Countdown to India

Two weeks from today I will be leaving with 24 other classmates, one program assistant from the Office of International Programs, and one professor to India for two weeks. This is part of the Doing Business In India class that I am taking. We will be visiting destinations in Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, and Agra. We will be spending our time visiting different companies, exploring the cities, and meeting local Kenan-Flagler alum and admitted students at a reception.

This past Thursday we had a briefing by the second year students who went last year. They gave us advice on what to expect and what we can do to minimize the hassles during the jam packed 14 days. The professor tried to mentally prepare us for the extreme level of poverty in India, saying every year there are students who are unable to emotionally get over the unimaginable level of poverty they encounter in some of the poorer parts of Delhi. One second year described the experience of walking around the major cities and being followed by hordes of people begging for food or money. She compared it to the scene from the Verizon Wireless commercial where a customer walks around town and is followed by a swamp of Verizon Wireless employees following him to support the network of services that are available on his cell phone. 

Earlier today I went scuba diving for the first time. The event was organized by the MBA Adventures Club and the instructor was a classmate who is a certified diver. We spent half an hour in the shallow end of the pool learning the basics such as how to flush out your mask if it gets foggy and how to locate your regulator (the breathing device) in the event it falls out of your mouth. We spent the remainder of the two hours frolicking in the ten feet deep water. The longest I spent underwater was about ten minutes. It was an amazing experience.

 

I carpooled to the scuba diving location with a bunch of Indian classmates. On the way there, the driver asked me if I would mind him putting on some Indian music. I said “I might as well get used to it so bring it on.”