Home Sweet Sweet Home as Sofia would say!
How great it is to be home and enjoy my family, wash in my own shower, sleep in a clean bed, with my pillow and wake up to food in the fridge that I am use to.
I must admit that I do miss India a little, the people and having new experiences every day, however I am sure that my career will eventually take me back to India, and I can reflect on my 2008 stay in the Ginger Hotel!
Chao
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Going Home
Leaving Mysore, I was a little sad, even though I was anxious to get home to Candis and Sofia, my shower and bed. We spent the first part of the day site seeing in Bangalore, but I was site seeing out and just wanted to relax at the hotel. For lunch we went to the most disgusting restaurant of our visit. During our time in Mysore AR did a great job making sure we went places that were clean and had the appropriate amenities, such as clean bathrooms. This place had good food but since it was filthy and bath rooms I could not even get into with our having to puke. Need less to say, AR would not have been impressed.
In the evening some of us went into Bangalore, where we experienced western civilization of McDonald and KFC. Food never tasted so good. Our cab driver ran a luxury cab service and was very interested in our visit. He drove us around the City in his Mercedes E series car, which he paid $95,000 US. He also showed us town homes beside GE medical and SAP campuses that started at $250K - $500k US. What a contrast of income and wealth.
On Thursday, I chilled at the Ginger hotel until 3 when we went to Praxair. Praxair showed us a part of India that no none else admitted to, supply chain and logistics issues. As a provider of gasses to various large businesses, getting product to their customers on time and as efficient as possible is a challenge. Their MD for India also mentioned that there is a support group for x-pats families that help them get acclimated to a new country. If I ever move to India, this information will be helpful.
The evening was spent at the Oberio Hotel where we had a fantastic dinner with wine and cigars after the meal. It was a great night sitting on the patio and just handing out. Little did we know that this was the calm before the storm.
I will not go through the hell we experienced to get home but I want to reflect on team work and the code of conduct that I tried to live by, which is “no man left behind”. 14 hours in an Indian airport that is under construction, two nights in a hotel that was not anticipated, O’Hare airport on a Saturday night when there is no flights out, and ticketing agents with attitudes can cause the strongest person to loose it and act irrationally.
Overall, I feel that the group managed the last 72 hours in a professional manor. The peasants could have revolted but for the most part we kept our cool and managed to avoid another international incident. OOPS, international incident # 5 was Theresa Waldof standing up for her self when a European called her stupid because she did not see them in line. He picked the wrong person to mess with.
In the evening some of us went into Bangalore, where we experienced western civilization of McDonald and KFC. Food never tasted so good. Our cab driver ran a luxury cab service and was very interested in our visit. He drove us around the City in his Mercedes E series car, which he paid $95,000 US. He also showed us town homes beside GE medical and SAP campuses that started at $250K - $500k US. What a contrast of income and wealth.
On Thursday, I chilled at the Ginger hotel until 3 when we went to Praxair. Praxair showed us a part of India that no none else admitted to, supply chain and logistics issues. As a provider of gasses to various large businesses, getting product to their customers on time and as efficient as possible is a challenge. Their MD for India also mentioned that there is a support group for x-pats families that help them get acclimated to a new country. If I ever move to India, this information will be helpful.
The evening was spent at the Oberio Hotel where we had a fantastic dinner with wine and cigars after the meal. It was a great night sitting on the patio and just handing out. Little did we know that this was the calm before the storm.
I will not go through the hell we experienced to get home but I want to reflect on team work and the code of conduct that I tried to live by, which is “no man left behind”. 14 hours in an Indian airport that is under construction, two nights in a hotel that was not anticipated, O’Hare airport on a Saturday night when there is no flights out, and ticketing agents with attitudes can cause the strongest person to loose it and act irrationally.
Overall, I feel that the group managed the last 72 hours in a professional manor. The peasants could have revolted but for the most part we kept our cool and managed to avoid another international incident. OOPS, international incident # 5 was Theresa Waldof standing up for her self when a European called her stupid because she did not see them in line. He picked the wrong person to mess with.
Monday, January 14, 2008
More press
A stimulating lecture on Indian Perspectives in International Branding was delivered to us by Prof K. Balakrishnan. The majority of the lecture was spent on the branding and selling of Indian Paint Company and how they market their products. The movie clips were very interesting from the fact that the houses that were shown in the clips looked very close to the houses that we have in the USA, none of which I have seen while we are here.
