Gurasis: 0:01

now we're in the final segment of the podcast. I call it beneath the accent, but I'm gonna ask a couple of questions. You can answer them in one word or a sentence, or howsoever you feel like. The idea is just to know more about you. So ready, yep. So what advice would you give to younger who has just landed in canada?

Daljit: 0:21

you're enough and don't compare yourself with others.

Daljit: 0:25

We are all in different phases of our journey um yeah, you're more than enough

Gurasis: 0:34

okay, what's that one dish from your home country that always brings you comfort and nostalgia?

Daljit: 0:40

as a Punjabi, this is one of the meals that we throw up eating. It's my favorite makki di roti with saru da saag.

Gurasis: 0:49

Oh my god, before you even said that, I could hear it.

Daljit: 0:52

You knew it, it's coming. That's it, that's it.

Gurasis: 0:58

Oh, my god yeah it brings everything.

Daljit: 1:02

Okay, tell us about any funny story if you have related to your misunderstanding around the accent or English honestly, you're saying it's gonna be hard one for me to choose one, because I feel like it's a part of life. Now, just to you know, have a conversation with different, diverse people. We all here in Canada have different accents and there are more than one time for sure where I said something or someone said something and it just completely went into the different path. So, yeah, okay, I don't know if I have a specific story, I'm gonna pass on that one okay, so what's your like favorite cultural festival or celebration in Canada?

Daljit: 1:46

Oh, in Canada I love the wintertime around Christmas. It's just the energy. You know, those small festivals. That happens, and everyone is, you know, sort of. You know they sit next to that like warm fire. It reminds me of Lodi at the same time too. You know, just just warmth, that just warm feeling of people sitting, just chatting, and just in that light, in that festive mode, it really um, you know, it gives that hope in that winter, winter season too.

Gurasis: 2:31

Yeah yeah, okay, I think we all love that. Yeah, uh, describe a moment, daljit, when you experienced a significant cultural shock and that surprised you significant cultural shock I'll give an example. Like for me, it was about when somebody told me that let's go and have dinner at like 5.30pm and I'm like that's the time we even think about having dinner. You know like what we have to make. So it was like my cultural shock for me?

Daljit: 3:01

Yeah. So for me, the cultural shock was when I told in the beginning everyone that I'm vegetarian and they start proposing me different options and vegetarian meaning that, oh, ok, so you're vegetarian but you can eat fish. I'm like, no, that's not my kind of vegetarian. Like you're vegetarian, ok, then how about you can eat egg? I'm like I don't know if there is there are types in vegetarians too. I don't know if there are types in vegetarians too, but that for me, was a big cultural shock when I got here that people just were confusing me with different type of and they were trying to help. And then, you know, just give me different options to eat and I'm just like, no, not this, not that. Yeah, I'm just like no, I don't consider fish as a vegetarian, so sorry about that I don't think so.

Gurasis: 3:44

So it is, and also it's so hard to find the paneer items here right, and so it's impossible sometimes.

Daljit: 3:51

Yeah it's impossible, it's impossible. Sometimes I do think that I want to go back, like India and get some cooking classes to make some good food here.

Gurasis: 4:05

For us, especially as a vegetarian, it's hard. Okay, tell us about the first friend that you made in Canada, and are you still?

Daljit: 4:10

in connect. Oh yeah, so I actually made two friends, not one. Two girlfriends. We met on the first day and in our college and now I call them a family. They're not friends anymore.

Gurasis: 4:25

Okay, tell me about a moment where being an immigrant made you feel exceptionally proud or accomplished.

Daljit: 4:34

Yeah, uh, there are several moments when we feel that in our immigrant journey because immigrant journey is just a journey which, like three, sorry six semesters, three years, and I was giving all my in when my friends or my close, like you know, other students would be like, hey, we just need to pass, why are you putting in so much work? And it's like why we have to work too. So blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And then I am so proud of that moment that I didn't give up on my values and I kept putting in the work of that hundred percent and I ended up getting a scholarship at end of the you know, my study, which was a very big you know thing for me as an international student, with the tuition fee, um, and that moment really reminded me that one should never compromise their own values.

Daljit: 5:45

And that was the one thing. And the second moment was when I saw my parents, my younger brother, here now in canada with me that's another accomplished moment, because that's the dream I came with right, that I want to give back and I want to make sure that yeah. So they're here now, they're with me and every day I feel like when I talk to them and I see them, it just reminds me that success, that immigrant happiness. I made it.

Gurasis: 6:13

If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

Daljit: 6:16

Oh, wow, that's a big one. Just only one. Only one, gurusies, you need to be more generous.

Gurasis: 6:23

Give me more as many as you want oh wow.

Daljit: 6:28

Just one superpower. If I have, I would take this superpower where I. I would want to have this ability to help people to see their actual, true potential or their best version in themselves. We all see it, we all see the glimpse, but we don't really know if it's true or not. We don know that, we don't believe in it. I would want that superpower where I can make others believe in that, so that they can just go after it and achieve it wow, that must be very helpful.

Gurasis: 7:13

It will be for people you know so. So describe Canada in one word or a sentence.

Daljit: 7:20

I know in our, you know in our Hindi or Punjabi. It's like Karampumi, A land that has given me the opportunity to be who I am. I can say land of opportunities.

Gurasis: 7:33

Okay, and if you could leave me with one piece of advice, daljeet, what would it be?

Daljit: 7:38

I just want to share this message that you may be inspired right now in your life to do what you're doing right now. It's one phase of your life and you're also a human, just like anyone else, right?

Daljit: 7:54

And you are also going to go through a phase where you probably will ask your questions, your decisions about what you're going to get in this space of creating podcast or there is so much noise in the world and, as we are all human, we can start comparing ourselves, we can start questioning that. Oh my God, now what's next? What's next right? My only advice is to myself and to you also, is that just lead with the purpose, and the days when you feel like it's getting hard, the days when you feel like maybe it's not doing what you want it to be to do it, it's the day when you should remind yourself that you're doing it for your purpose. You're not doing it because you want to make it right.

Gurasis: 9:00

Oh, my God, you know, in the future, whenever I will become a little bit successful and popular, so to say.

Daljit: 9:07

this advice will be part of the montage.

Gurasis: 9:10

No, in the future, I'm telling you this advice that you just gave this will be the part of the montage that will be created overall. It was amazing. Thank you for saying that.

Daljit: 9:21

I'm looking forward to that Absolutely.

Gurasis: 9:25

And lastly, how would you describe your experience of being on the podcast today?

Daljit: 9:29

oh, my god lovely. I feel like there was so much. There was so much flow and um. We talked about very, very important things the areas like as immigrants, how we have to pivot, how we have to go through self-discovery and we have to question our self-worth and just rediscover who we are. We have to unlearn so many things, learn new things and you shared parts of your story.

Daljit: 9:58

I shared parts of my story. That we are having today is sort of like a reminder for us as well that how far we have come as an immigrant community, that you know what legacy we have created as an immigrant community for our generations to come, and the conversation that you and I are having today is is just maybe a tiny little, you know, a drop in that ocean to make sure that it's keep, it's keep getting, you know, filled.

Daljit: 10:39

it's keep getting better and better so that all together, we can create this better space for each other to thrive in.

Gurasis: 10:47

Awesome, thank you. Thank you for everything you have said and thank you for being on the podcast Ajit and adding value to me and to my listeners. Thank you for that.

Daljit: 10:57

It's my pleasure. Thank you for having me.