- Foreigner in NCR finds Indians often list achievements when introducing themselves
- European expat finds this self-promotion unusual and considers adapting behavior
- Post sparked 3,000+ upvotes and diverse reactions from locals and expats
A foreigner shared their experience of moving to India for work, sparking debate about cultural differences. The European professional who recently relocated to the National Capital Region (NCR) revealed that the biggest surprise didn't come from the food, traffic, or weather. Instead, it was the way people introduce themselves.
Shortly after arriving in the NCR, the expat took to Reddit to share an unexpected social dynamic that left him feeling out of place. Within his very first week, he noticed a recurring trend during casual introductions. He said people were eager to outline their personal and professional accomplishments from the first conversation.
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"Every time I meet someone, they start listing their achievements and background without me even asking, they wrote. "This has happened to me multiple times. Then, they ask a lot of probing questions as if they want to place you in a hypothetical hierarchy so they know how to treat you accordingly."
"Now, in my culture (I'm European), it is very rude to do this and you should always be humble and either let people find out about your achievements indirectly or sometimes never. I'm not saying this is a better approach - my point is that I'm not used to behaving any differently in this regard," they stated, highlighting how it is different from India.
"My question here becomes: should I do the same and hype myself up when I meet other people so they don't treat me badly? Or should I stay in my lane and let people think whatever they want to think? If I do the latter, then will I get taken advantage of? I'd also appreciate any other tips you might have to adapt to and thrive in an Indian work culture. Thank you!"
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See the post here:
Culture shock as a foreigner
by u/KyouBlack in india
Social media reactions
The post, which received over 3,000 upvotes, sparked a lively discussion, drawing a mix of explanations, reassurance, and regional context from locals and fellow expats. "Ignore those 6x. There are humble souls here too. Bragging is looked down upon by truly learned ones. Do what matches your ethics. The respect impact is 100x if discovered, or coming from someone else. It's just that the population here covers the whole spectrum of personalities. That's where your braggers are coming from," one user wrote in the comment section.
"It's strange too, as in my subculture in India, bragging is believed to attract something called 'evil eyes', so everyone downplays their achievements and salary; they try to compliment the other person, and the other person usually does the same," another user wrote.
"My Indian parents taught me that bragging is tacky and low class to the extreme, and one must always downplay one's achievements.
