"I Never Expected Canada to Change Me Like This!" | Beneath The Accent with Rohit Dhawan

Rohit shares his journey of identity, humour, and self-discovery—from realizing he had an accent to finding a renewed sense of purpose in Canada. We touch on the unexpected lessons that come from cultural shifts, the spirit of service sparked abroad, and lighthearted reflections on lions, teleportation, and public transit etiquette. Through it all, Rohit speaks straight from the heart, reminding us of the power of embracing change while staying rooted.

Follow the host and the podcast on Social Media channels below:  

• My Thick Accent on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mythickaccent/
• My Thick Accent on Threads -  https://www.threads.net/@mythickaccent?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
• MyThickAccent.com - https://www.mythickaccent.com/
• Gurasis's Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/iamgurasis/
• Gurasis's LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamgurasis/

__________________________________________

To contact Rohit:

• Rohit's LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohit04dhawan?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_profile_view_base_contact_details%3B9WJIx8QpSlC1c9CHHOBuLA%3D%3D
• Rohit's Topmate | https://topmate.io/rohit_dhawan10

Chapters

• 0:21 Beneath the Accent Segment Introduction
• 0:34 Advice to Younger Self
• 1:02 Cultural Differences and Freedom
• 1:45 Discovering Your Own Accent
• 2:35 Canadian Experiences and Preferences
• 3:51 Finding Purpose in Canada
• 5:33 Final Reflections and Gratitude

Transcript

Gurasis: 0:02

so now we're in the final segment of the podcast. I call it beneath the accent. I'm going to ask a couple of questions. You can answer them in one word or a sentence, or how several you feel like. The idea is just know a little bit more about you. So the first question is what advice would you give to your younger self, and at what age?

Rohit: 0:21

yeah. So I will say try as many different things as you can before deciding on what your profession will look like or what your option will look like. I will like to give this advice to myself at around between 15 to 18 years.

Gurasis: 0:38

Okay, and what would you like to say to your 60-year-old self?

Rohit: 0:42

I hope by the time I get there I've made at least difference in somebody's life to be more meaningful.

Gurasis: 0:49

Tell me about a moment when you experienced a significant cultural difference that surprised you.

Rohit: 0:55

Has to be. When I went to Pune from Chandigarh, I actually felt the bout of freedom for the first time in life, right. And when I said freedom, it means freedom to make your own financial decisions, freedom to make your own clothing decisions, fooding decision, where you stay, how out you stay out of the hostel. So a lot of freedom and which I think really helped me shape my future.

Gurasis: 1:21

Do you have any funny stories related to your misunderstanding around the accent or English?

Rohit: 1:27

Yeah, you know what? It's funny that you asked that? Because when we are growing up in India, right For us the word accent usually means people with a Western accent, right. So when I was growing up, accent for me meant anybody speaking in a pretty accent from a North American side of the world. That was accent for me when I got my first job and I was just sitting with a few friend of mine for a lunch and somebody said Rohit, I really like your accent and I was like do?

Rohit: 2:06

I have an accent. So that was my first awakening of yes, I do have an accent okay, we all have that accent, absolutely.

Gurasis: 2:19

Um, what's your favorite cultural festival or celebration in canada and how do you celebrate it?

Rohit: 2:26

ah, I have to default it to christmas, right? Uh, because I do like the festivities around it, right? And that's also usually the time when my wife and I give ourselves the guilt pass to skip on our healthy eating routine, to eat into anything and everything that we want. So I would say that's pretty interesting.

Gurasis: 2:47

What's something that you ate for the first time in Canada.

Rohit: 2:51

From a Canadian perspective, I was very tempted to try what we call poutine, right? Yeah, so that's the first.

Gurasis: 3:03

And did you like it. I've had better version of fries would say so, so yeah okay, if you had to describe yourself as any creature, what would it be and why?

Rohit: 3:18

it's a weird one, but I would say, uh, a lion okay and why at times I just like to just watch around and act like the king, knowing all doing all sort of things right. So that's my way to spoil myself.

Gurasis: 3:35

Okay, if you could have one superpower, what would it be?

Rohit: 3:39

My superpower would be if I can just teleport myself to any place. I'm a big fan of exploring different destinations. I absolutely do not like traveling, but I still love going to a lot of different places, so teleporting to the places I like would be nice.

Gurasis: 3:57

If you could create this one law that everybody has to follow, what would it be?

Rohit: 4:02

Probably one thing that really annoys me don't shout in public places so like when you're in transit. That should be a law. When you're in transit, so like when you're in transit, that should be a law. When you're in transit, like when you're transit, people like speaking on phones really, really loudly. That annoys me.

Gurasis: 4:18

Yeah, I experienced that just a few days ago. So yeah, I can understand. So describe Canada in one word or a sentence.

Rohit: 4:28

Canada right now is home, away from home. I think I'm very, very lucky I chose this decision and this country sort of accepted me. I get to enjoy this country. In a way, I also like it because at times I think the type of outreach that I'm trying to do in terms of reaching out to my community, helping people, I am not sure if I would be doing the same thing if I was back home. So I'm really glad to Canada for helping me ignite that spirit.

Gurasis: 4:59

If, rohit, you could leave me with one piece of advice, what would it be?

Rohit: 5:02

Keep doing what you're doing. I think you have such an amazing message in this podcast on how to overcome barriers and make something so much meaningful that impacts people. This is amazing and so inspiring. So just keep doing what you're doing.

Gurasis: 5:24

Thank you, thank you for that and, finally, how would you describe your experience of being on this podcast?

Rohit: 5:31

for that. And finally, how would you describe your experience of being on this podcast? I just love it. I think the element that I love the most is the free flow conversation right, and, as you said, we went pretty unfiltered, I think I I felt really, really at peace, sharing what I felt from my heart, and I did not have to think twice to either wordsmith what I was seeing. Whatever you heard was right from the heart, through my feelings. So thanks for giving that environment yeah, no, no, thank you.

Gurasis: 6:02

Thank you for saying that. I appreciate that. I'm very, very glad to hear that and very glad to have you thank. Thank you so much, rohit, for being on the podcast and adding value to my listeners. Thanks a lot.

Rohit: 6:13

Thank you for having me. I'm truly humbled for the opportunity.