Post – Page 35 – Lost in Colonisation

On Sunday morning, bright and early at 8AM, I'll be lifting off at Newark Airport and flying back to London for a 3 months temporary assignment with ThoughtWorks UK office. Why the UK and not assignment in the US? Well, being part of a global consulting company means I go wherever they need people. And working in London beats being on the bench and not earning any income for the company. Ethically it is not the most desirable assignment as it involves working with a company that deals with precious metal that apparently last forever and would cost you a month's salary…

More interestingly, whenever Eiron and I told our friends about my 3 months assignment the universal reaction is what we are going to do with our apartment, what will Eiron do with her job, etc. They react as if we are going to pack up and move to London for just 3 months! (The answer is we are not moving. Eiron will visit me a few times in London and racks up some air miles and carbon emission) Why would they react in this manner? I am really curious about it because moving to London for 3 months makes no sense whatsoever but yet, everyone assume this will be our plan.

Blogsphere, please enlighten me!

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After spending two weeks in India, I've came to realize how spoiled we live our lives in the western countries. Most people won't think they are spoiled but they really are. We take many things for granted, sometimes we think it is our 'rights' to have access to basic necessities such as clean water and electricity. Any of us would be, and should be, shocked to find that neither clean running water nor reliable electricity are something Indians take for granted, even in big, well developed urban city such as Bangalore.

We bitch and moan when the gas prices raises by a few cents or even dollars, when most people in India can't afford a motorcycle, let alone a big gas-guzzling SUV.

We drink water out of plastic bottle because it is trendy and convenient, not because the tap water is unclean and will make you sick for a few weeks.

We surround ourselves with electronic gadgets and electrical appliances because we crave our creature comfort and think electricity is abundant as the air we breath, not because we need to light our dwellings and preserve our food.

We live in large houses not because we need the space but because we can.

The way we live our lives in the western world is not sustainable in any shape or form. We as a nation are such a hypocrite when we ask developing nations such as India or China to curb their carbon emission and domestic consumption level when we live such spoiled lives.

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