Winter, Tears & Comfort Food | Beneath The Accent with Daljit Kaur - My Thick Accent

Episode Transcript
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Gurasis (00:01):
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 wordor a sentence, or howsoever you
feel like.
The idea is just to know moreabout you.
So ready, yep.
So what advice would you giveto younger who has just landed
in canada?

Daljit (00:21):
you're enough and don't compare yourself with others.
We are all in different phasesof our journey um yeah, you're
more than enough

Gurasis (00:34):
okay, what's that one dish from your home country that
always brings you comfort andnostalgia?

Daljit (00:40):
as a Punjabi, this is one of the meals that we throw
up eating.
It's my favorite makki di rotiwith saru da saag.

Gurasis (00:49):
Oh my god, before you even said that, I could hear it.

Daljit (00:52):
You knew it, it's coming .
That's it, that's it.

Gurasis (00:58):
Oh, my god yeah it brings everything.

Daljit (01:02):
Okay, tell us about any funny story if you have related
to your misunderstanding aroundthe accent or English honestly,
you're saying it's gonna be hardone for me to choose one,
because I feel like it's a partof life.
Now, just to you know, have aconversation with different,
diverse people.
We all here in Canada havedifferent accents and there are

(01:25):
more than one time for surewhere I said something or
someone said something and itjust completely went into the
different path.
So, yeah, okay, I don't know ifI have a specific story, I'm
gonna pass on that one okay, sowhat's your like favorite
cultural festival or celebrationin Canada?

(01:46):
Oh, in Canada I love thewintertime around Christmas.
It's just the energy.

(02:12):
You know, those small festivals.
That happens, and everyone is,you know, sort of.
You know they sit next to thatlike warm fire.
It reminds me of Lodi at thesame time too.
You know, just just warmth,that just warm feeling of people
sitting, just chatting, andjust in that light, in that
festive mode, it really um, youknow, it gives that hope in that
winter, winter season too.

Gurasis (02:31):
Yeah yeah, okay, I think we all love that.
Yeah, uh, describe a moment,daljit, when you experienced a
significant cultural shock andthat surprised you significant
cultural shock I'll give anexample.
Like for me, it was about whensomebody told me that let's go
and have dinner at like 5.30pmand I'm like that's the time we

(02:57):
even think about having dinner.
You know like what we have tomake.
So it was like my culturalshock for me?

Daljit (03:01):
Yeah.
So for me, the cultural shockwas when I told in the beginning
everyone that I'm vegetarianand they start proposing me
different options and vegetarianmeaning that, oh, ok, so you're
vegetarian but you can eat fish.
I'm like, no, that's not mykind of vegetarian.
Like you're vegetarian, ok,then how about you can eat egg?
I'm like I don't know if thereis there are types in

(03:22):
vegetarians too.
I don't know if there are typesin vegetarians too, but that
for me, was a big cultural shockwhen I got here that people
just were confusing me withdifferent type of and they were
trying to help.
And then, you know, just giveme different options to eat and
I'm just like, no, not this, notthat.
Yeah, I'm just like no, I don'tconsider fish as a vegetarian,
so sorry about that I don'tthink so.

Gurasis (03:44):
So it is, and also it's so hard to find the paneer
items here right, and so it'simpossible sometimes.

Daljit (03:51):
Yeah it's impossible, it's impossible.
Sometimes I do think that Iwant to go back, like India and
get some cooking classes to makesome good food here.

Gurasis (04:05):
For us, especially as a vegetarian, it's hard.
Okay, tell us about the firstfriend that you made in Canada,
and are you still?

Daljit (04:10):
in connect.
Oh yeah, so I actually made twofriends, not one.
Two girlfriends.
We met on the first day and inour college and now I call them
a family.
They're not friends anymore.

Gurasis (04:25):
Okay, tell me about a moment where being an immigrant
made you feel exceptionallyproud or accomplished.

