Apparently I'm Important

On Thursday morning I received a call from my boss to report to the training room on the third floor upon my arrival.  I figured that I would be there to receive some training, as it is a training room and all.  When I opened the door, I walked in on a meeting/ presentation/ conference call involving all of the account managers and department heads in the office.  On the phone were the managers and department heads from the rest of the global offices, as well as several vp’s.  All in all the meeting included well over a hundred people whom, in affect run the division of the company I work in.  There were people from America, Europe, China, and even Australia on the call.  Then there was me, a sophomore intern from Boston, who’s working in India, that’s been on the job a week.  This was a bit of a surreal moment for me because I realized right then and there what my internship was about.  I don’t believe I am here just to be a contributing member of a team.  I don’t think I’m here just to learn the ropes.  I believe my position, is about grooming.

On Friday I sat in on another conference call.  This call was the weekly review of the status of every account managed at my office.  After this call my boss asked me just how confused I was.  He understood that I am being asked to listen to analysis and reviews, which involve terms and details that I am completely unfamiliar with.  I appreciated this, and asked some questions, clarifying some terms, and such, but I still sat there wondering just what it is I am expected to do.

At this point no one has told me what my job will be.  I have not even been given a general description of my role.  I’ve just been told that I will be involved in business operations.  From the best I can tell my job is to learn the way my company operates, so I can learn how to manage it.

Leaving that digression into my thoughts aside, the past two days have had some interesting events.  On Thursday my roommate made an incredibly good dinner consisting of chicken, peppers, green beans and rice, using only a microwave for cooking.  Perhaps my cancer risk has gone up, but it tasted pretty damn good so I don't mind.  Yesterday on the way to work I saw three cows hanging out in the median on a busy road.  It is very poetic the way they get to roam the dangerous, congested streets carefree.  When I got to work the first half of my day was spent with a guy from the IT dept. trying to fix an issue, which was never actually solved.  When I was waiting in the company transport to go home, a guy walked by all of the cars with a device in his hand that sprayed some type of what I believe to be pesticide on every truck.  I forgot to thank him, and say that I appreciated the advanced warning. 

Today’s lesson, cows are poetic,

You’re welcome,

x

A long day

For the first time since I’ve been here, the company transport was on time to pick me up.  The weather was beautiful, I could see puppies playing and there wasn’t even much traffic.  It was a great start to a day; and that was sought to rather quickly. 

Today was the day for me to pick up my laptop.  I was excited, having a laptop meant I could start doing real work.  Little did I know the price I would have to pay to get one.  That price was in time, patience and shear sanity.

10:55 - I arrive at my main office.  I realize I’ve forgotten my temporary ID...crap  

10:56 - I star walking to the transport lot to catch the 11am shuttle to the office that has my laptop.

10:58 - I arrive at the lot, look around, no shuttle.

11:00 - I ask a driver if he knows where the shuttle is, he responds “Hindi, no English.” …crap…again.

11:05 - I find a transport manager, who tell me the shuttle left at 11…crap…yet again.

11:06 - Transport manager says the next shuttle will be at 11:30…no wait 12:00.

11:07 - I go to the food court to get some tea and relax.

11:25 - I contemplate going to the lot, just in case the shuttle is at 11:30.

11:26 - I go to the bathroom instead.

11:45 - I go to the lot, and double check that the transport will be arriving at noon.

11:46 - New manager on duty says it won’t be until 12:30…ugh.

11:50 - I ask another manager, and he says not until 1…where’s a gun.

11:51 - I try to straighten out the times; I get nowhere.

11:55 - I go to the transport office to clarify the time for the shuttle…it’s 1:00

11:56 - I tell my manager why I looked stress, he brings me to the transport control office, yes there are two separate transport offices, don’t ask me why.

11:57 - The higher up workers with clearer English, tell me very clearly that the next shuttle is at noon, and that they will call the manager at the lot so it will wait for me.

11:59 - I get back down to the lot.

1:00 - I board the shuttle…yeah that’s right 1 o’clock.  Oh and I sat in the back, where only people under 5’ 8” can be comfortable…I’m 6’ 2”.

2:00 - I arrive to pickup my laptop.

