Reflections

Going on this program has been quite the experience. I think I got as much out of the trip as anyone could have possibly gotten out of a study abroad program given the short time the we were there. I learned a lot about businesses in India, made a lot of great new friends, interacted with some local MBA students, learned about astrology, rode a camel AND an elephant, ate some delicious food, and became completely immersed in a new culture. It was quite the experience.

The trip however left me wanting more. Despite doing all the wonderful and new things in the 12 days I was in India, it created a hunger inside of me that yearns to discover what else India has to offer. I still want to visit Mumbai, and Bangalore, travel further south, visit some rural villages, and even further explore the triangle we mainly spent our time in. Going to India made me realize that it has so much more to offer than what I had initially thought. And as wonderful as the experience was, I cant help but want to see more!

The Taj!

Today we travelled from Delhi to Agra to start what I would say is the more touristy part of the program. For the last several days, although we still went to many touristy areas, I can safely say that the main focus was on business presentations, and interactions with Indian students and faculty from local universities. More importantly today was the day we all get to see one of the staples of India, the TAJ MAHAL!

When we got off the rickshaw and began walking towards the building, I could already tell that what I was about to see was amazing. As we approached the entrance you can see a swarm of people also waiting to get into the magnificent building. What was surprising to see was that many of them were Indians who have actually travelled to Agra to see the Taj Mahal rather than tourists from other parts of the world. Nonetheless you can see that everyone was excited to be here. I, myself, knew that this is one of the things that I was waiting to see the entire trip.

When I got to the actual building I was not disappointed. It was absolutely beautiful. The architecture used to design the building was simply amazing. I especially appreciated the attention to detail and the time and effort used to make sure each gem was perfectly chiseled to fit into the walls of the building. The reason behind the building of this wonder is just as magnificent, if not better. A king had the Taj Mahal built after his wife died to show his respect and appreciation for her. The story is actually pretty remarkable and needless to say physically seeing it was an indescribable experience.

A Fascinating group of young individuals

On our 3rd date in India we visited the JRE institutions in Noida. Before this date we had already visited students from two other schools and were actually given e-buddies from each school as I mentioned in my earlier blog. The school we went to this time was almost new, and you can easily see the construction still being done. I was however pretty impressed with what they had accomplished in the time given and with the plans they had in the future. I feel like in a few years, not only will the school have a good reputation academically, but the campus itself will be really nice as well.
Both times the students seemed really enthused with what we had to say. On the first day the e-buddies talked to us like they had known us for a while and it seems that way because of the e-mailing beforehand, but these students seemed just as interested to learn about us. They were extremely friendly and seemed very passionate. Ive never met a group of young individuals who valued education as much as these students. In addition I was also very impressed with their professionalism and hospitality as well.
There was one student in particular that really inspired me. When he approached me, I expected it to be like any other conversation with the students I had already had before him; the usual, hi my name is…, im studying…, and how are you liking our school thus far? Of course this is how our conversations started as well, but then he began to tell me he was also an entrepreneur. When I asked him what kind of business he was involved in, he proceeded to tell me one of the most amazing stories I’ve heard to date. He told me he owned a school with currently 200 students attending and is designed to help less privileged children in his neighborhood where he grew up get an education. He told me his vision was to help students in his neighborhood get a quality education regardless of their income. When I asked him why he was getting his MBA rather than focusing on running the school, he said that he wanted to better himself by learning how to more effectively manage the school. He told me his family was the inspiration for his dream and that he has their complete support. He said that even though their facilities and resources aren’t the greatest, he does the best with what he has.
When I heard this story, I was thoroughly impressed. Here was a student who was the same age as me and already owns his own company. Not only that, he is using his education to give back to the community and actually has a vision of what he wants to do with his life. My entire life, I’ve always treated college as a track. I go to high school, to college, and even grad school in hopes of finding a job. It was simple. There was never any fear of not going to school. The students I have met treat school as a privilege. And as a result, they value their education much more than we do. Hearing the students talk was really quite refreshing. Hearing this young mans story about what he wants to do with his life really made me think about what I am doing with mine. I am one semester away from graduating and I now realize I need to do a lot of thinking before I decide on the career I want to pursue.

DAY 1 in INDIAAA!!!

