffer after the refusal just about melt me. The woman at the counter told me that my friend had been going in and out of the dispensary with tokens collected from other friends and family and the tokens he gave me had already been rejected! Our love for freebies and cheapy stuff is evident in Sunday markets where desi uncles buy electronics which do not work after a couple of day. The long queues outside Next at the occasion of annual sales also show this tendency.

Another thing that really embarrasses me is the plight of my compatriots at the airports. They always take more stuff than they are allowed and then they openly beg the airport staff to let them get away with it. Not for one moment do they think that their rubbish could bring the whole plane down. Ever seen an uncle touching the chin of a PIA officer at Heathrow, begging him to ignore his massively over-weight suitcases which are so heavey that they need to be wrapped around with nylon ropes to keep in one piece? Needless to say those suitcases are full of rubbish from Pound Shops and Sunday Markets.

 

[OZGOD]

2. Rush into elevators as if our lives depended on it:I notice people from East Asian countries do it as well. Westerners generally wait a bit when the door opens - to give time to let people get out I guess. We charge in and the devil take the hindmost!

Except in Boston mate, which is the US Capital for Rudeness.

 

[TruSachFan]

how abt burping?? seriously some indians have the habit to openly burp

its disgusting

 

[Boys_played_well]

Can we count an atrocious of dressing as a 'bad habit'?

Seriously..desis have no sense of dressing. They will wear just about anything as long as it's under $4.

 

[McBoom]

Except in Boston mate, which is the US Capital for Rudeness.

I thought that was New York.

 

[nikred]

I thought that was New York.

blame it on desis they are spreading this disease everywhere

 

[moumotta]

how abt burping?? seriously some indians have the habit to openly burp
its disgusting

How else can one burp

 

[Indiagem]

Some desis put awfully smelling hair oil.

Some desis dont use perfumes and smell a lot

 

[switchblade]

Chasing free beer on flights. I have seen some very funny incidents. A group boarded at Delhi airport. Drinks arrived and not knowing they were free one guy let it pass. Some time later another of his mates shouted from his seat a few rows behind asking why he was not drining and mentioned they were free. The first guy left his seat and ran to the trolly, like an arrow shot, to get his free beer.

Misusing free return policy. A guy bought a video camera on a Friday, a day before his sons birthday party and returned it for a full refund on Monody.

I restrain myself specifically on airplanes to deny the chance of this stereotype..

But ya, free bailey's irish cream is hard to resist.

 

[Zeenix]

Talk about "Bad Desi Habits"

 

[Daoud]

Not sure if this totally a bad habit cause its well intentioned enough, although not very thoughtful. Some members of the older generation seem to make it a habit to send something back every single time someone is going back to Pakistan. My grandma does it all the time despite me and my khala trying to explain to her that its very unfair on the person going back. For example she told people in Karachi she'd be sending stuff back with someone who is a good friend of me and my cousins. I asked her if she even checked if it was OK with him to do that - he was going back after at least a year and would have had a lot of stuff of his own. I managed to convince her not to send any of the heavier stuff - was a good thing too as it turned out he was already a little over

 

[nikred]

Not sure if this totally a bad habit cause its well intentioned enough, although not very thoughtful. Some members of the older generation seem to make it a habit to send something back every single time someone is going back to Pakistan. My grandma does it all the time despite me and my khala trying to explain to her that its very unfair on the person going back. For example she told people in Karachi she'd be sending stuff back with someone who is a good friend of me and my cousins. I asked her if she even checked if it was OK with him to do that - he was going back after at least a year and would have had a lot of stuff of his own. I managed to convince her not to send any of the heavier stuff - was a good thing too as it turned out he was already a little over

oh tell me about it. once when coming from India one of my aunts told she had "some" stuff for her poor little son . Later on to me shock she gave me goods that weighed about 7 freakin kilos and went on her rant about how worried she was about her poor little baby's survival in USA. What frustrated me was that her baby came from India a month before and he might be knowing about the luggage limit but still he did not stop his mom from giving me so much of stuff.

 

[ehjaz]

those DESI's who try to play NON-DESI's and miserably fail................including some "western DESI's" as well

 

[nadeem]

1. Fake accents.

2. Although while disembarking you can get out only when the plane doors open, our desis are in there pushing and shoving to get to the front of the queue.

3. Staring. THe way we stare is so intrusive and rude. Its a long stare that scans you from head to toe. So judgemental.

4. THat question about how much you earn.

5. THe way the "boys' side" go looking for rishtas embarrassing girls and making them uncomfortable in a serial manner, even abroad.

