Hapag-Lloyd expat Suren Balakrishnan talks about living and working in four continents

Tell us about your life as an expat and what made you want to become an expatriate in the first place?

I believe that the desire to immerse into different cultures and societies came from my student days when I did my undergraduate studies in Australia. The exposure back then was so deep rooted for me and when I started my career in Hapag-Lloyd, I realized that international exposure was a real possibility here.

This is already my third overseas stint. My first opportunity came when I relocated to Piscataway, where I was part of the Transpacific Product Management team. The second opportunity came when I moved from Tampa to Valparaiso to be part of the Latin America Trade Management team during the CSAV merger. The exposure and assimilation to different cultures is one of the great advantages of expat life. I think expat living should not be about living within the constraints of what you are familiar with.

My years as an expat have been very rewarding and enriching to say the least. I was indeed very fortunate that both my expat experiences in Valparaiso and Dubai were a result of the CSAV and UASC mergers. As such, my objectives were several. Firstly onboarding functionality with existing and new colleagues that brought with them different experiences. Secondly, being able to take in as well their best practices. Thirdly, assimilating and adapting to a different and evolving work environment since the company was in a state of flux. Lastly, looking back, taking stock of where you started from to where you have to continue moving to. All in all, a very gratifying experience.

What has been the highlight of your time in Dubai?

From a professional point of view, it has been quite an exciting ride in Dubai. I moved to Dubai to facilitate and be part of the Hapag-Lloyd and UASC integration efforts pertaining to Trade Management. The evolution from pre-merger to merger and then post-merger was something I will always fondly remember. The involvement of everyone both from Corporate and Region was par none in making the integration a great success. It was also wonderful in catching up with colleagues whom I have not seen for a long time and whom came to Dubai to support the integration efforts.

Moving to a new country is never easy. What have been the biggest challenges you have faced during your years living abroad?

Probably the biggest challenge during my time as an expat was when I was in Valparaiso and except for colleagues at the office, most people spoke very little English. Whatever Spanish I learnt came to little use when communicating with the locals as I was up against the Chilean street Spanish. I must admit I was a little stressed at the time but it eventually it was simply a matter of immersion.

More recently, the biggest pain point has been being locked down in Dubai and not being able to travel to see the family. I left my family in Tampa when I moved to Dubai. I have an adult son and daughter, but my wife and I took a conscious decision that I would move to Dubai whilst she remained behind for our family. But I am relieved to say that everyone has been taking all the necessary precautions and are staying safe. The Dubai authorities have also been very forthcoming with the required preventive measures and the public cooperated.

Prior to the COVID days, I would spend my travel days between going back and forth to the US and also have the ability to visit my other family members in Singapore. Besides the home leaves I take to see my family, I use social media apps to video-conference a lot. It helps.

How is life in Dubai?

Being a cosmopolitan city, you can imagine that Dubai is a melting pot of cultures, people and lifestyles. Dubai is a very fascinating city as well as the Emirate for that matter. You can sense that Dubai holds on to its history and traditions dearly but at the same time embraces progress and modernization. In fact, there is a famous structure called the “Frame” which demarcates Old and New Dubai. You can enjoy city living in very beautiful modern apartments or opt to living in suburban or rustic older neighborhoods like Deira or Port Saaed, where the office and I are situated. From my apartment, I have a great view of the Dubai creek and the Old Souk, and love to watch the water taxis plying back and forth ferrying people from one side of the creek to the other.

I have also found that Dubai is a very safe place to live in and its very family friendly. The downside I see is the summer. To me the summer heat is too oppressive for doing things outdoors. Having said that, there are the few die-hard expats that I personally know of that would enjoy golf in such weather. I love golf, but play it very selectively in winter as it is very expensive here. When the weather is cooler, there a lot of great outdoor activities to partake. Being a “petrol head”, I tend to gravitate towards motorized activities like quading in the desert or jet skiing. On the weekends, I look forward to my regular Badminton sessions, which are followed by a nice lunch or dinner with friends and colleagues. The next day is normally spent grocery shopping and just chilling at home.