July 30th to August 1st – New Delhi

After leaving Agra on Wednesday morning, we travelled to New Delhi. On my previous visit to India, we travelled the same route from Agra to Delhi, a journey that took about 4 hours each way due to the poor infrastructure and dirt roads in the area. This time, however, the trip from Agra to Delhi only took an hour and a half due to a new highway. For someone who has seen how infrastructure can heavily impact a country such as Sri Lanka, where it was heavily damaged during the civil war, crippling the country and requiring mass rebuilding, it is a very encouraging sign to see this investment and change since my last visit. After arriving in Delhi, we spent the afternoon visiting an open market in Delhi called Dilli Haat. Throughout the market, we had the opportunity to barter with the store owners and look at all the amazing handicrafts.

On Thursday, we spent the day touring throughout Delhi. While most of the locations were places I had visited before, one new location for me was Qutab Minar. This huge tower is part of a larger mosque and used for call to prayer. The mosque itself was really interesting as there was a huge amount of Hindu architectural design in the mosque including lotus flower designs and wall carvings.

While seeing some of the sights in Delhi was fun, one of the most interesting experiences in Delhi was on Friday when we had the opportunity to visit the India headquarters of Walmart. While Walmart is not currently operating a business to customer operation like it does in the US, it is currently doing a business to business operation where it acts as a supplier to the thousands of small local family-run stores that most Indian shop at each day. This is done by using a Sam’s club model and setting up their stores to best allow them to interact with business owner instead of individual consumers, including more trucking access, rest and wait areas, and business offices. Having some familiarity with how Walmart is run in the US it was intriguing to see some of the cultural differences that were accounted for and how many similarities still remained despite being set up across the world. One of the most intriguing things was listening to some of the difficulties for the realty team when they were attempting to pick out sites for the stores. One such issue was complaints by customers about the quality of the toilets in their stores, as they used conventional toilets instead of the squat toilets that the customers were used to initially. The final event that we did while in India was to visit the Kingdom of Dreams, an Indian version of Branson where we watched a stage show that was presented in Hindi but translated to English using an audio headset. It was interesting to see how they included technology in the show unlike anything I had seen in the US with huge video screens and lighting displays that were used to set the stage and incorporate video into the show. While the show itself wasn’t incredible it was still interesting to watch and a relaxing end to my fun but hectic time in India. 

July 28th to July 29th –Fatehpur Sikri and Agra

Departing from Jaipur on Monday morning, we left for Agra. On our way, however, we visited a huge palace located an hour and a half from Agra, known as Fatehpur Sikri. This served as a former palace for Akbar, one of the most powerful Mughal emperors. Made entirely of red sandstone, the palace was intriguing as it not only had a temple, but also a mosque and a church and the maharaja had three wives, each from a different religion. The red sandstone was in use due to its local availability and lower cost. The palace complex also had a large area devoted as a hall for public audiences. This area, opening onto a large courtyard, allowed the emperor to meet with people and address loud crowds. Large areas in the palace were used for bathing pools, filled using rainwater.  The other huge area of the complex was a huge red sandstone mosque known as the Jama Masjid. Overlooking the surrounding city, the mosque stands huge at the top of a hill. While we were visiting, it was still Ramadan, so the surrounding area near the mosque was filled with celebrating people and the mosque itself was filled with people praying. After visiting the mosque we continued on to Agra.

Waking up early on Tuesday morning, which was also Eid the day marking the end of Ramadan, we left to visit the Taj Mahal at sunrise. Despite visiting it before, it was amazing to see once again. Called Taj Mahal or Crown Palace, it was built as a mausoleum for Mumtaz Mahal, the wife of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. While visually stunning, one of the most intriguing aspects of the Taj Mahal is the symmetry of the complex. Both the gardens and the main mausoleum itself are completely balanced, with a small canal going straight from the main gate to the palace on which the entire complex is mirrored and symmetrical. While in my previous visit it was midday and the palace was gleaming white, as the light was low in the morning the color of the building was almost brown. As well as the Taj Mahal, we also visited a building known as the Baby Taj, a similar construction built by a relative of Shah Jahan that heavily influenced the design of the Taj Mahal. While the construction style during the Mughal time was using the red sandstone that was used at Fatehpur Sikri, this building was the first to use the white marble design with a semi-precious inlay. The other location that we visited in Agra was Agra fort. Used by the British during their colonial period and still partially in use today, this building served as the military base and the palace of the government in Agra. This also served as the prison for Shah Jahan in his later years. After becoming obsessed by building this tomb for his wife, the emperor’s son imprisoned him, as both a chance to gain power for himself, and to prevent him from wasting all of the empire’s funds on building this complex. While the building complex was huge and costly, there was an entire mirror complex planned across the river from the Taj Mahal to serve as Shah Jahan’s burial site. The Agra fort itself was fairly restricted, with only a small amount of access, but one intriguing area was the bedrooms for the two granddaughters of Shah Jahan. While one had an elaborate marble palace with delicate inlay, the other younger daughter had a mirroring palace made simply of white painted stone.

