Do I realise that I'm Privileged in India as a Foreigner?

You realise you are pretty privileged, right? Hence  you find India comfortable. Not sure if I'm sensing a very sarcastic tone there, but I'm gonna answer  this question in the kindest way possible. Hi, my name is Ivana, and I've been living in Bengaluru  now for over five years. In this video I'm going to answer some questions about India from a  foreign perspective, about my life in Bengaluru, and of course some personal questions. If you  have any specific questions about why I chose India to

live in, or why I live in Bengaluru,  I have dedicated videos about that are linked in the description below. Without any further  delays, let's just get into the first question. Who is your biggest inspiration? My parents. Hands  down. During the 90s a big war broke out in the former Yugoslavia region, and all those countries  got separated. Making my parents suddenly a mixed marriage couple. You can kind of compare it with  the Indian partition, and it became impossible for them to stay in fo

rmer Yugoslavia. So they took  my brother and me, and moved to the Netherlands as refugees, where they had to start from scratch  in their mid-30s. Imagine they had to learn a whole new language, with the Dutch language being a  really, really difficult language. They had to completely get re-schooled. My dad is a doctor, my  mom is an economist, in order to get their diplomas acknowledged from college they had to you know go  through all these new tests, and prove themselves again as profession

als. My dad worked again  as a doctor in the Netherlands, and my mom got completely re-schooled it to take care of babies. So  every time I'm dealing with hardships, especially moving to a new country and starting from scratch,  I always think about my parents and how they forcefully had to shift countries and start from  scratch. Yeah, they are my biggest inspiration in life. You realise you are pretty privileged, right?  Hence you find India comfortable. Not sure if I'm sensing a very sarcasti

c tone there, but I'm  gonna answer this question in the kindest way possible. I am 100% privileged. But do keep in mind  that even in the Netherlands, I was living a very very privileged life which I fought very hard  to build for myself. Like I mentioned before, my parents came to the Netherlands as refugees. We  had nothing. The four of us slept in a bedroom that is as big as my office for a couple of years,  without having any security if we would be able to build a future in the Netherlands

. I went to  college and I got two master's degrees. I worked in the corporate world in the Netherlands for six  years, where in the end I was earning a very very nice salary. I lived in Amsterdam opposite of  the World Trade Center. I have friends in the Netherlands who are literally celebrities. So if you  think that my life in India is more privileged and more comfortable than it was in the Netherlands,  it definitely is not. With that all that being said, I feel more comfortable in India. An

d I  love living in India. Hence I took some really really big hits in terms of my personal life, but  also in terms of my finances, to make my life in India possible. I hope that clears up your doubts  or questions about my privileges in India. What advice would you give to someone who would like  to move to India? Think from a perspective where you are contributing to the growth and economy  of India. Because if you just want to retire here, live an easy comfortable life, and not contribute  a

nything back to a growing country like India, I don't think you should come here. India right now  really needs people who have a certain type of skill set, a certain mentality, who see potential  in growing India, and contributing to that growth. So my biggest advice would be to think from that  perspective; what can you contribute if you are actually moving and living here? Any advantages  you get because of being a foreigner in India? In the Netherlands I am actually considered too  white, wh

ich made me very insecure for a lot of years. I don't think it's very diplomatic to say,  but coming to India and getting praised for my fair skin actually gave me a lot of confidence, and  made me perceive myself as more beautiful. But then actually it is also a little bit of a double-edged  sword, because I get a lot more stares. I really have to think about if I'm wearing western clothes,  I will get a lot more, sometimes unwanted, attention. And people wanting to take selfies with me, which 

then makes me feel uncomfortable. Sometimes it's good for my confidence, and sometimes it makes me  uncomfortable. But yeah that's just the reality of being a foreigner in India. Have you ever seen  IPL? If yes, then which is your favourite team? Fun fact; I never used to watch IPL, and I still really  don't, but just recently the Netherlands got into cricket, and they played against India where  they got annihilated by Virat Kohli. That was I think the first time where I really sat down and  w

atched the cricket match with suspense. It was so interesting, but the rules for me are so incredibly  complex that it's quite difficult for me to watch. Um maybe if the Netherlands like gets into it,  and you have, like, this whole suspense between the Netherlands and India playing against  each other. I think that makes it a little bit more interesting for me to watch. Thoughts on  moving from Europe to India with a small child? I think your life with a small child in India might  sometimes be

a little bit easier, because India has such a huge family culture, and on the other hand  sometimes a little bit harder because sometimes the logistics of getting around with a child  might be a little bit more complex. Sometimes there are no baby changing stations, in even  five-star hotels. But on the other hand children in restaurants are completely accepted and tolerated,  whereas in Europe that might be more of a taboo. I think it's just a different way of of navigating  life with a small

child, and there are of course benefits and some disadvantages that come with  it automatically. How does your family react to you staying, or rather I should say love being in  India? They are crazy supportive. My parents have always supported anything that my brother and  me want to do. Obviously within a context where they want us to be responsible, and to be safe.  All my best friends, the people who I've known since my childhood, they are so on board. So loving,  so supportive. Everybody's

