In college campuses across America, people of South Asian
origin are roughly divided into two groups – the FOBs (Fresh Off the Boats) and
the ABCDs (American Born Confused Desis) - academically (and less interestingly)
known as first and second-generation immigrants. “FOBs and ABCDs, the twain
shall never meet”, an ABCD acquaintance of mine was kind enough to inform me
one day. To a large extent, I noticed that to be true. But it’s not 1965 any
more and the old immigration model – of leaving your home country for a new
life in another, returning perhaps only for short visits – is no longer
relevant.
For example, where did I fit in? Technically, having moved
to the US only for college, I was “fresh off the boat” but my boat had started
in Hong Kong, and not India. My boat actually has a much more complicated path.
The route goes: India-Hong Kong-India-USA-India; making the answer to “where
are you from” long enough to put the casual asker to sleep. The term “fresh off
the boat” also implies that your “boat” has docked, moored for an immigrant
eternity. But my boat has never docked for more than a couple of years at a
time and I fully intend to get back on soon.
So although I’ve just gotten off the boat, “fresh off the
boat” doesn’t really fit me. Neither does ABCD, for I am neither American born
nor bred, although living in the US changed my life. But I certainly am I
confused desi, unsure how to even hyphenate my own cultural and national
identity. Hong Konger-Indian? Indian-HongKonger? RNRI? All of those sound as
clunky as clogs so that’s how I settled on “Confused Desi – Forever on the
Boat”.