July 26th and July 27th – Jaipur

Spending the day travelling on Saturday, we woke up early Sunday to begin exploring Jaipur. As we left our hotel, we entered the old part of the city and began to see the Pink city of Jaipur. Every building within the gates of the old city had been painted pink by the Maharaja of Jaipur in celebration of a royal visit by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Pink was chosen as chosen as it represents hospitality in the Indian culture. Our first stop in the Pink city was the Hawa Mahal. One of the major palaces in Jaipur, Hawa Mahal means Wind Palace. Made of pink sandstone, it was recognizable for its front wall that is filled with hundreds of windows that allowed the women who resided in the palace to look out to the surroundings without people seeing their faces, allowing them to maintain their modesty as dictated by the cultural norms. Leaving the main city, we then stopped along the lake in Jaipur to see another palace. Known as Jal Mahal, or the Water Palace, the summer palace of the Majaraja had been built in the middle of the lake, requiring people to row out to visit it. After getting some pictures from the shore, we went further out to visit the Ambur Fort. This fort, located on the top of a hill on the Aravalli mountain range overlooking the surrounding area, was the ancient capital of Rajasthan. To get to the top of the fort, we took a ride on top of the back of an elephant and rode along the winding path up to the fort. While an amazing experience to ride the elephant, it was somewhat dampened by the fact that we were constantly harassed by merchants trying to sell us knick knacks and take photos as well as some of the elephant owners beating the elephants to speed them up. It seems that the approach to animals in India was very severe, with concepts like animal cruelty and feral animals an ever-present part of the culture. While it is called a fort, the entire complex houses a palace, temple, and other living areas. Starting from a main courtyard, we were shown around the huge area of the fort taken up for the palace. While the Maharaja had his own residential quarters, his multiple wives had their own separate living quarters in a separate part of the palace. Located around a central courtyard, there was a huge series of underground tunnels connecting the rooms and the main sectors of the palace. This allowed the king to visit his wives in secret without the others knowing in an attempt to allow privacy and prevent jealousy between the wives. One of the most interesting parts of the palace was the water system that the palace used. Along with full drainage systems, the palace had a huge series of pulleys that allowed water from the lake at the foot of the palace to be transported up to the fort. After riding in a jeep back down to the bottom of the fort, we left back for Jaipur city. Our final stop in Jaipur was City Palace. Still in use by the rulers of Jaipur, the complex had a huge armory of old weapons, an area were government sponsored artisans were selling their products, and a museum of royal clothing. One of the most interesting things on display was a set of huge silver urns. These were used by the Maharaja of Jaipur on a visit to England in order to hold a large amount of water from the Ganges which he used for bathing and religious purposes. Also part of the complex was the royal observatory. Used to keep track of the calendar and for religious purposes, the observatory was still in working condition today, with some sundials accurate to within two seconds. 

July 21st to July 25th – Final Days in Bangalore

While this week, I have been extremely busy with finals for both of my classes, there were a couple of really neat experiences that occurred during this week. On Monday, feeling that I had fully adjusted to India and maybe feeling a little brave, I decided to go to a local Ramadan festival and break fast with some of the locals. While there I tried some doner kebabs, chicken rolls, and camel meat, which, while a little tough, was actually delicious. It was amazing to observe the community around the festival, as people gathered, standing at small tables or sitting on the floor eating and chatting with one another. On Wednesday, I tried some more street food, this time from a stall called 99 Dosas. They sold a huge variety of these thin crispy pancakes filled with cheese, mushroom, potato, cauliflower, spinach, and many other combinations. Grabbing a small stool and leaning against the chain fence surround the local park, I bit into a delicious meal, more flavorful than I had eaten in any restaurant that I had visited. On Thursday, I made a final visit to MG Road and Commercial street, an area with a huge collection of stores that sell handicrafts. Looking to buy some last minute souvenirs, I travelled out alone to grab a couple of items. Used to travelling with a group that was obviously foreigners, it was fun to blend into the crowd. Going into stores, the salesman gave me prices that were almost half of what I was getting when I walked in with the rest of the group. Tuk tuk drivers who usually refuse to use their meter when dealing with tourists willingly turned them on, assuming I was a local. It was interesting to experience how differently I was treated.

Having finished my classes Friday, I felt like a weight was off my shoulders. For my Globalization and Innovation course, my final project was to look at an innovative product in the past or present and look at its market, technological development, and develop a marketing strategy for it. I looked in depth at wearable technology, technology like Google Glass or Samsung Gear that can be worn that enhance the way you interact with your environment. It was intriguing to do a full market strategy for the technology and explore how much technology is currently or planned to be in the market soon across fields ranging from simple entertainment to medical or industrial sectors. For my macroeconomics courses, our professor, instead of doing a full final test, wanted us to simply discuss with him some of the major topics we had covered. His rationale for this was that instead of wanting to scare us away from learning, he wanted us to enjoy it and wanted us to be able to discuss what we learned and pass on the knowledge to others. Coming from an extremely test-centered culture, this notion was almost shocking. This somewhat underlines some of the key differences in the approach to education. Teachers wanted us to talk in class and discuss our learning instead of sitting there and writing notes as they lectured. It was interesting to take classes this way and I felt more excited to learn and more engaged with the material.

