Finding Support in a Foreign Country

 In chapter two and three of The Namesake we start to see Ashima and Ashoke form a small community of other Indians in the same situation. This I find very interesting because I have personal experience with behavior like this. My Grandfather was born in Iran and once he came to America to become a doctor. He made friends with many other Iranians, and these friendships have lasted for decades. On the flip side when he brought my Irish grandmother back to Iran she became friends with a lot of other Americans living in Iran. This behavior of making friends of the same ethnicity as you in foreign countries, stems off the fact of wanting some normality and remembrance of home. This explanation easily fits into Ashima and Ashoke's situation, these Bengali friends become a second family even participating in family events, like Sonali's rice ceremony. This is mirrored in all of my grandfathers friends attending my parents wedding. This group of friends were family to my father, they ate together, vacationed together, and have countless stories to tell me when they all meet up. Even though great friends were made, I actually think this practice is a little counter intuitive. We see Ashima stuck in India even when she's in Cambridge, and these friends help her stay in this paralysis. If they went out and made friends who had different backgrounds and were "American". They would adapt much easier to the country they are living in at the moment not the one they used too live in. Even if making friends of different ethnicities might be a little harder to new immigrants.  I am not saying they shouldn't make these friends, but if you don't expand your horizons you could always stay in the country you used to know.