The last portion at SDM-IMD was spent with reporters firing questions at us and the students of the SDM. Other then the typical questions of how has your time been here, what have you experienced, there were some specific head belligerent questions asked.
For a report to ask the question, do you think that the Indian students are as smart as US students are a BS questions to ask. What was he expecting us to say?
Other questions they asked were what do you think of the class room process vs. the US? Since we did not spent 1 minute in the class room with the other students, how could that is answered.
The one question that chapped my ass was “what is the cause of the US recession and do you think the US will emerge from it? My response was that there are varying opinion if the country is in a recession but if we were, the country would emerge. I mentioned that the housing market correction, and sub-prime mortgage market have attributed to the demist on the economy. It was also mentioned by some one in the group that the American people have been living far outside their means and have over extended themselves and that was the major cause of the issue. Regardless of our answers the reporter was pompous enough to blow off our answers and say, and I quote “Don’t you think that if the US corporations out sources to India sooner that the recession would not have happened”? There is a general consensus in India that the people of India and the businesses drive the world economy, which is hard to respond to with out bursting their bubbles.
I spent the afternoon working on MTM email, blogs and a nap, followed by a trip with Karl to FabCity for an extra bag to bring back the purchases that we had made.
Our supper was spent at Subway where there were 5 of us salivating over a good meal. It took about an hour for all of us to get our sandwiches. They are so slow here at customer service. It was not that there was a lack of staff, as there were 5 of them, but their processes are mess up. I would not call them the quick, efficient sandwich artists that we see at home but relate it more to watching concrete curing or grass growing. They are very fortunate that labor is cheap!
The last portion at SDM-IMD was spent with reporters firing questions at us and the students of the SDM. Other then the typical questions of how has your time been here, what have you experienced, there were some specific head belligerent questions asked.
For a report to ask the question, do you think that the Indian students are as smart as US students are a BS questions to ask. What was he expecting us to say?
Other questions they asked were what do you think of the class room process vs. the US? Since we did not spent 1 minute in the class room with the other students, how could that is answered.
The one question that chapped my ass was “what is the cause of the US recession and do you think the US will emerge from it? My response was that there are varying opinion if the country is in a recession but if we were, the country would emerge. I mentioned that the housing market correction, and sub-prime mortgage market have attributed to the demist on the economy. It was also mentioned by some one in the group that the American people have been living far outside their means and have over extended themselves and that was the major cause of the issue. Regardless of our answers the reporter was pompous enough to blow off our answers and say, and I quote “Don’t you think that if the US corporations out sources to India sooner that the recession would not have happened”? There is a general consensus in India that the people of India and the businesses drive the world economy, which is hard to respond to with out bursting their bubbles.
I spent the afternoon working on MTM email, blogs and a nap, followed by a trip with Karl to FabCity for an extra bag to bring back the purchases that we had made.
Our supper was spent at Subway where there were 5 of us salivating over a good meal. It took about an hour for all of us to get our sandwiches. They are so slow here at customer service. It was not that there was a lack of staff, as there were 5 of them, but their processes are mess up. I would not call them the quick, efficient sandwich artists that we see at home but relate it more to watching concrete curing or grass growing. They are very fortunate that labor is cheap!
More press
A stimulating lecture on Indian Perspectives in International Branding was delivered to us by Prof K. Balakrishnan. The majority of the lecture was spent on the branding and selling of Indian Paint Company and how they market their products. The movie clips were very interesting from the fact that the houses that were shown in the clips looked very close to the houses that we have in the USA, none of which I have seen while we are here.
The last portion at SDM-IMD was spent with reporters firing questions at us and the students of the SDM. Other then the typical questions of how has your time been here, what have you experienced, there were some specific head belligerent questions asked.
For a report to ask the question, do you think that the Indian students are as smart as US students are a BS questions to ask. What was he expecting us to say?
Other questions they asked were what do you think of the class room process vs. the US? Since we did not spent 1 minute in the class room with the other students, how could that is answered.