2:30 - I buy an omelet for 30 cents for lunch; it tastes great.

2:55 - I get down to the transport lot at this office.  The trucks are all set to leave for 3.  I ask the manager where the shuttle is, he responds, “shuttle at 3:40.”…ugh…again

3:15 - I buy an Ice cream back at the cafeteria for 75 cents…pretty sure I got ripped off.

3:30 - Bought a roll of bread for a quarter.  I was unaware it was stuffed with some vegetables…it was surprisingly delightful.

3:40 - Board the shuttle back to the main office.

4:50 - Arrive back at my desk at the main office, where my boss tells me to wait for my other boss, so he can help me setup my laptop.

5:30 - My other boss arrives and has me go to the IT room.  A nice guy helps me.  My configuration is wrong; the conversation will take half an hour.

5:45 - I wait.

5:55 - My boss invites me to sit in on a conference call with a couple of global VP’s.

6:15 - I am dragged away by the IT guy to setup my email

6:30 - Email is setup, but IM can’t be.

7:00 - Check email, and talk with my boss.

7:30 - Leave for the day.

It’s an Indian holiday tomorrow, so no work...thank god.

Today's lesson, drive your own car, be shorter and know how much Ice cream should cost in India.

You're welcome,

x

Scarred

I was going to give you a summary of my weekend, but not anymore. 

I was going to tell you how my day went today, but not anymore.

I saw something today that I can say, for the first time, truly scarred me.  I was in a company transport vehicle, on my way home.  We were stopped at an intersection.  I have gotten used to seeing beggars at the crowded intersections.  They go from car to car, asking for change.  I have only seen women out there so far.  Today I saw a woman carrying a baby.  I felt more upset that she brought a child into such poverty, than at her plight itself.  It was sad, but that’s not what I wanted to talk about.  I noticed that a few cars ahead of me, was a boy.  He was also going from car to car.  He had an unusual walk.  He seemed to waddle, trying not to bend his knees as he moved; I soon realized why.  As he got closer, I noticed that this boy was literally skin and bones, not scrawny, not weak; bones layered with skin.   He waddled, because he didn’t have the strength to pick up and bend his knees.  At five foot four, I can’t imagine this boy was more than 50 or 60 pounds, probably less.  In America I’ve seen poverty, but I have never seen such extreme hunger.  I could barely breathe, because I felt that that child would live or die depending on whether people would give him change, or not.  I was on the verge of crying, watching this boy walk by our car, tapping on the window, begging for change.

If you find it hard to appreciate what you have, let me give you a tour around Bangalore, see if that doesn’t knock you on your ass.

Today’s lesson, be thankful.

You’re welcome,

x

Intense washing machine

The longest phone call of my life

The longest call of my life.

So it was another day of work.  I do not yet have what’s needed to do real work.  As a result my time is spent with the exciting task of memorizing names, and sitting in a conference calls.  While memorizing is certainly limited in its capacity to be fun, I thought sitting in on a conference call would be fairly interesting.  Three and a half hours later I changed my mind.  I probably wasn’t able to give the call a fair shake, seeing how I didn’t understand most of what was said.  The terms and content were above my head and for some reason I struggle understanding what people say on speaker phone, and accents made it all the more difficult.

I am hopeful that after getting settled and developing a better understanding for the work being done in the office, I will be able to appreciate and be engaged in the calls I am part of in the future.

For today, I am planning on going in to the city to do some shopping and eating.  My roommate and I were warned about possible riots, due to someone vandalizing a Mosque.  Fortunately the reaction was minimal, but it did open my eyes to the reality of what part of the world I was in.  I was never able to understand the anger rooted in religious differences, and that anger is highly present in this region of the world.

Yesterday morning I saw a momma cow and her baby walking along the street while I was waiting for the company transport, which was half an hour late by the way.  They walked care free, crossing the street, moseying about all on their own.  Later in the day I saw one of the thousands of stray dogs on my company’s campus eating ice cream left on a bench.   I see Muslim’s, Hindu’s and Christian all taking the same roads and buses to work.  I am a red head and, while I get stared at, I still feel respected and welcome in this city.  My point is that this city is open to everybody but, like anything, it can be sent into turmoil by the worst of people, no matter how small their numbers are.  We are all dragged down and burdened by the lowest common denominator.