Daljit (04:34):
Yeah, uh, there are several moments when we feel
that in our immigrant journeybecause immigrant journey is
just a journey which, like three, sorry six semesters, three
years, and I was giving all myin when my friends or my close,

(05:10):
like you know, other studentswould be like, hey, we just need
to pass, why are you putting inso much work?
And it's like why we have towork too.
So blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
And then I am so proud of thatmoment that I didn't give up on
my values and I kept putting inthe work of that hundred percent
and I ended up getting ascholarship at end of the you

(05:30):
know, my study, which was a verybig you know thing for me as an
international student, with thetuition fee, um, and that
moment really reminded me thatone should never compromise
their own values.
And that was the one thing.
And the second moment was whenI saw my parents, my younger
brother, here now in canada withme that's another accomplished

(05:53):
moment, because that's the dreamI came with right, that I want
to give back and I want to makesure that yeah.
So they're here now, they'rewith me and every day I feel
like when I talk to them and Isee them, it just reminds me
that success, that immigranthappiness.
I made it.

Gurasis (06:13):
If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

Daljit (06:16):
Oh, wow, that's a big one.
Just only one.
Only one, gurusies, you need tobe more generous.

Gurasis (06:23):
Give me more as many as you want oh wow.

Daljit (06:28):
Just one superpower.
If I have, I would take thissuperpower where I.
I would want to have thisability to help people to see
their actual, true potential ortheir best version in themselves

(06:49):
.
We all see it, we all see theglimpse, but we don't really
know if it's true or not.
We don know that, we don'tbelieve in it.
I would want that superpowerwhere I can make others believe
in that, so that they can justgo after it and achieve it wow,

(07:10):
that must be very helpful.

Gurasis (07:13):
It will be for people you know so.
So describe Canada in one wordor a sentence.

Daljit (07:20):
I know in our, you know in our Hindi or Punjabi.
It's like Karampumi, A landthat has given me the
opportunity to be who I am.
I can say land of opportunities.

Gurasis (07:33):
Okay, and if you could leave me with one piece of
advice, daljeet, what would itbe?

Daljit (07:38):
I just want to share this message that you may be
inspired right now in your lifeto do what you're doing right
now.
It's one phase of your life andyou're also a human, just like
anyone else, right?
And you are also going to gothrough a phase where you
probably will ask your questions, your decisions about what

(08:20):
you're going to get in thisspace of creating podcast or
there is so much noise in theworld 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 andto you also, is that just lead

(08:41):
with the purpose, and the dayswhen you feel like it's getting
hard, the days when you feellike maybe it's not doing what
you want it to be to do it, it'sthe day when you should remind
yourself that you're doing itfor your purpose.
You're not doing it because youwant to make it right.

Gurasis (09:00):
Oh, my God, you know, in the future, whenever I will
become a little bit successfuland popular, so to say.

Daljit (09:07):
this advice will be part of the montage.

Gurasis (09:10):
No, in the future, I'm telling you this advice that you
just gave this will be the partof the montage that will be
created overall.
It was amazing.
Thank you for saying that.

Daljit (09:21):
I'm looking forward to that Absolutely.

Gurasis (09:25):
And lastly, how would you describe your experience of
being on the podcast today?

Daljit (09:29):
oh, my god lovely.
I feel like there was so much.
There was so much flow and um.
We talked about very, veryimportant things the areas like
as immigrants, how we have topivot, how we have to go through
self-discovery and we have toquestion our self-worth and just

(09:51):
rediscover who we are.
We have to unlearn so manythings, learn new things and you
shared parts of your story.
I shared parts of my story.
That we are having today issort of like a reminder for us

(10:15):
as well that how far we havecome as an immigrant community,
that you know what legacy wehave created as an immigrant
community for our generations tocome, and the conversation that
you and I are having today isis just maybe a tiny little, you
know, a drop in that ocean tomake sure that it's keep, it's

(10:37):
keep getting, you know, filled.
it's keep getting better andbetter so that all together, we
can create this better space foreach other to thrive in.

Gurasis (10:47):
Awesome, thank you.
Thank you for everything youhave said and thank you for
being on the podcast Ajit andadding value to me and to my
listeners.
Thank you for that.

Daljit (10:57):
It's my pleasure.
Thank you for having me.

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Winter, Tears & Comfort Food | Beneath The Accent with Daljit Kaur

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