Our First Week at SRCC

1/3/11

   Last Tuesday was our first day of class.  We were taken to SRCC by rickshaws and will be for the rest of our time here.  I think it makes for a great start to the day!  When we go to the campus we went to the seminar room where our lectures would be held.  They began our Indo-US program with an inaugural session.    We had a lot of free time to talk to the other students and get to know our buddies.  For lunch we also got to try Indian McDonalds.  I had a McChicken and it really tasted the same, however instead of beef options they offered vegetarian sandwiches.  After classes were done some of the students took us to the local market to do a bit of shopping.  I ended up getting a new phone cover and my backpack fixed. I was nervous about getting my backpack sewed up on the street but it was pretty awesome… there was a man sitting with a sewing machine on the side of the road and he cut it back open and stitched it well.. and only for 20 rupee. 

     We also were assigned our group project assignments the first day.  My group was assigned “Cultural codes and doing business in India.”  I feel like this is something that interests me and I already know something about it.  Our group consists of 2 American students and 4 Indian students.  On this day I also was introduced to my buddies, Mayur and Srishti.  This first week Srishti is with me and then next week Mayur will be.

1/4/11

     Wednesday – our second day of class. We had 3 speakers that day.  The first speaker was Amit Sachdeva.  His discussion was on creative problem solving.  He talked a lot about innovations and thinking outside the box.  He discussed how most people use their logic in new situations but we also need to think creatively in order to come up with new lasting innovations.  The second speaker was Professor I.M. Pandey.  He discussed management techniques and held more of an open forum.  We were able to ask questions and he seemed very knowledgeable in his field.  Overall it was a great start to the program. The last speaker was Professor Ravi Sharma, a Hindi professor at SRCC.  He told us he generally only spoke Hindi and this was one of his first times translating the Hindi writing into English so we could understand.  It was interesting to see how the language had evolved.  For lunch we had Pizza Hut. They put white sauce (were assuming alfredo) and normal pizza sauce.  Although different I still thought it was really good!  Speaking of food another interesting thing we learned was that in India they eat all their cereal with hot milk.  Our first morning in the guest house we were all a bit confused why the milk was hot but many of us are really starting to enjoy it.  It is generally corn flakes and then we will put sugar in the bowl to sweeten it up.

     After our school day was over we went to a market type place called Dilli Haat.  It was so awesome.  To get there we took the metro which was insane.  We had to go through metal detectors and have our bags go through a security check.. similar to the airport.  I understand why the do this because they want to make sure everyone riding the metro is safe.  Although different it was anything stressful.  At Delhi Haat there were a ton of different shops and venders selling anything and everything.  I bought bracelets, scarves, and a purse.  Others bought shoes, jewelry, wood workings, and other unique things they found.   Srishti, my buddy was with me and some other girls and helped us get fair and reasonable prices.  I’m really loving this whole bargaining thing.  It’s fun to be able to bicker back and forth to come to an agreement on a price we are willing to pay.

1/5/11

    Our first speaker on Thursday was Nancy Rasmussen, doing a segment on diversity in the work place.  It was very similar to the class most of us had already taken with her but the Indian students hadn’t had a class on diversity so I think they enjoyed it.  We broke up into small groups which was also nice so we could talk with others and discuss cultural differences.  It was interesting to hear what the other students had to say.  Each group said one difference in media they noticed.  One example I thought was very interesting was that in india they have make up for both men and women to make their skin appear lighter.  I remember in Nancy’s class talking about Cover Girl lighting an African American woman’s face to make her appear lighter than her skin color. I was not expecting to hear this similarity.  The students were telling us how in Indian society it is also preferred to have a lighter skin tone.  We all agreed that this isn’t true and that people should be happy with who they are. 

     Our second speaker of the day was Bharti Jagannathan, a professor at Miranda House College.  She discussed mythology and its impact on the Indian culture.  She was a very fast speaker but we were able to follow her stories.  She began by talking a lot about karma and the idea of rebirth.  Your actions of this life will effect for next life, and your previous life affects this one.  It was very interesting and not something I had necessarily thought a lot about.  She told us there are many different layers to mythology.  Hindu's believe in the idea of karma and rebirth, yet believe in heaven and hell.  She explained that if their is rebirth then there wouldn't be heaven and hell yet they are still both believed.  Its because of these layers.  She then went on the talk about the different gods and the idea of the Hindu religion.  Although confusing at times I thought it was very interesting and insightful into this culture.  Another topic discussed was the many different gods that are worshiped.  Professor Jagannathan explained that many families will generally have one god that their family chooses to pray too but they still pray to all others as well. 
    Thus far I’m really enjoying the people I’m meeting and the places I’m visiting.  Things in India are a lot different from home; it’s not weird or bad, just different.  I will say seeing cows roaming the streets in the city is still strange but it’s a cultural difference and I like that I am able to experience it and see these things first hand.

     We had subway for lunch and then everyone was on the bus headed to ITC Maurya, a large hotel in Delhi.  ITC Maurya is a part of ITC Limited, a publicly traded company.  Hotels alone form one of the major components of ITC Limited, and their hotels are known as one if India's premier hotel chains.  Two members of the hotel management held a presentation for us regarding conserving energy and how they as a major chain are attempting to use renewable energy.  We then toured the hotel.  It was interesting to hear about how the company is trying to cut back on water consumption but having sinks that automatically shut off, or by allowing guests the option to not have their sheets and towels washed daily.  They are also trying to reduce their energy consumption.  They took us on the roof and showed us solar panels.  We were shown how they rotated with the sun in order to capture more sun light.  We also were able to look at their water filtering systems.

     We also got to see this large monkey that guards the hotel and keeps out the smaller monkeys.  It seems like such an odd idea but apparently it works?  By “hiring” the larger monkey they are able to keep away to smaller monkeys that were roaming on the outside and sometimes inside of the hotel.  After the tour we went to Etopia for dinner.  We had a variety of Indian foods, most were good.  In India most options are either vegetarian or non-vegetarian.  Because many people are vegetarians, all restaurants have a wide variety of options.  The foods here are always so flavorful, using many spices.  After dinner we went to a light and sound show at the old fort.  The show was displayed on an old barrier wall and it was presented using all sorts of different lights.  I had never seen anything like it.  It’s a story of the history of Delhi.

     Since being in Delhi I’m really enjoying getting to know the people.  I love making new friends and learning about people.  Our study abroad group is really turning into a family and we all just laugh all the time.  I’m also starting to get to know many of the Indian students.  It’s nice having people to talk to and ask anything and everything.  I just appreciate how accepting and helpful everyone here is.  The other students are always looking out for us and wanting us to have fun and be safe.  If there is something we need someone will help us, no questions asked.  While being here I’m definitely noticing a lot of cultural differences but I’m also finding a lot of similarities.  College students are college students.  The Indian students are very intelligent yet have great personalities.  

-Sam