6. The way desis love their car. FRigging hilarious.

7. Negative thinking. Generally, desis are always bad mouthing people. THey are either jealous or full of hate. NO one is at peace because theres such a materialistic drive to outdo each other in money making matters.

8. THe boasting. "O mera beta tou harvard se parh ker aaya aur saal ke 500000 daaler kamaata hai". ***??????????

9. If they achieve something its all down to them "buss yaar saara mehnat aur zaahaanat ka kamaal hai yeh tou kuch bhi nahi agli baar dekhna". iF they fail "buss Allah ki merzi hai banda kya ker sakta hai".

10. THe way our desis do their namaazes and then do every single corrupt thing to earn a living with that aayat "haaza min fazli rabbi" framed overhead.

11. Can't go upto a girl and ask her out (rightly so) but then fantasize about her, stalk her and give her weird looks making the poor girl uncomfortable (wrongly so).

 

[DHONI183]

Their kids, doesn´t matter whether born abroad or not, try to show as if they don´t know Pakistani language and can only speak the language of the country they are living in.

 

[moumotta]

Some desis put awfully smelling hair oil.

Some desis dont use perfumes and smell a lot

Not sure if its only desis. At least most desis take daily shower. If you use public transport you will notice many non-desis positively stink.

 

[Saj]

Spitting red pan masala everywhere. In fact they leave a trail right to their doorstep

The staring one is so true.

 

[purplehaze]

Rush to board flight and occupy the seat. They hate to wait in queue...

 

[pullshot]

Their kids, doesn´t matter whether born abroad or not, try to show as if they don´t know Pakistani language and can only speak the language of the country they are living in.

so true ...............

 

[Saj]

Rush to board flight and occupy the seat. They hate to wait in queue...

aaah, the good old Asian queueing system

http://www.pakpassion.net/ppforum/showthread.php?t=48309&highlight=asian

 

[Garuda]

Now a days, I make a lot of small trips abroad after moving back to India 3 years back. So I notice most things in the office environment.

One thing which I always find funny is, desis always go for lunch, coffee break, smoke break together. Every client I visit, I find desis mostly form a group there.

 

[Garuda]

Their kids, doesn´t matter whether born abroad or not, try to show as if they don´t know Pakistani language and can only speak the language of the country they are living in.

And to add to that, they feel proud for not knowing hindi/urdu. As if its a shame to know your own language.

My cousin is one of them and my uncle and aunt seems to be proud of that.

 

[Saj]

You've also got the trait of walking one after another, instead of walking alongside each other.

 

[BD-fan]

When a person buy something and it doesn't work what do you do with them? Even if it is a can opener? On top of this I ask a question: Why does the store have a return policy?

Easy to redecule others, anyone. Let us change the topic and make it as "Bad habits that we want to get rid of." Reflect ourselves instead of others.

 

[Luton Bad Boy]

In line with the pan spitting but, when a desi-ite is clearing his throat and rather than say swallow it or roll it into a tissue....they take the biggest throat clearing action and ensure everything is at the tip of the tongue....

and hurl that spit....as though it is the national spitting championship....with the furthest distance gaining a gold medal...

 

[The Blazer]

You've also got the trait of walking one after another, instead of walking alongside each other.

Love that.

 

[Cryin Out Loud]

...Let us change the topic and make it as "Bad habits that we want to get rid of." Reflect ourselves instead of others.

Sorry I only listen to reason when white people reason with me.

Else, sab ghar ki baat hai. Aur aap kaun hain humko samjhaane wale?

 

[switchblade]

oh tell me about it. once when coming from India one of my aunts told she had "some" stuff for her poor little son . Later on to me shock she gave me goods that weighed about 7 freakin kilos and went on her rant about how worried she was about her poor little baby's survival in USA. What frustrated me was that her baby came from India a month before and he might be knowing about the luggage limit but still he did not stop his mom from giving me so much of stuff.

lol.. ya, thats true.. most annoying thing about India travel.. I was given some stuff like for 10 KG by some distant relatives' parents.. couldnt refuse since the elderly man was a cripple as well.

 

[Saj]

Here's another one.

After 2 years of marriage, the inlaws or other relatives will ask the married couple as to why they havent got kids yet - "is everything ok"

 

[Saj]

Ever seen an uncle touching the chin of a PIA officer at Heathrow, begging him to ignore his massively over-weight suitcases which are so heavey that they need to be wrapped around with nylon ropes to keep in one piece? Needless to say those suitcases are full of rubbish from Pound Shops and Sunday Markets.

lol

 

[nikred]

Here's another one.