on board, as long as I'm happy, and they're always willing to help me out  with whatever I need. Generally India is called land of spirituality. As you are a foreigner, did  you experience any spiritual event or thought in your life in India? Or just enjoying material  pleasures? I did a yoga teacher training, which was as cliche as it sounds, completely life-changing.  Until this day I meditate every single day for an hour. I do my yoga practice every single week.  It has completely shifted my

life. It's quite a personal journey, hence why I don't address  it a lot in public. But also in my newsletter I've actually addressed why I specifically don't  highlight that part about India a lot. If you look at India, I feel economic growth is needed, and not  necessarily people coming here, you know, wanting to travel for free because of spiritual reasons. So  in case you're interested, you should definitely subscribe to my newsletter. Because I share more  of those behind the scenes thought

s there, instead of putting it out for everyone to see, you know, on the  internet. Did you find inner peace after living in India for some years? From the moment that I  landed on Indian soil I felt peace for the first time in my life. And that has never gone away. That  sense of inner peace that I experienced from the beginning is actually what makes it possible for  me to live here, and really, really enjoy my life. Would like to see your daily vlog. Also are you  happy in India with your pro

fessional progress? I used to do daily vlogs in case you don't know. I  started back in 2015, and I quit in 2018. because it was taking too much of a toll on  my mental health. I felt that constantly people had certain expectations of me to travel places,  to go places, where I was really busy setting up a life in India. Also daily vlogging can have some  really serious repercussions in a way where people start to stalk you, they get way too attached, and  sometimes it also has some legal reperc

ussions. So daily vlogs are definitely not coming back  on my channel. But weekly vlogs I enjoy making a lot these days. So if you guys enjoyed that as  well, let me know down in the comments below and we can do weekly vlogs. Am I happy in India with  my professional progress? Yes I am. I am extremely happy with my professional progress in India.  It turned out way better than I expected. I am surrounded by the most amazing, ambitious, and crazy  talented entrepreneurs who constantly push me in

my entrepreneur journey. Also I have to say, because  the Netherlands is so well connected economically with India, there are so many opportunities  for me here that I really get inspired on a daily basis to grow and am excited for what the  future has to bring. Hi Ivana, you have previously discussed the differences between doing business  in India versus Netherlands. Have you come across any obstacles/barriers as a female doing business  in India? For sure, because the business culture in Indi

a is predominantly rooted in relationships and  communities. So if you look at the overall business picture in India, I would say it is still ruled  by men. And if you look at the situations where a lot of business is discussed over for instance  drinks or dinners, it's difficult for me to get access to that as a woman without it becoming  inappropriate. Sometimes it's also difficult for me to take meetings with men one-on-one. All of  this definitely makes it more difficult for me to get certai

n opportunities. But I have to say  the men who are around me, and who are helping me, are definitely also opening a lot of doors for me.  Indian women also face this. You are missing out on certain opportunities because it is inappropriate  for you to take part in certain informal meetings, where, you know, it's a group of men, and as a woman  it's just inappropriate to sit in those meetings, or take meetings with a man one-on-one. It's  there. You just have to work around it, what to do? What'

s a hardship you recently came across,  and how did you overcome it? Also something that I addressed in my newsletter is how 2022  was very problematic for me, because I met a lot of people who pretended to be my friends,  but actually in the end turned out that they just were exploiting me and only trying to be  friends with me because they gained certain benefits from that. How I resolved that is by  putting a lot of boundaries in place. I rarely meet people who are not actively contributing t

o  my business, or who I haven't known for years as my friends. Also I barely take any calls. 99% of my  calls go straight to my manager. So people have a lot less access to me. I barely go to events  anymore, because again I feel I'm surrounded there with a lot of people who want to take  advantage of me instead of actually giving back and contributing to my business as well.  This has definitely paid off, because the first two months of 2023 were so peaceful, so joyous,  and full of growth. Ca

n you speak Serbian? Mogu. It seems like you're more happier these days.  What changed and how is Bambi? What changed is that I put some very very strict boundaries  in place, like I just mentioned, and that has created a lot of mental peace for myself.  I'm only surrounded by people who really genuinely have my best interests in mind.  And obviously my favourite pup Bambi is a therapy dog. She is doing really well. She's  getting very vocal. And she is so active. She's doing really great. Thank

you for noticing actually. Do you still  practice yoga, and any suggestions for someone not so flexible who is trying to give it a go?  Yes I definitely still practice yoga, pretty much religiously every single week. I will do  my own yoga sesh. In case you don't know, I did a yoga teacher training and I practice my old yoga  practice every week for two hours. Especially if you are not flexible, yoga is a very low threshold  type of exercise for the well-being of your body. To get into it I wou

ld say just choose a beginner class.  Don't make things complicated for yourself. You can also choose some beginner yoga videos on YouTube  to start out with in your living room, if you are conscious about your body, or the fact that you  are not so flexible. There are some really amazing yoga teachers on YouTube. So maybe that would  be the easiest way for you to get into it. Which questions surprised you the most? Let me know down  in the comments below. And you can also leave new questions fo

r the next q&a. For now thank you so  much for watching, and I will see you next time. Bye!