July 19th and July 20th – Pondicherry

As we arrived early morning on Saturday, I was shocked by how different Pondicherry was from everything else I had seen in India. When we left, we were in the center of Bangalore filled with dirty streets, heavy traffic, loud sounds, strong smells, and all the other things we had come to associate with India. As we exited the bus, however, we walked out onto paved cobblestone roads, free of trash and traffic. The only sounds were the ocean waves crashing against the nearby rocky beachfront. As we wandered about exploring before we left for our hotels, I felt transported to a small French city. Every street was named rue, cafes were on every corner, many signs were French, a canal ran through the center of town, there was a still running French consulate, and cathedrals were scattered across the city. The entire area was colored in pastel colors and designed with French architecture. The only reminders that I was in India was the overwhelming heat along the beach and the tuk tuks that weaved through the French quarter. As we walked along the beachfront, stopping along the way for a quick breakfast, we checked into our hotels. While some of the travelers wanted to stay around the pool for the day and relax, I decided to go out and explore Pondicherry. Wandering through town with some others, we discovered the Indian quarter in Pondicherry. Having explored the French quarters earlier, this part of town was a significant contrast, with market streets, crowds, loud sounds, temples, animals, and all the other things that we saw daily in Bangalore. It was fascinating to see how distinctly separated these areas were, with the canal running through the center of town demarcating these two areas and splitting the town in half. Buildings located just a few meters from each other were so completely polar opposites just because of what sector of town they were located in. One of the most fascinating places in town was the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. Located in the French quarter of town, the ashram was a religious center within the town. As I entered, the entire place was in complete silence. In the main courtyard was a tall tree and a large crowd of people all surrounding it and meditating. While we only stayed briefly, locals were sitting in deep meditation completely removed from their surroundings. Much like the rest of Pondicherry, the ashram was an extremely peaceful and serene place, almost completely separated from the world around it. Saturday evening, after having fully explored Pondicherry, we decided to go to a local food festival that was occurring that weekend. With many local restaurants having booths along the waterfront, I stopped by to grab crab curry, appam (a doughy bread pancakes), and fish fry. Having tried some of the local food, I returned back to my hotel.

On Sunday, we decided to take the opportunity to visit a beach while we were on the coast. Taking a small ferry out to an island, we spent a couple hours enjoying the waves on the beach and swimming in the Bay of Bengal. While small, one of the most fun things about being on the beach was just sitting there and grabbing a Fanta from one of the small stalls along the beach. While Fanta in the US is okay, in India and in most places in Southeast Asia, it is sold bottled and sweetened with actual sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup. While experiencing some of the local food and drink is extremely fun, it has been to see how the Western food in India differs in subtle ways. Having spent some time on the beach, we grabbed our bags from the hotel and returned back to Bangalore

July 14th to July 18th – Shivasamudra Falls and the Importance of WiFi

After finishing class on Monday, we spent the evening planning a day trip for Tuesday as we had no classes. After looking at a number of locations and narrowing them down, we chose to go to Shivasamudra Falls, a set of waterfalls located in the north of Karnataka, the state which has Bangalore as the capital. After talking to the program director, we organized a car for four people to take us the seven hours round trip journey, only costing us 3000 rupees or $50 for the day. Leaving early in the morning, we journeyed from Bangalore to the waterfall, passing through rural villages and towns far off the main highway. Arriving at the park, we climbed down from a hill that overlooked the area to the foot of the waterfall. While the park itself was isolated away from any major cities, it was still packed with tourists swimming in the water and walking around observing the stunning waterfall. After walking around for a while, we wanted to try to get even closer to the waterfall. Along the lake at the bottom of the waterfall, a number of small circular rafts were collected. For only a dollar, a local took us out on one of the rafts right to the foot of the waterfall. We could feel the strength of the water as it sprayed us, the mist drenching our clothes. The view from the bottom of the waterfall was spectacular and it was amazing to feel the force of the waterfall as we passed near it. Having fully experienced the Shivasamudra waterfalls, we travelled back to Bangalore.

During the latter part of the week, I began trying to plan a trip for the upcoming weekend for a group of the students. In total, 17 of the students decided to go to Pondicherry, a former French colonial city in the neighboring state. In order to do this, however, I needed to book us both transportation and hotels for the weekend. However, right in the middle of this planning on Wednesday, the WiFi in our apartment completely shut down. This left me without a phone or internet connection and only with an hour or two to use the WiFi on campus in a computer lab each day. With only a day to finalize our plans, I managed to get two private buses organized for the group and compile a list of hotels in Pondicherry that were located around the same area and affordable for the students. With everything finally confirmed on Friday afternoon and everyone excited to explore Pondicherry, we packed our bags and left that late Friday evening.