The first full day of India has come to a close and I have a lot of mixed feelings not only about the day but the country itself. I think I quickly learned that despite the program itself being a relatively short period of time for a 4 credit class, you really do get to experience a lot. That being said, as I look further down the syllabus you really get a sense that you get to participate in a variety of activities. And today was no exception.

Before I left for India, I knew that the because the program was so short each day was going to be filled with a lot of things to do and this meant long days. I knew immediately that waking up early was something I would have to get used to simply because usually during my winter breaks, I use the time to catch up the sleep I missed out on the semester before and quite frankly, I enjoy sleeping in. That however wasn’t going to happen. The first day however I surprisingly woke up before my alarm clock was due to ring at 6:45am. Now, I could easily attribute this to jetlag, but I think I was actually just more excited to start the program. IT ws my first full day and to put things plainly, I was in INDIA!

Breakfast alone was quite the experience. You didn’t see the traditional eggs over easy, bacon strips, sausage, links hash browns, etc…. Instead all this was replaced by a flat deep fried pancake-like bread with some form of curry sauce, a savory macaroni dish stir fried with peppers, and an interesting juice drink. The meal was delicious to say the least. I even went back for seconds.

After breakfast was when I was really started to get excited. The program was finally starting. We made our first stop at a Sikh temple known as Moti Bagh. The reason this temple is so famous is because it is said that a Guru shot an arrow from this temple to the Red Ford, a distance of approximately 8 miles. What really made this visit interesting for me was that we were required to take our shoes and socks off before entering and was also required to wear a bandana-like cloth over our hair. The first was the show a sign of respect, the latter, to protect our hair. Given that all this was very new to me, I can honestly say it was quite the experience. As we were leaving, a religious man gave us a wheat-like paste/food that was supposed to be an offering from god. I remember it being just a tad sweet, but again, it was nice to try something new.

When we got back on the bus, Professor Kahai explained to us (the students on the program) a little about his knowledge of Sikhism and Hinduism. It was really interesting to see how large a role religion played in the everyday lives of the people of India. Professor Kahai even explained to us that Sikhism is more of a way of life than it is  religion. Hear about these two religions was rather refreshing because growing up ‘ve never really been exposed to much of any religion. On top of that The US is such a diverse culture sometimes its hard to see how religion is incorporated in someone’s life at first glance. Here you’ll see a quite a few temples, groups of people praying on the streets and you’ll even see religion through the way people dress and eat. It really is a different experience.

Afterwards we had lunch and were joined by our e-buddies for the very first time. Before then, I had no idea how either of my e-buddies looked like at all but still felt very familiar to them based on the emails that we sent to each other prior to this day. They were actually very interesting people. Both of mine in particular were MBA students who were studying marketing. We were talking like we had known each other for more than just the several weeks of emails just prior to the meeting date. Both of my e-buddies were extremely intrigued about what my life in the US was like, my interests, how my studies are going and my career plans. What’s funny was that I came to India to learn the same things about them. This was followed by several presentations that included business in India, an inspiring story about a man who lost his leg in the Indian army, and an interesting presentation about Astrology and how it relates to business.

I think dinner-time was roughly the time of day where I felt like I really got the most out of all the places we visited. For one, I sat with a large group of the other students on the program, and while the appetizers were being served, that’s when I felt like I really connected with a lot of them. I got to know them very well from all the conversations we had about our lives in Bing and also what we expect to gain from this trip.

In addition to this we also had a speaker who gave a presentation that really gave me a lot to think about. He was a man who started a business similar to ‘Kaplan’ in the US and has now become quite successful. I remember asking him what kind of advice he could give to some of us students, especially in the US who would rather apply and work for already established companies rather than become entrepreneurs simply because it’s a safer alternative. I asked him this question because I know a lot of students prefer taking a safer route because of the bad economy rather than starting their own business. The next few words is something I’ll always remember. He said “starting your own company, it a vision. Its something you feel passionate about doing, and you’ll know it if that’s the right path for you”. I never once thought about it like that. Before that night, I only saw being an entrepreneur as being a career path, not a dream, and I think those words are extremely important. Being in the position where I’m about to graduate and still not sure what I want to do, his presentation really gave me a new outlook on not only my career, but my life.

I finished the day off talking to my roommate for a few hours before heading to bed. I was very very VERY tired, but at the same time excited about what was to come.