The one question that chapped my ass was “what is the cause of the US recession and do you think the US will emerge from it? My response was that there are varying opinion if the country is in a recession but if we were, the country would emerge. I mentioned that the housing market correction, and sub-prime mortgage market have attributed to the demist on the economy. It was also mentioned by some one in the group that the American people have been living far outside their means and have over extended themselves and that was the major cause of the issue. Regardless of our answers the reporter was pompous enough to blow off our answers and say, and I quote “Don’t you think that if the US corporations out sources to India sooner that the recession would not have happened”? There is a general consensus in India that the people of India and the businesses drive the world economy, which is hard to respond to with out bursting their bubbles.
I spent the afternoon working on MTM email, blogs and a nap, followed by a trip with Karl to FabCity for an extra bag to bring back the purchases that we had made.
Our supper was spent at Subway where there were 5 of us salivating over a good meal. It took about an hour for all of us to get our sandwiches. They are so slow here at customer service. It was not that there was a lack of staff, as there were 5 of them, but their processes are mess up. I would not call them the quick, efficient sandwich artists that we see at home but relate it more to watching concrete curing or grass growing. They are very fortunate that labor is cheap!
The last portion at SDM-IMD was spent with reporters firing questions at us and the students of the SDM. Other then the typical questions of how has your time been here, what have you experienced, there were some specific head belligerent questions asked.
For a report to ask the question, do you think that the Indian students are as smart as US students are a BS questions to ask. What was he expecting us to say?
Other questions they asked were what do you think of the class room process vs. the US? Since we did not spent 1 minute in the class room with the other students, how could that is answered.
The one question that chapped my ass was “what is the cause of the US recession and do you think the US will emerge from it? My response was that there are varying opinion if the country is in a recession but if we were, the country would emerge. I mentioned that the housing market correction, and sub-prime mortgage market have attributed to the demist on the economy. It was also mentioned by some one in the group that the American people have been living far outside their means and have over extended themselves and that was the major cause of the issue. Regardless of our answers the reporter was pompous enough to blow off our answers and say, and I quote “Don’t you think that if the US corporations out sources to India sooner that the recession would not have happened”? There is a general consensus in India that the people of India and the businesses drive the world economy, which is hard to respond to with out bursting their bubbles.
I spent the afternoon working on MTM email, blogs and a nap, followed by a trip with Karl to FabCity for an extra bag to bring back the purchases that we had made.
Our supper was spent at Subway where there were 5 of us salivating over a good meal. It took about an hour for all of us to get our sandwiches. They are so slow here at customer service. It was not that there was a lack of staff, as there were 5 of them, but their processes are mess up. I would not call them the quick, efficient sandwich artists that we see at home but relate it more to watching concrete curing or grass growing. They are very fortunate that labor is cheap!
Sunday, January 13, 2008
All by my self
My first day to myself since I arrived in India. I did not go on the tour; I slept in, worked out, worked on email and read a chapter for the quiz. It was very peaceful day that I needed after a busy two weeks.
For dinner that night we (Harvey, Karl, Mary, and Jenny & Omni) went to the “Olive Garden”. The food was great we had chicken wings, chicken loll pops, fish, pasta, chicken, ice cream, spring rolls and cheese and garlic filled nana bread. It was awesome. I am positive that Harvey and I will get malaria from all of the mosquitoes that ate us alive because we wore shorts.
In talking with my buddy, the topic came up about Wal-Mart vs. Fab City the local shop with the same philosophy of inexpensive products. He said that Wal mart was having a hard time coming to India because they want large stores and land is too expensive, where Fab City will go into the smallest location. What a difference in marketing.
For dinner that night we (Harvey, Karl, Mary, and Jenny & Omni) went to the “Olive Garden”. The food was great we had chicken wings, chicken loll pops, fish, pasta, chicken, ice cream, spring rolls and cheese and garlic filled nana bread. It was awesome. I am positive that Harvey and I will get malaria from all of the mosquitoes that ate us alive because we wore shorts.
In talking with my buddy, the topic came up about Wal-Mart vs. Fab City the local shop with the same philosophy of inexpensive products. He said that Wal mart was having a hard time coming to India because they want large stores and land is too expensive, where Fab City will go into the smallest location. What a difference in marketing.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Happy Birthday from India
Happy Birthday to me in India!