July 11th to July 13th - Bollywood and Mysore

As I finally reached the end of a long week, a group of students, including myself, decided to go to one of the local malls and watch a Bollywood movie. After looking through our choices, we decided to see Humpty Sharma Ki Kulkarnia, a romantic comedy entirely in Hindi. With only one student who could speak Hindi we decided to be adventurous and go watch the movie. With only occasional help from our “translator” we were able to follow the movie fairly easily despite the language barrier. After the first hour or so, the movie entered an intermission, reminiscent of classic movies or theatre. We enjoyed the random dancing scenes intermingled into the movie and laughed at the horribly cheesy, overdone sound effects in the action scenes. Overall, the quality of the movie was strong, on par with American movies and we thoroughly enjoyed our experience at the movies.

On Saturday, we departed from campus early and began our journey to Mysore. Sat squished at the back of the bus, I fully experienced every bump along the road, bouncing a couple inches out of my seat each time. After journeying for about 3 hours, we briefly toured a collection of ruins just an hour outside of Mysore. Our director told us that it was the former palace of Tipu Sultan, a former king of Mysore who was renowned as a bold fighter. During the initial British colonization of Britain, Tipu Sultan was the King of Mysore, thus making him a huge threat to the British. Upon inviting the British to his palace, his British guests stabbed in the back and threw his body into a nearby field, leaving his kingdom vulnerable for British to conquer. We looked briefly at the former’s palace ruins, which served as a base for the British until they left India, destroying the palace completely. The summer palace, still intact, was fascinating to explore, with elaborate murals of battle scenes and family portraits painted upon the walls.

After another hour in the bus, we arrived in Mysore and went into our hotel. Quickly depositing our backpacks into the small but plush room shared between three of us, we went for lunch before getting out to explore the city. Our first and most important stop was Mysore Palace. After going through the main gate and walking through the grounds, passing a massive temple contained within the complex, we reached the palace. Decorated in beautiful turquoise stones and inlays, the palace was still maintained in pristine condition. Every room in the palace had silver mirrors or chairs and the main hall contained a huge chandelier. One area that was really interesting was a room that was completely open to the outside plaza that served as a public forum for the king. Along the sides of the room were viewing areas for visiting dignitaries and in a central raised area was a space for the king to sit. The entire room, much like the rest of the palace was a beautiful turquoise that made it seem grand and powerful, especially compared to the more subtle colors of the surrounding city. After leaving the palace, I got the opportunity to ride on a camel around the courtyard of the palace. Struggling to hold on despite the makeshift saddle, I managed to circle around the courtyard once before jumping off. We then returned to the hotel to relax and enjoy our break from school work. 

On our second day in Mysore, we spent the morning visiting some handicrafts stores that specialized in silk embroidery. After looking at tapestries and tablecloths, we left with our purchases and went to the Mysore Zoo. Walking around with an umbrella attempting to avoid the intermittent rain, I walked through the zoo to see all the usual animals, including flamingos, tigers, deer, and cheetahs along with elephants and a large snake area. More amusing than the zoo, however, was the reaction of the locals to the group of American students walking around the zoo. As we moved from enclosure to enclosure, locals would continually stop the students for photographs and to talk with them. As we all gathered near the exit, a huge crowd surrounded the group, insisting on getting photos with the American students. With a large herd of people following us back to the bus, we departed to briefly look at St. Philomena’s Church, a large beautiful cathedral in the heart of Mysore, before setting off for Bangalore.

July 7th to July 10th - Indian Bureaucracy and the Mexican Economy

On Monday, we spent the day registering with the Bangalore police department, a requirement for all foreigners with a longer-term visa. After taking a bus to the foreign registration office, we began the long tedious process of police registration. Bringing back memories of the Department of Motor vehicles and waiting in line for ages for a driver’s license, I took my number and sat. And waited. And waited. Five hours later, after every other person in the group had finished, I was still waiting. Only at this point did I get called to meet with an officer and get approval. Within five minutes, he had stamped my paper and informed me that I need to return after another two hours. Excited to be outside of the warm, artificially-lit office, I went to grab lunch. For lunch I had a delicious thali or a fixed meal equivalent to a cafeteria tray of different curries. I went to briefly visit the botanical gardens in Bangalore, only a five minute walk from the registration office. Despite being in the offseason, it was fun to see some of the small bonsai-like trees and be out in this little sanctuary within the city. I returned back to the office, picked up my forms, and excitedly returned home. 