After 2 years of marriage, the inlaws or other relatives will ask the married couple as to why they havent got kids yet - "is everything ok"

This reminds me, once i took a cab from the airport and the cabbie turned out to be from jordanian ( i hope thats right. had no friggin clue where jordan was). Well he was more or less like a typical desi, talking how sick his people are how personal they get and how some of his relatives used to pester him about his marriage and why he doesnt have a child and he went on and on even when i was least interested.

This brings us to one more desi trait. Discussing your personal things to a complete stranger even when they are least interested and its clearly showing on their face.

 

[12thMan]

Cinema can be a play ground. I have seen it twice that some people who looked like desi with kids didn't care the children with them were making noise and running around. This was kind of strange that they were paying money but probably are used to it or maybe that was their hour off from parenting duty. Stay at home. 2 adults and 2 kids trip to theater twice is cost of buying a DVD player or if you already have one you can rent 10 movies

 

[Informer]

Castle Lager, the sponsor of the South African Cricket, offer a free jersey with their logo to the first hundred spectators who go through the gates of a test match. Indian and Pakistani spectators are always the first to go through the gates

 

[Hail-Akram]

This brings us to one more desi trait. Discussing your personal things to a complete stranger even when they are least interested and its clearly showing on their face.

Infact I have a totally different experience in this regard. I have seen American collegues discussing too much of personal stuff. For example my manager (who is a lady) always brings up some stuff about her son ... I now know what grade he is in, his favourite subject, etc etc ...
On the contrary I find desis are more reserved and avoid bringing up personal stuff in office discussions...

 

[McBoom]

Castle Lager, the sponsor of the South African Cricket, offer a free jersey with their logo to the first hundred spectators who go through the gates of a test match. Indian and Pakistani spectators are always the first to go through the gates

) Our love for free stuff is undeniable.

 

[tmac4real]

Can we count an atrocious of dressing as a 'bad habit'?

Seriously..desis have no sense of dressing. They will wear just about anything as long as it's under $4.

yeah PlanetPakistan is like this. He dresses like a pachas saal ka budda.

 

[moumotta]

Castle Lager, the sponsor of the South African Cricket, offer a free jersey with their logo to the first hundred spectators who go through the gates of a test match. Indian and Pakistani spectators are always the first to go through the gates

No one has any issues with the logo I suppose when it comes with a free jersey.

 

[Garuda]

No one has any issues with the logo I suppose when it comes with a free jersey.

) )

 

[Joseph K.]

No one has any issues with the logo I suppose when it comes with a free jersey.

) ) )

You want to get rid of your household junk, tell someone from our community and s/he will take it away whether s/he needs it or not. As long as it is free, it is acceptable!

 

[Nadia]

You guys are acting like as you and your parents/families dont do these kind of stuff.

 

[switchblade]

Cheap Indians:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=EKqdIDxoWBE&feature=related

 

[sunny92]

Waaaay tooo much interest in others' personal lives!

 

[DHONI183]

And to add to that, they feel proud for not knowing hindi/urdu. As if its a shame to know your own language.

My cousin is one of them and my uncle and aunt seems to be proud of that.

You are spot on here . But I´m very different from them all . I, infact, speak Punjabi here .

 

[SameerM]

also the stares/looks... is SOMETIMES due to the fact, they MIGHT know u and are trying to recognise you... but 90% of the time I feel as if they are gay and trying to give me the 'look'

 

[Garuda]

You are spot on here . But I´m very different from them all . I, infact, speak Punjabi here .

Good for you. Atleast you can talk to your old relatives back in Pakistan who doesn't know English.

When my cousin visits India (done it 3 times in 25 years) he looks like an animal from zoo. Can't talk to his old relatives like his grandma.

 

[jiripoca]

My biggest pet hate is the jealousy and pretending they are better than you when you know you are better off than them but are too decent to tell them.

I do take exception to the assumption that kids of Desis are only pretending not to speak Urdu / Hindu. Its actually true in my case, and Im learning Urdu using tapes to rectify the situation.

But other than that, I think most of these things people of all races do, have you seen Brits in Spain haggling over the cost of a portion of chips?

Are we biased against our own race? Nearly all posts use the word `THEY`and not `WE`!

 

[Daoud]

Another peeve would be how someones business becomes everyones business although that is a desi trend in general and yes, I've probably been guilty of it too, but to certain limits. For example today I was at some relatives place and both kids and adults were present. We were talking about someone so one of them says You shouldnt get too friendly with their son, hes your main competition for this girl (mentioning her by name in the process). Probably the only person this sort of conversation hasnt taken place in front of is probably that girl herself!

