HYDERABAD: She came to Hyderabad in July, 2013, to pursue her Masters in Communication and Journalism. Now, apart from just the degree, she will also be taking back lovable memories to her country Botswana in Africa. Recalling one that she cherishes the most Tumisang Badubi says, “I love the time I spend indulging in chicken biryani at the famous Paradise Food Court. I make sure I go there every month.”
Apart from that, she loves being taught by Indian lecturers who she thinks are very knowledgeable and know how to teach students. “Our lecturers do not just come in with a slide show and leave it to us to understand the content. They make sure we understand the lessons well,” she adds informing us that Indians are considered to be brilliant lecturers in other countries.
Tumisang who completed her bachelors degree in Mass Communication in Cyberjaya, Malaysia says it was easy for her to adjust in India as Malaysia also has a good number of Indians.
That also gave her the opportunity to learn about Indian culture even before she set foot in the country.
But one complaint that Tumisang has is that it is difficult for expats to get a house on rent. “Landlords here prefer having married couples as tenants as they think the single people might do something notorious like partying in the night,”she adds.
However, she finds people here very accommodating. “I learnt a bit of Telugu to be able to communicate with the shopkeepers, autowalas and the general public,” Tumisang beams.
Apart from pursuing her studies here, Tumisang who came to the country through Indian Council for Cultural Relations scholarship loves travelling places in India and has been to Mumbai and Goa till date. She is looking forward to visit many more places with Kerala being her next holiday destination.
So what does she like most about India? “The way people here respect relationships has touched my heart. Not only with their parents and other family members, but Indians even take relationship with their girlfriends or boyfriends seriously,” she says.
The time when Telengana agitation was on, she was miffed as her exams were often rescheduled. But she is happy that no such thing happened this year.
Tumisang who thinks that her education in India will help her achieve the dream of starting a media organisation in her country says that she wants to do so because there is a lot of unemployment in Botswana.“Government there helps people to come up with their own business and I want to generate employment opportunities in my country,” she says confidently.
Though Tumisang might be enjoying her stay, she wishes Hyderabad would become more safe for foreigners and public in general. “I am scared of going out after dark as I have experienced men teasing. This happens very frequently,” says the soon to be 27 year old.
She would be leaving for her country in September this year and plans to pursue internship in a media organisation. She feels that it will help her get exposure to how media works. “The organisations here are very active compared to the ones in my country. I will get to learn a lot while working here,” she says, signing off.