While so far my blog has been describing my fun adventures in Bangalore and the surrounding area, the rest of my week was spent writing a paper detailing the potential for business in Mexico and analyzing its political and economic indicators for a paper in one of my classes. For that reason, I do not have any amazingly fun or exciting adventures to discuss, unless I give a detailed explanation of me sitting a writing my paper or tell you about why you should invest in Mexico (which coincidentally you should, as it is huge in electronics manufacturing and design and still has a lot of potential for cheap but highly technical manufacturing despite the rise of China). Therefore, I will use this opportunity to mention some of the smaller details that I have not elaborated upon fully about my time in India:

The roads and traffic – As a pedestrian in Bangalore, I have been able to fully experience Indian roads and sidewalks. On my daily walk to school, I encounter fairly large amount of cow excrement, pavements that are made from whatever stone was laying around at the time, missing pavements which just drop into the underlying sewage, water flooding the streets after rainy days, and crazy drivers who will not stop even if it means running over a human or animal. While often treacherous, disgusting, and absolutely insane the roads are hugely intertwined with the Indian culture and mindset and can say a lot about the society and nature of the place. Despite getting used to the cows and dogs that roam the roadways and having to stare down my entire walk to school in order to avoid falling through the pavement or stepping into something unsavory, I cannot get used to seeing trash built up along the roadways and the general lack of care for the city. Maybe it is something cultural that I don’t quite understand, but I struggle to understand why the roads and sidewalks of a huge metropolitan area are filled with trash and often impassable. It would be fascinating to look further into the reason for the condition of the roads and what efforts are being made to improve the local infrastructure.

Food – The food has certainly been a highlight of the trip. Most mornings I got to the school cafeteria and grab a dosa or vegetable puff along with a cup of tea. This will cost me 60 cents. Lunches are also eaten at school and are equally delicious. For $1.20 I can get an entire meal including one or two vegetable curries, rice, bread, a pudding, and a milkshake. For dinner, I have gone different places every day, trying various foods such as panipoori, an South Indian cracker filled with a heavily spiced broth, gentgio;a;lfd, an donut-shaped spongy bread which can be dipped into various sauces, and gulab jamun, a sweet ball of doughy bread that is soaked in a sugary honey sauce. Along with these new dishes, I have had some of my favorites including naan, aloo gobi, dahl tadka, and vegetable biryani. What I have found amazing about India is the sheer amount of vegetarian options that are available, many of which are more delicious than their non-veg counterparts. Many of the students have fallen in love with fried Gobi, or cauliflower, which when cooked tastes as good as or even better than chicken. I have also found it interesting how many Western options and food products are available. Items such as Oreos, digestive biscuits, lays potato chips, and all sorts of sodas are available from local supermarkets. Along the streets you can find McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, Domino’s, and Papa Johns as well as Italian and American cuisine.

Fascination with Americans – Because in the past I have been in India travelling with my parents, I have not noticed how the local people seem fascinated by the Americans I am travelling with. The tall white guys and blonde girls are frequently stopped and asked to talk to people or to take photos of them. Crowds gather around them at tourist locations with people treating them as if they are an attraction much like the zoo or temple we are visiting.

Bartering and Street Vendors – Another fun part of India are the street side merchants. Walking around the more tourist-focused locations, we are harassed by a number of people attempting to sell us fake sandalwood fans, cheap knick-knaks, decorative bowls, jewelry, incense sticks, and various other items. These items are all marked up by extortionate amounts from their production costs, sometimes as high as 250% in the case of the fake fans and incense sticks. With even the slightest sign of interest, these merchants will continue to follow you for a couple blocks and shove their items in your face. Stores along the street sell all sorts of items, including food, handicrafts, textiles, ornaments, and even some toiletries. Almost any item can be bartered for and bought just by walking along the main street. While malls are fixed price, all markets accept some form of bargaining. Some of the student have embraced this while other cringe at the hassle of the system and will just take the initial price and pay.

Clothing – Much like the food, a lot of the Western clothing styles have transitioned over to India. While female students still wear churridar, or tunics, the male students will wear shirts and khaki pants to class. Even around the city, jeans and collared shirts are frequently worn. The malls are mainly filled with American stores like Tommy Hilfiger, Arrow, Ralph Lauren, and Levi’s.

Laundry – While the apartments that the college have provided us are nice, due to poor infrastructure, power outages occur frequently. During one of these, my washing machine broke down. Due to this, for the past week I have had to hand wash all my clothes and hang them out to dry on our washing line. This has gone about as well as one would expect it to given that I have done laundry only with a washer and dryer previously. Currently, my nice khaki pants all have a multitude of random stains that will not disappear no matter how long they are scrubbed. Nothing is discolored through, which is encouraging.

As I approach the end of my second week in India, I am exhausted but loving every minute of being here. India is an assault on the senses and a stark change from life in the US but is often beautiful and remarkable when you take a step back from the chaos. Despite the challenges, I am eager to see what else I can discover and to make the most of my time here.