 

[DHONI183]

Good for you. Atleast you can talk to your old relatives back in Pakistan who doesn't know English.

When my cousin visits India (done it 3 times in 25 years) he looks like an animal from zoo. Can't talk to his old relatives like his grandma.

Who is on a visit ?

By the way, I have seen many such cases .

 

[Abdullah]

Ripping your kids in private,
And then bigging them up in front of others

 

[saeedhk]

-After offering prayers, Pakistanis would occupy the street right outside the mosque and chitchat, blocking everybody else from using the street. A

-Blocking people from entering and exiting trains by standing right in front of the doors and refusing to move inwards into the carriage.

 

[AdamM97]

- After offering prayers, Pakistanis would occupy the street right outside the mosque and chitchat, blocking everybody else from using the street. A

-Blocking people from entering and exiting trains by standing right in front of the doors and refusing to move inwards into the carriage.

So true. This is especially true on Eid.

Brings back so many memories man.

 

[Slog]

Making a big show of religion. I’ve noticed this is happening to Pakistanis in the last 15 or so years. Few years ago I was going to umrah and the flight had some tableeghi jamaat people. So we had a stopover and it was around asr time.

They made a big show of offering prayers just in front of the gate to our plane. Ended up inconveniencing many others.

Mind you this is dubai and not London or nyc. Dubai airport has several prayer rooms

 

[j_kazmi]

Ripping your kids in private,
And then bigging them up in front of others

I feel like this just happen to you and you need somewhere to vent

 

[j_kazmi]

-After offering prayers, Pakistanis would occupy the street right outside the mosque and chitchat, blocking everybody else from using the street. A

-Blocking people from entering and exiting trains by standing right in front of the doors and refusing to move inwards into the carriage.

This really annoys me. There’s so much space inside the trains but decide to stand at the entrance making everyone else’s lives harder.

 

[Salman]

Showing unnecessary high and mighty attitude towards desi waiters and restaurant staff, seen this from my own visiting or recently migrated relatives

When ordering food, the typical "Khaana acha hona chaiyay" comment followed by "last time bekaar tha", like why £$%& are you back here then if that was the case?

 

[Salman]

Making a big show of religion. I’ve noticed this is happening to Pakistanis in the last 15 or so years. Few years ago I was going to umrah and the flight had some tableeghi jamaat people. So we had a stopover and it was around asr time.

They made a big show of offering prayers just in front of the gate to our plane. Ended up inconveniencing many others.

Mind you this is dubai and not London or nyc. Dubai airport has several prayer rooms

I see this a lot, i have some characters in my own family who have an obsession about being "seen" by westerner when praying, on the train platform, in a busy car park, in a queue at the fun fair etc, but never in a quite little private corner. It's like they think the infidel will be attracted to the deen or any abuse they may receive will give them brownie points on the last day.

 

[saeedhk]

Abusing the West and calling it Fa’hash but continuing to reap all the benefits of the host country, producing a dozen kids and living off social welfare to top it off. The level of hypocrisy is too extreme!

 

[Saj]

The staring at other Asians is very common.

I notice that it's common for men to really stare at women in Asian countries. They seem to continue that very bad habit abroad too.

 

[Saj]

A few from me:

Dislike for queuing.
Terrible drivers.
Wanting discount for everything.

 

[Slog]

Pointing out mistakes and bad habits of other people but totally missing out on the irony that they themselves are guilty of the same said bad habits

 

[Pakistanian]

No respect for personal space
Can't keep their hands to themselves
Walking around in slippers and checkered shirts
Not using deodorant.

 

[GoUgandaCranes]

Things I have had to learn or practice more often living abroad


1. Letting go of "Takalluf" - you have to mean what you say and say what you mean.
2. Understanding how to walk in streets - fast paced. Understanding how to use elevators - one side is for standing the other is for walking. Better driving and following rules - rules aren't suggestions, if the signboard says "No Parking", you don't get to park.
3. Planning - everything needs to be planned even if it is laundry time
4. Respecting other cultures, opinions, religions, and mostly diversity. It's not just knowing people, it's knowing that people can be totally different to everything that you are and still be likeable.

 

[rockyboy2018]

even after living in the western so society for many decades their habit of lying and cheating has not gone away . Further, what was the revealation the westerners are equally bad applies like desis people in their home turf since they are white and living in their home country we like to be sevants