Home sweet USA

These past two weeks have been quite the experience – very interesting as most people would say.  After the long plane ride we still had about 3 hours in the car which ended up being about 5 because of the snow.  It was like one last push for the trip to be over and all we needed was a bagel to help us get through the drive and to work.  Now that its finally Sunday I can stay home and rest and I’ve had some time to reflect on the past two weeks of our action and fun-filled packed tour.  My sister took much of the glory in explaining in her last blog everything that I wanted to say.  But I will say that I had a great time meeting so many new people at BU and at the different schools in India.  Every time I look at my Facebook I have multiple new friend requests and chats from the students that we met.  I’ve gotten many wierd looks and questions about the henna that I still have on my hands.  My response is that I went to India and I make it sound like it’s just a normal thing like I just went around the world no problem and I get puzzled looks back.  They ask me how it was and my response is what I heard before I went – it is a very interesting place.

We got to see the slums, the crazy amount of poor people, the school system that needs major help but also the business district with their amazing architecture and huge buildings.  I was trying to get pictures as we were driving of all the different ‘faces’ of India so that as I’m telling my family the details of the trip they would be able to see what I’m talking about but the pictures do not even come close to what we experienced and I’m realizing that the only way anyone will really be able to know what India is like is if they experience it for themselves and I find myself very lucky that I did.  The thing is that I’m not sure if I would accompany my family or friends on their trip – I think that one experience may be enough for me.  I really only say this because of the food situation.  The food that we ate was a major thing for my stomach to deal with and I’m wondering now if traveller’s diarrhea also happens when you’re back in your home country.  I’m not saying that to be gross or give too much but just trying to give a sense of what my stomach and body has been through because of the food.  I had read in a blog from the last group that someone said that India has a smell and that smell has a taste in all the food.  I had mentally prepared myself for the food issues that I would be facing and brought a ton of snacks with me to help me through it but it was worse than I thought.

Apart from the food I had a wonderful time and it was an experience that I wouldn’t take back.  I learned about business and increased my global awareness not only in business but also social in education and the living situations that normal people have.  My sister explained in great detail all that we should be grateful for here in the US so I’m not going to repeat it but it is so true.  I’m glad to be back home and to have survived my trip to India!

Educational needs in India

We are reaching the end of our long trip.  Let me give some more thoughts on the faces of India that we encountered.  Since this was a business trip we were able to meet with businesses in Delhi and important people in these companies.  We were given a chance that would be hard to get unless you have the right connections in the USA – we were able to ask these people in positions that we hope to soon hold questions about their business, their personal aspirations, and the difference and thoughts about business in India.  Overall these people were all very hospitable, some more than others, and all did a good job at giving us an overall picture of business in India.  Like all countries India has its far share of issues, infrastructure being a big one.  There are also barriers put in place by the government but seems the biggest problem they all saw was the educational system.  Seems like we were constantly being told that the population in India was growing and they would soon have the biggest population to be employed but that these people are not educated enough and the educational system is to blame.  They all said that the schools in India were not graduating enough quality students for them to employ to keep the big companies going and hire in high positions.  What do they blame this on? The government for their high standards and rigorous tests.  It is found that it is easier for students to get into IVY league schools in the US than the best schools in India.  But there are many private institutions that have sprung up in India in the past couple of years that are seen to be below the tier one schools, the same type of system we have.  So I did not see why it is so different or such a big deal since we have different classes of schools too.

We were able to meet with students from three different private schools.  They were all so nice and a ton of fun.  We got to meet a lot of new people and kids our age.  Their outlook on their schooling and life seems to be a little different from ours and this might be because they don’t have as much available to them as we do in the US.  By this I mean that in the US we have many opportunities for schooling and educations after high school that we take it for granted.  It is easier for young people to get loans for schools too.  Most of the students that I talked to here that go to school all seem to be in it with their hearts and souls.  They are so smart and well-rounded in all the subjects that we have talked about and they are well-educated on business, current events, and history of the US.  This is something that really stuck out in my mind – they seem to take their education very seriously but then when we would talk to the businesses they did not think the students were of quality enough to hire so there was a major disconnect that I saw.  There are too many issues with the educational system here in India to type here but it very interesting to see a country that is developing and has many business opportunities handles education.  The business people do not think there are enough graduates with masters degrees but the students that we all talked to are very driven and intelligent.

Another thing though that I realized is that entrepreneurship is pushed here in India’s schooling.  Some of the students that we talked to actually have or had their own business and are going for a master’s degree just to have that post-graduate schooling that companies seem to require here.  I am wondering if people will hire in high positions here without a post-graduate degree.  There are opportunities in the US without and MBA if you show the company you are worth hiring but I’m not sure if that exists here in India.

Overall it was very informative to get the perspective of companies, educated older professionals and the students in the educational system right now.  I wish we had more time to interact with students in the educational setting to see how their teaching and content differs than ours and if we can learn anything or if we can teach them a better way of graduating quality students.  It was eye-opening and a way to gain more connections with these smart students that have a different upbringing and view on things than I do – I’ve made a ton more facebook friends already!!

India on the fly

After a week of running around India on little sleep I finally have time to blog and tell you all about Interesting Incredible India.  We have experienced so much so far it feels like we have been here for a month.  Things are starting to seem normal including the cows, buffalo, and camels that cross the ‘highway’ and the musical horn that our bus beeps at them to get them out of the way.  The honking is something that we can’t escape and we have come to be able to sleep through it.  There are no fines for honking here because that is what people want – the back of trucks say “Honk Please’ so that the trucks and buses know that they are in the way and need to move over.  Although the honking is welcomed it does not help the heavy traffic times.  There are lines on the road for people to stay in lane but it seems like people think that two lanes are to fit three cars and they are all alright with that but of course that does not stop the honking.  There is a different type of infrastructure that works for people here in India.  We have not gotten on a flat road without constant bumps and jerking.  I have to make sure that my sister’s head doesn’t hit the window hard or slide down my shoulder and hit the chair in front of her when she’s asleep and I’m not – which turns out to be that she sleeps more than me on the bus.

So since we landed in India about a week ago we have been on the go constantly.  I’ll tell you that Professor Gupta runs a very tight schedule so that we can be exposed to as much of India as possible.  The question he has posed to us multiple times is one we will probably get when we return to the US – What is India like?  His answer is that there is no one real India and he has been able to show us many different faces of India.  We asked the girl next to us on the 14 hour plane ride the same question and he answer was that India is a very interesting place.  I see how interesting it is and how difficult it is to really explain to someone who has not physically experienced it.  Biggest thing that stuck out to me that hurts me when I see it is the unbelievable and unmanageable amount of poor people living under tents, in shacks, or even on the side of the road.  We have been exposed to these people just walking through Chandni Chowk bazaar in Old Delhi.  These people had nothing and had found a place to live right on the street.  We walked by so many mothers with children and babies living on a blanket on the side of the street.   This is one face of India.

Another are the people outside the main city of Delhi.  We had a field trip day on a farm that took two hours to drive to but I don’t think I have ever been so happy to see green vegetation.  I missed the trees and grass from Binghamton and seeing that India has it too made for a very nice trip out of the city.  We are exposed to so much traffic, fog, and pollution that when I wash my hands the soap is black, even if I don’t touch anything.  The farm day was a great change and we were able to see that just a little way out of the city there are rural areas that is completely different.

We have been exposed these many different faces but I have to run now so I will explain the other interesting faces that India has shown us in the next blog so stay tuned!