July 5th and July 6th - The Slums and Nandi Hills

Boarding our bright yellow campus bus, we headed out Saturday morning to tour a local village and one of the nearby slums. After traveling on the highway for 45 minutes, the bus turned off onto a dirt road. While the paved road had some occasional potholes, as we reached the dirt road, the bus had to slow to a crawl in order to avoid the huge chunks of missing road. The program director explained how this was the only road in and out of the village, with only one bus departing in the morning and one bus arriving in the evening. If anyone in the village had to reach a hospital, this would require them to us on of the cars in the village and travel for 30 to 40 minutes down the dirt road. As we continued on to the village, we saw vast areas of farmland that the village men cultivated. This included various fruits and vegetables, but most surprising was the huge number of flowers being grown, as these were much more lucrative than growing crops. The village we had entered was one of the many local villages that is sponsored by Christ University. A woman who was appointed by Christ University to facilitate the University’s involvement in the village greeted us and began to tell us about the village. Through Christ’s efforts, the village had gained a bus route, funding for their local school, power and water lines, and soon a paved road. We were allowed to look around one of the homes in the village. Each home had one cow for dairy and a couple of chickens. As we entered the house, we observed the how the people were living. The house had five rooms including a storeroom, a kitchen, a living area, a bedroom, and a bathroom. While basic, the villagers had all the basic essentials that allowed them to live a fairly normal life. We then visited the schoolhouse and met some local children. Taught mainly in Kannada, the local language, the children gathered each day in a classroom that was only slightly larger than my dorm room and took elementary level courses. Older kids were provided bikes by the government and would bike to a neighboring village which had a middle or high school. As we entered the schoolhouse to greet the children, the children expected us to sing a song for them. After singing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” the children giggled at us, amused. We were then greeted with a chorus of voices adorably singing local songs along with happy birthday and the ABC song. The kids then demanded we play a local game called Kabbadi with them. In this game, a combination of tag and red rover, we gathered on two teams and took turns attempting to tag a member of the other team and then making it back to our base without being pulled back to theirs. On the condition that the big kids couldn’t pull the children, we joined in. By the end a number of us ended up with scrapes and bruises from being pulled across the dirt field we played in, but most importantly the children were happy and having fun. Before we left, a number of students wanted to get photos with the local kids. As we pulled out phones and cameras, the kids quickly became fascinated, snatching them out of our hands and pushing every button they could see. One kid in particular took about 50 selfies on accident using an iPhone he had grabbed. Having to leave, we pried the electronics out of their hands to their disappointment and waved goodbye, having enjoyed our time with the children.

               

We then moved back into the city and visited one of the local slums, which was only a 15 minute walk from our housing complex. Also sponsored by Christ University, the slum was just off of a main road, however was noticeably different than its surroundings. The houses became more compact, crammed into the small area. The roads were riddled with potholes and were under major construction. The cleanliness of the area also declined with some sewage in the roads as well as a considerable amount more dust. While conditions outside were considerably worse than the surroundings, the interior of the house we visited was cramped, but clean. Invited in, we sat on rugs and listened to our host tell us about the village and the initiatives that were occurring. Along with a daycare and an activity center, the major initiative was a migrant school. In the slums, conventional schooling is not always possible as students may not remain in one location for a long time as their parents try to find work. The goal of the migrant school is to provide temporary schooling for these children in a way that encourages them to enjoy school and potentially allow them to transition to a full time school. Overall, the experience in the village and slum was encouraging. While the conditions were poor, there were many signs of progress and the people seemed to be encouraging change.

On Sunday, we journeyed to the Nandi Hills, a 2 hour car ride from the city. The hills towered over the nearby villages and was covered in fog. Driving up in our car, we reached the top and immediately felt the difference in temperature from the warm climate of the city. Having to put on jackets, we walked around the complex on top of the hill. As the fog covered area, we walked around old ruins of cave shelters that had been built into the hill. The walls had been covered with writing and stone seats and enclaves were carved into the rock. Feeling vaguely like Indiana Jones exploring ancient ruins, we walked around further discovering a number of these dwellings built into the hill, some branching into fairly large caverns.  Further along the path, we reached a temple, still being used by visitors and the small group of people who continued to live in the hills. With the fog all around us, the area felt mystical, making what would’ve been just a simple temple seen extremely meaningful and powerful.  After having a cup of tea and admiring the beautiful view of our surroundings, we returned back to the city.

American Independence Day in India - July 4th

After our first week of school had finished, we all gathered to celebrate July the 4th, hosted by the Christ University hospitality students. Not quite sure what to expect, we gathered at a pavilion in the middle of campus eager to celebrate. As the festivities began, a team from Weber, a barbecue grill manufacturer from Chicago, greeted us. As a company who had began global operation in India a few years ago, Weber was actively pushing the concept of barbecues in India. Outside of Tandoori chicken, an Indian dish prepared in a clay oven, the concept of barbecue was foreign to India. As part of the company's efforts to spread to India, this group of company representatives met with groups of people and catered their events, giving them the opportunity to display their grills and get some free advertising. Excitedly, the Indian students gathered around, fascinated by the lighting blocks and charcoal briquettes that were being used to cook the food. The team prepared a deliciously cooked meal, including 5 whole roasted chickens, Indian chicken tikka, corn on the cob, and roasted peppers and mushrooms. While the food cooked, we met the Indian students who were hosting us. They excitedly greeted us, fascinated by our backgrounds and wanting to hear our thoughts about India and learn more about the US. After the meal had finished, we moved over to the cricket field and began the final part of the evening, the firework show. While all nonprofessional firework shows inevitably have some degree of danger, this firework display was partially amazing and partially terrifying. While most American children from a young age are taught not to stand over fireworks, to run away after lighting them, to have a source of water nearby to put out any fires, and to light fireworks carefully from the end of the fuse, apparently these lessons had not been taught in India. Professional grade fireworks began launching everywhere, most reaching a safe altitude, however a large amount began exploding after only reaching a few meters off the ground. Slightly anxious about the safety of the show, we gathered a "safe" distance away from the launching area. A few moments later, a rogue firework begins launching towards us. With students diving out of the way to avoid it, the firework whistled past us, exploding nearby and covering a number of students with sparks. Multiple people's clothes had holes where the firework sparks had burned holes through them. Students began hiding behind nearby buildings, afraid of what else may happen. We all nervously enjoyed the rest of the show without any more incidents. While unorthodox and strange, this easily became my most memorable 4th of July celebration.

