<font color="burgundy">Home</font> far away from <font color="burgundy">Home</font>

<h3>After five years in the U.S. attending college and working at Peco-Facet, Dhiresh Bhatia feels as much at home in North Texas as he does in his native Bahrain.</h3>

<b>By David May</b><br><a href="mailto:editor@mineralwellsindex.com">editor@mineralwellsindex.com</a>

Coming to America from a Middle East country, leaving friends and family behind, would seem a monumental challenge for most.

Especially for someone going from a small island in the Persian Gulf to Iowa.

But Dhiresh Bhatia didn’t find such a major transition in his young adult life too daunting. It helped that he hailed from Bahrain, a comparatively progressive and modern Middle Eastern nation, and was raised in a well-traveled family with a view, understanding and grasp of the world beyond their country’s borders.

Still, he landed in Iowa. It’s a long way from Persian paradise to corn country.

“I landed in the day, and all I could see was fields and fields of corn,” said Bhatia of his arrival in the U.S. in 2004 to attend Iowa State University. “On the ride from the airport, all there were, were just farms. And I was thinking, where am I? I came in June. I adjusted as I went. There’s a saying, that once you survive in India you can survive anywhere.”

An engineer at Peco-Facet, Bhatia, 25, was born and raised in the Kingdom of Bahrain. His parents are of Indian descent. His family is Hindu and Arabic.

Dating back to ancient times, Bahrain is known for its pearl and oil industries. It is a modern, progressive country, similar to its gulf neighbors Saudi Arabia and Qatar. With a population of about 900,000, the kingdom is home to modern structures and skyscrapers, heavily influenced by Western culture thanks to its relationship with the United Kingdom.

“My parents have traveled the world. They are pretty open-minded,” Bhatia said. “Bahrain does have a lot of Western influence because we were ruled by the British.”

Bahrain is home to many different cultures and religions, including Protestant, Catholicism and Hindu as well as Islam. Likewise, a number of different languages are spoken on the island, though primarily Hindi is spoken as well as English.

“Bahrain is more liberal and allows other religions to practice there,” he said. “All of the schools there are private schools - Indian, British, American systems. My school is one of the oldest private schools in Bahrain. They are open-minded to accepting other religions, and there is open movement between schools.”

Bahrain is also known today for hosting a major Formula One race, the Bahrain F1 Grand Prix. Bhatia worked as a marshal in the 2004 race, one month before coming to America.

“Bahrain is an economic center for the Middle East,” Bhatia said. “It’s starting to have construction. It’s becoming known for tourism. A lot of people come to watch the race.”

The biggest celebration in the Hindu religion is the five days of Diwaili, the Festival of Lights, a celebration Bhatia said symbolizes the victory of good over evil through the lighting of lamps. It takes place from mid-October to mid-November, a time when many Hindus wear new clothes and share sweets and snacks.

You could also wish Bhatia a Happy New Year, as Hindus marked a new year Oct. 17.

Bhatia’s mother worked for Gulf Air and his father owns a company that supplies industrial goods to the government. He was not the first from his family to come to the U.S. to study. His older brother, Jayesh, graduated in 2001 from the University of North Texas with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. His brother returned home and is a financial analyst for a brokerage firm.

Bhatia grew up committed to his education while enjoying playing soccer and cricket – a sport he still plays almost every Sunday, he said, playing for a Fort Worth team in a Metroplex cricket league.

"Since Texas weather is so good we can play year around,” said Bhatia, adding that he is a right-arm medium bowler, the position in cricket similar to a baseball pitcher.

At about 6-foot-4 with long arms, Bhatia is a daily regular at Mineral Wells’ City Gym participating in the lunchtime pickup basketball games where he has been crowned, “The ‘Bahrainian’ Bomber.”

After completing high school, he said he was unsure what he wanted to do. He felt like he wanted to pursue an engineering education, so he went to India to study for two years at a school where he could transfer his credits to an American college.

“Then I transferred to Iowa State, they were ranked top 20 for industrial engineering,” he said. During his four years at ISU, he completed two internships and studied abroad in the UK.

He said his transition to life in the U.S. was eased at the major college campus because he was put in touch with some other students from the Middle East. He was able to enjoy the trappings of an American lifestyle while staying in touch with his Hindu and Middle Eastern roots and cultures.

“I found no (difficult) transition in making friends,” said Bhatia, himself a very friendly and easy-going person.

It wasn’t long into his first winter in Iowa that he experienced something he had never experienced before - his first snowstorm.

“We all went out and played in the snow,” he said. “That was fun, because I’d never seen snow before that.

He graduated in 2008 from ISU with a bachelor’s in industrial engineering.

One of his two internships at ISU brought him to Mineral Wells and Perry Equipment, now Peco-Facet, a maker of filters, filtration systems, vessels and engineering services primarily for the oil and gas industries. He worked under Don Ray in Peco’s engineering department helping with component design and assisting sales.

“When I interned here I liked the oil and gas industry,” Bhatia said. “I thought that was a good field to get into because it’s going to always be around, I hope.

He enjoyed the work, the company and the people so much that when he graduated in 2008, he called Ray and inquired about a position. He returned as an intern, which later turned into a full-time position.

“I love what I do, I love the people at Peco,” Bhatia said. “They are very friendly, very nice.”

While he said he misses home and family and some of his favorite foods, Bhatia is also very much at home in North Texas and Fort Worth, where he resides.

“Moving to a big city, there is so much more to do, lots more people around,” he said. “Sometimes I do miss the college town where everybody knows everybody when you go out.”

He said he is planning a trip back home to visit in several weeks.

“I’m looking eventually move back home,” Bhatia said. “I’ve been here so long I’m used to being here. But I do miss my family and I do miss my home. I miss the food back home, the Indian and Arabic food.”

He said he has found a couple of restaurants in the Metroplex he enjoys, like Taste of Asia. Bhatia enjoys some Tex-Mex as well. This is when you know you’ve become at least a little Texan.

“Everything is so convenient over here. It’s more updated over here. There’s more to do. I’ve been away (from home), and I’ve become used to this lifestyle, being independent.”

He said he is now looking at studying for a master’s degree in engineering and is looking at a two-year executive’s program offered by Southern Methodist University he could take on Saturdays. That way it wouldn’t interfere with his job or his Sunday cricket matches.

That would make for quite the busy schedule. For now, Bhatia says he is happy with his life and isn’t even thinking about settling down with a wife and family.

“I like being a bachelor, having my freedom,” he said. “I want to get everything settled, get my education. I’m not worried about getting married.”

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