The day started at 7 am when we went on a tour of various temples. The first one is the most memorable where we have to walk up 700 stairs that went straight up. I considered that my work out for the day. The significance of this temple was the stature of a naked man what was 40+ feet high and made out of one rock. This was a place where certain men went were they had given up all worldly possessions and only had a peacock feather to chase flies and mosquitoes away. YES, naked men everywhere, the women of the group appeared to be happy. As mentioned before, the national monuments had garbage everywhere, public urination prevalent and people in the temple on their cell phones. I don’t get it.
Once again at 7 pm we went to meet the press and take more pictures interacting with the SDM students so the local paper can see us interacting. It is too bad that we have painted the picture that we are attached at the hip with the students of SDM.
We went to The Road to dining and dancing for a birthday celebration.
The day started at 7 am when we went on a tour of various temples. The first one is the most memorable where we have to walk up 700 stairs that went straight up. I considered that my work out for the day. The significance of this temple was the stature of a naked man what was 40+ feet high and made out of one rock. This was a place where certain men went were they had given up all worldly possessions and only had a peacock feather to chase flies and mosquitoes away. YES, naked men everywhere, the women of the group appeared to be happy. As mentioned before, the national monuments had garbage everywhere, public urination prevalent and people in the temple on their cell phones. I don’t get it.
Once again at 7 pm we went to meet the press and take more pictures interacting with the SDM students so the local paper can see us interacting. It is too bad that we have painted the picture that we are attached at the hip with the students of SDM.
We went to The Road to dining and dancing for a birthday celebration.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Welcome to the Firm!
The site visit of the day was to Infosys. As we were pulling into the campus, they were checking all the vehicles for computers and were taking the serial numbers of the computers. For a company in the information industry, that did not surprise me, but after we left I think that it was just a control issues. The person that we meet with was a director at Infosys. He had only been with Infosys for two years and did not have a lot of knowledge of the company and its values. Case in point, in each sentence he mentioned the “values” the company had. So after 30 minutes, I asked, “What are some of your values”? He did not have a very good answer. Todd asked him who he felt Infosys competitors were, and his response was, “we do not have any competitors” after a long pause, he said, if I had to pick someone, it would be Accenture. That was very pompous and not professional at all. Even though the campus had all of the luxuries of spas, tennis courts, banks, pharmacy, barbers, doctors and beautiful living quarters, I am a firm believer that they operated as a cult and only wanted total control of their employees.
What a difference a day made, two world class companies, but two very different philosophies. I like the L & T approach much better.
In the evening we were to have a talent show with the students of SDM-IMD. What a great experience. The native dances with the different dress was incredible. The culture of the various areas was neat to see. Because no one in our group had any talent, our fearless leader Rajiv was selected to play a game on our behalf. The game was, the audience shouted out a topic and Rajiv had to argue for or against the topic. The hard part was the MC for the night would throw out numbers and if the number was positive Rajiv had to argue for the topic, if the number was negative, Rajiv had to argue against the topic. We the first topic was “size matters”. You can guess the excitement that the topic brought. Hats off to Rajiv, he represented us will.
International incident #3 happened that evening. I was starting to get frustrated and missing home and it was not taking very much to get me irritated. We were going on a rickshaw ride when some of the other drivers in the lot we were at were trying to rip us off. Well my mouth got before me and I verbalized the international sign (FU). Apparently they understand what that means and it took 20 minutes to calm the crowd down. The amazing thing that happened was Harvey was the peace maker this time, and altercation was avoided.
What a difference a day made, two world class companies, but two very different philosophies. I like the L & T approach much better.
In the evening we were to have a talent show with the students of SDM-IMD. What a great experience. The native dances with the different dress was incredible. The culture of the various areas was neat to see. Because no one in our group had any talent, our fearless leader Rajiv was selected to play a game on our behalf. The game was, the audience shouted out a topic and Rajiv had to argue for or against the topic. The hard part was the MC for the night would throw out numbers and if the number was positive Rajiv had to argue for the topic, if the number was negative, Rajiv had to argue against the topic. We the first topic was “size matters”. You can guess the excitement that the topic brought. Hats off to Rajiv, he represented us will.
International incident #3 happened that evening. I was starting to get frustrated and missing home and it was not taking very much to get me irritated. We were going on a rickshaw ride when some of the other drivers in the lot we were at were trying to rip us off. Well my mouth got before me and I verbalized the international sign (FU). Apparently they understand what that means and it took 20 minutes to calm the crowd down. The amazing thing that happened was Harvey was the peace maker this time, and altercation was avoided.
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