Class and What I Have Learned So Far - July 2nd and 3rd

Since the last update, I have attended 3 more classes, including my first Macroeconomics course. Despite being thousands of miles from the US, the concepts we are covering in class mirrors what I would be learning back in the United States. What has been different is the examples used to demonstrate the basic concepts in each class. In globalization and engineering, we learned about reasons for a company to globalize and entry barriers that companies can experience. Our primary case study was general motors who began globalizing when faced with heightened competition from Asian and European car makers in the US domestic market. The company was forced to expand to other markets, including India, where through focusing on producing their smaller cars and marketing them for upper and middle class consumers, they became a major brand in India. Another interesting case study was shampoo companies who had to sell shampoo in small 5 rupee packets so that they would sell in India, as lower class consumers could not afford to buy 1L bottles of shampoo. We also discussed McDonalds and KFC who both introduced vegetarian options into their menu in order to enter the Indian market, with McDonalds not even selling any beef products at all. Despite coming from an engineering perspective, it has been fascinating to learn what globalization means from an economic and cultural perspective.

First Day of Class and Shopping in Bangalore - June 30th and July 1st

As we all began to settle down into life in Bangalore, we began our respective courses. The first course I am taking during my time here is Globalization and Engineering. This course focuses on global business and how companies evolve from domestic to international business and the way business operates in various countries. Along with this is a look at specific companies, business throughout history, and analysis of growing markets. Excitedly entering the class, we met the professor, a former electrical engineer who worked primarily for TATA, an Indian company who works with everything from cars to consumer electronics to food goods and even aeronautical engineering and satellites. We discussed various companies such as Saab, Nokia, and Nutella and countries such a Singapore and China in order to get a glimpse into the complexities of globalization and how companies and countries are effected by globalization. The remainder of Monday was spent by grabbing a North Indian meal from one of the school cafeterias, grabbing the necessary supplies for our classes and starting to work through the course material. We were also able to meet some of the local college kids who were excited to discuss the US and our thoughts on India, while giving us tips on where to shop and eat while we were here. Being mostly separate from the actual students on campus, it was fun to chat with them and see how their life at the university is. One of the major differences that seemed shocking, but unsurprising given the close family structure of India, was that students’ parents are directly informed about absences and poor grades compared to the US where students have the choice to inform parents of their grades and many students regularly skip lectures.

On Tuesday, we ventured into Bangalore and began exploring and shopping. Waking up early, we found a packed restaurant where we ordered sodas for breakfast. Standing up at the tall metal tables in the restaurant, we dug in, tearing off pieces of the dosas and dipping them in sambal while we watched outside as a herd of cows passed by in the street causing traffic to divert. Taking a tuk tuk into the city, we reached the commercial section of town. Walking along the street, we were bombarded by drivers offering to take us to cheaper shops that their friends own and streetside merchants offering us their various goods and foods. Simply approaching one of the temples along the street caused a group of people approaching us offering to show us the temple and pray for us in exchange for American dollars. Glancing at a shop would cause the merchant to attempt to drag you in and impress you with the quality and value of his goods. After looking at a few shops, a couple of students retreated off to McDonalds to both escape the heat and to get a quick fix of American food, one eating their first full meal since arriving on campus. Looking around for a little while longer, we took a tuk tuk home and spent the evening relaxing and meeting up with other students to grab dinner.

Exploring Bangalore - June 28th and 29th

Waking up early in Saturday morning, we began our day of touring Bangalore. The first location was St. Mary’s Catholic Church, an architecturally British building in the center of town. As we entered the building we observed the Indian version of a Christian service, complete with Indian prayer music and depictions on Mary with the typical vivid Indian colors. As we left, we passed by a car that was being blessed by the priest at the church, as it was a used car and they wished to ensure it was fully protected from above as well. With my current exposure to Indian traffic, I can definitely understand why it would be reassuring to have any extra protection. Cars and buses charge through the street while tuk tuks and motorcycles weave at high speed through small gaps in between the crowds. Lanes, stop signs, and sometimes even traffic lights are simply ignored and replaced with a chaotic but effective traffic system that allows for everyone to move around fairly rapidly across the city.

