Hyderabad: “I believe it’s an Asian mindset, where one would assume that to leave a high-paying prestigious job is a wrong thing to do,” says 26-year-old Andrea Loh.
“I came across the opportunity to work in Hyderabad four months after I had quit my job as a lawyer. Apart from my close friends and family, who understood that I was in need of a soul journey, I faced a lot of pressure from others,” explains Andrea.
Six months into her “soul journey” and she knows that she made the right decision. “It’s early days in my career and now is the only time I can get my hands dirty. I have been in Hyderabad since January this year and work as a deputy manager (Commercial) at Mxit India, where I interact with enterprises and NGOs to establish new partnerships.”
“One of the reasons I decided to take up this job was because I wanted to do something different. I didn’t want to work in a corporate, but with a start-up that has as a dynamic environment and is so much more different than my previous job. Moreover, technology is the future and with the huge database of phone users, Mxit was an opportunity that I couldn’t turn down,” she says.
In need for a change, Andrea got just that as she moved to the city six months ago. “I have been to India twice before, but that was just for a few weeks’ holiday to Goa, Kerala, Pondi and other places. But staying in a new city is a different deal. Food and weather have not been easy to adjust to. I mean back home, food is an integral part, more like a national obsession,” she laughs.
“But moving to a new country is also about embracing its culture. I have been taking private lessons in Hindi for the past two months. I hope to learn Hindi fluently, so that I can not only converse with the locals but also bargain with the auto guys,” says Andrea.
An avid travel enthusiast, Andrea’s official profile on The Apprentice Asia mentions her “independent streak and how she can easily stand up for herself when travelling alone as she has decked a rugby guy who got too close for comfort” during one of her trips to Laos.
So, has there been any incident in the city where she had to similarly defend herself? “There definitely has been pressure; I have been dressing more conservatively. But I do believe that there needs to be a paradigm shift on how women are viewed here. But India has given me much more than what it has taken away, so I really have no complaints,” she says.
Here to make India her second home, Andrea is looking forward to exploring the country more. “Since January, I have been home only for two weeks to renew my passport and to attend two weddings. I am here for some time and want to go to Mumbai, I have heard it’s amazing, and then I am going to Kashmir in September, so I am looking forward to it all.”
