In Episode 23 of How's Your Ma?, we’re joined by Emma and Bala, two social workers originally from India who now live and work in Dublin.

They share their experiences of moving to Ireland, finding their feet in a completely different country, building friendships, dealing with the cost of living and working in social care.

We also get into their lives back in India, growing up in close-knit families and communities, education, migration, arranged marriage and how their experiences growing up shaped the people they are today.

Emma and Bala also talk about the kindness they've experienced since arriving in Ireland, the importance of paying that kindness forward, and what the future might look like for them.

A fascinating conversation about family, culture, migration, social work and finding your place in a new country.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Meet Emma & Bala

01:04 – Finding their feet in Ireland

02:12 – Growing up in India and moving abroad

03:42 – Emma's journey to Ireland

05:19 – Why Dublin?

06:31 – Experiences of kindness and discrimination

08:16 – The challenges of starting over in Ireland

09:04 – Similarities between Irish and Indian culture

09:51 – Bala's arranged marriage

11:12 – How arranged marriage works today

13:20 – Meeting a potential partner

15:14 – Finding the right person

17:25 – The "Tinder" of arranged marriage

18:12 – What happens on a matrimonial website?

19:12 – What they looked for in a partner

21:00 – Bala's husband and the journey to marriage

23:09 – Long-distance relationships and communication

24:37 – Studying social work in India

25:17 – Getting social work qualifications recognised in Ireland

27:22 – Education in India

30:08 – Learning through practical experience

31:23 – Growing up speaking different languages

33:21 – Migration and the "brain drain"

34:09 – Why professionals leave India

37:09 – Why there are Indians all over the world

38:14 – Sending money home and supporting family

38:59 – The reality of the cost of living in Dublin

40:41 – What they love about social work

41:39 – Why Emma became a social worker

42:57 – Bala's experience of receiving help growing up

44:02 – Paying kindness forward

46:08 – The impact of social work

47:29 – The challenges of social work in Ireland

48:11 – What does the future hold?

49:04 – Could they settle in Ireland?

50:14 – Growing up in big Indian families

52:19 – Life skills learned from living abroad

52:45 – Breaking generational patterns

53:23 – Gender expectations growing up

55:03 – Challenging traditional expectations

56:26 – Family, community and the importance of kindness

57:12 – The legacy of people who helped them

59:05 – Family back home in India

01:00:36 – The importance of family

01:02:41 – Final thoughts