As we left the church, we walked into a local market. While supermarkets are slowly creeping into local life, the majority of people still rely on fresh produce and meat from these marketplaces. Stalls were filled with different goods including fish that had been shipped from the coast, local fruits and vegetables, freshly butchered lamb and beef, and a flower market, all of which were accompanied by aromas that announced which area of the market you were in. Along with the typical produce you could find at any American supermarket, there were many different and often colorful foods, such as chicu, a potato like fruit which taste like a sweet pear, and litchi fruit, a fruit enclosed in a reddish-brown outer layer with a juicy white fruit inside.

Leaving the aromatic fresh market behind, we stopped for a local breakfast. This included dosa, a crepe like bread filled with potatoes and onions, idli, a tightly packed disc of rice, and sambal, a spicy vegetable broth that the idli and dosa could be soaked in before eating. Finished with breakfast, we took the above ground metro from the center of the city towards the outskirts. The landscape changed within minutes from the densely packed city streets to slums near the edge of the city. While the central part of the city had colorfully painted buildings and taller buildings, the slums became low lying blocks of greys and browns, blending in with their dirty surroundings.

Returning back to the center, we continued on to visit a Sikh temple. Moving from the extravagant design and colors or the church, we visited a much more modest temple, painted in all white colors. Before we entered we removed our shoes, washed our feet, and covered our heads in the provided bandanas. We were shown the entire complex, which not only included a worship area, but also rooms for guests of any religion to stay and a large food hall where every Sunday massive amounts of food are prepared and served to all those come by. 

We ended the day by visiting Commercial street, a mass gathering of vendors from all across the city selling clothing and other goods for low costs. Even the alleyways were claustrophobically packed with people looking for bargains. Taking a tuk tuk back, we saw our first rain in India. Water pelted the small tuk tuks, pouring in from the sides. We all arrived back drenched in water, but having had an amazing journey.

On Sunday, we ventured out from the city for the day to visit a national wildlife park. Starting off near campus, we took a local air conditioned bus for 40 minutes only costing us $1.40. We arrived and lined up to pay for entry into the park. As I approached, I asked for a ticket and instead of the foreigner fee that all the others payed, the clerk charged me the local rate, almost half of the regular price. We boarded a bus covered in thick metal wiring and entered the park. As we drove through the nature reserve we saw elephants, spotted deer, lions, and both white and orange tigers. Attached was a zoo area with smaller creatures, including snakes, macaws, peafowl, and monkeys. It felt strange to see the animals like this, when on my last visit to India, we were able to enter a much larger area where the animals were free to roam. In this reserve, however, all the animals were kept in small sections of land and blocked off by fences. It felt more like a tourist location than a chance to experience the local wildlife.

Arriving back, I was finally able to meet up with the rest of my group from the University of Arkansas. After overnight delays in Chicago and Qatar, as well as being rerouted through Manchester, they finally arrived after 4 and a half days of travel. Excited but exhausted, they managed to get a chance to briefly explore Bangalore, grab some food, and buy some things before class starts on Monday.

Arrival and Orientation - June 27th

After arriving late last night, I awoke with a couple hours of sleep to get my first experience with Bangalore. Walking down to the main road, I jumped aboard a tuk tuk, a three wheeled Indian taxi, and made my way through the city to Christ University. On my way, I passed by people commuting to work crossing the busy highway, people with food stands lining the streets selling pedestrians breakfast, and hundreds of tuk tuks and motorcycles weaving in between the cars in a hurry to reach their destinations. Upon arriving at Christ University, the clutter and chaos of the street died down and I entered a crowd of students dressed in both European-style and traditional Indian business attire. Stopping by the cafeteria to pick up some freshly cooked chicken puffs, I made my way to class held in the adjacent building. 

I arrived to faces from across the US, ranging from other southern states like Florida and South Carolina to California, Maryland, Ohio, and Nevada. After spending the morning familiarizing ourselves with the University rules and expectations, we walked to a nearby hotel for a lunch buffet to celebrate our arrival. Everyone was eager to try the various different curries, filling their plates to the brim with the biryanis, tandooris, and various spinach, chicken, lentil, and chickpea curries. After stuffing ourselves with every dish possible, we walked back to Christ University and toured the campus. Across the multiple building complexes we saw a large auditorium used for student produced plays and dances, conference rooms used by the priests that run the University to host guests and discuss business affairs, and multiple sporting fields used by many students to play tennis, basketball, football, hockey, and volleyball after their classes. The most intriguing part of the tour, however, was the horticultural department, which runs a green initiative on campus. This included turning biowaste from the school’s bathrooms into fuel, enough to run a house for 3 to 5 people and a full paper recycling system which turned used exam booklets and answer sheets into pulp which was then pressed and dried into sheets that could be dyed and crafted into folders, bags, notebooks that could be bought by students.

Finished for the day, a group of the students made a trip to a local mall to both browse and pick up items they had forgot to pack. As we entered, we heard a crowd cheer ahead of us, all gathered around a central area. A new Bollywood action movie was being promoted and in this central area was dancers, singers, and some of the stars greeting fans and building excitement for their upcoming flick. We watched entertained by the spectacle of the whole event. Getting back with travel adaptors, water, and various other purchases, we all went back to our room exhausted both from jet lag and the overwhelming experience of Bangalore.