Watched a movie called ‘Green Card Fever’. It was well made. Lots of serious issues with the right amount of humor without going overboard with the sterotypical Indian guy jokes. It is a story of an Indian guy who is trying get a Green Card illegally and is cheated by lawyers. I knew about some software professionals working on gas stations, pumping gas after losing their computer jobs just to pay the bills and avoid going back to India. But, the people shown in this movie seemed to be without any qualification or job and were quite desperate to get that Green Card. Maybe, I always worked in the academic environment and didn’t bump into someone like this.

I liked one scene from the movie that captured the differences between the cultures so well. The hero and some friends are shown in a restaurant. One of them lets out a burp and an American lady sitting on the next table frowns at them. The very next moment, she picks up her napkin and blows her nose in it making a big noise. Now, it is these guys who frown at her behavious. It is so interesting to see that one kind of behaviour is quite acceptable in one culture but no to another while the reverse is true for an equally vile act.