Today’s lessons; set the example and don’t be the lowest common denominator.

You’re welcome,

x

The Main office

Today was my first day in my main office.  I met dozens of people, and there is one thing they all have in common.  Everyone was sincerely nice.  In America, most people working for big businesses either hate life, or think they’re hot stuff, and pretend to not hate life.  Here in Bangalore, everyone I saw was smiling.  The people here do serious work, and they are the best at what they do.  By some miracle, at least in an American’s eyes, they are still able to enjoy their time at work. 

At the start, my first day of work consisted of some introductions, and then sitting at my desk and waiting…to do more waiting.  All, of the sudden however, I was called into a meeting room with my manager and he looked me straight in the eye and said that they needed my help with a presentation.  Umm, ok.  The man I was working with was incredibly nice.  We joked around and talked a bunch.  Even if I didn’t add anything to the presentation, it was nice to meet this guy.  I was, however, able to contribute.  I can happily say that in the presentation, which was seen by the global vp, and department vp, in addition to the entire department, I and I alone determined the font of 5 slides and the entire content (3 words) of another.  As sad as it may seem to say, it gratified me.  When I made the suggestion for the content of the slide, it was considered along with ideas from 3 other people, including the manager himself, who reconsidered and went with my suggestion.  I was never really able to appreciate recognition such as this in the past.  But to come half way around the world, and on my first day be able to contribute something, it made me proud.  Later in the day I was introduced to the Global VP who had an air of importance around him.  He was incredibly kind, informal and sincere, yet everyone treated him as formal and with as much attention as I have ever seen.

On the way back home our transport driver decided to skip traffic.  This meant driving off road for a couple kilometers, and then driving through a busy market on a one-lane road, which had two directions of traffic. 

Now I sit in my room, waiting for Dominoes to arrive, which by the way is like ten times less greasy, and a hell of a lot cheaper here.   I am excited for my work days to come and for an adventurous weekend, stay tuned.

Today’s lesson, there’s always someone watching,

You’re welcome,

x

The beginning: Plan ahead

I'm not going to tell you who I'm interning with.  I'm not that stupid.  Most anyone reading this knows, anyways.  What I will tell you is what I do, what I notice, and what I think during my time spent there.  At 5:30 this evening I will be boarding a flight for a full day journey to the other side of the world.  On this trip my ass is gonna get burned, sick, harassed, sad, lonely, and maybe even robbed, but I can't wait.

To start, I am a pale, spoiled kid from New England.  All I know of diversity is that it was an old, old wooden ship used during the civil war era.  Thank you, to anyone who got that quote btw.  I am spending six months in Bangalore India, working for an American company, ironic? Yes.  My internship in India kinda fell in my lap.  This left me with little time to arrange my documents, flights, immunizations and such.  It's the morning before I fly and only today did I get my Visa stamped, and my immunizations done, how's that for a good start?  The process leading to this point has been about as un-ideal as possible.  I had to locate dozens, not several, dozens, like about 40 different documents to get my offer letter and visa.  Also, most of my work had to be done between the hours of 11pm and 7am, if I wanted it to be processed in the same day.  At one point, I had to call my former home town to locate my elementary school records, why the hell does anyone care what my math grade was when I was 10?  In the past 48 hours I have been to and from NYC twice, which takes at least 4hrs each way, that's 16 hrs.  During which I slept on the bus and train, because I had stuff to do during the night to arrange my visa, and travel shots.  Now that I'm all set though, I get to look forward to my 24hr flight in coach.

Today's lesson, Plan ahead, be prepared.

You're welcome,

x

*edit on 01/19

Work Day 2

More Orientation!

Wahoo!

Traffic back today was unbearable, 2 hours to travel 16 miles.

Today's lesson, boredom strikes everywhere

Your welcome,

x

Work day 1

So today I had my first day of “work”.  In reality it was just an orientation, long boring, pretty much like every other orientation one goes through in life.  The ride to work however was quite memorable.  I saw a cow, with its horns decorated.  It was pretty cool, and actually made me want to own a cow, just so I can decorate it.  There was this one building along the way that will stick out in my mind forever.  Between the tiny, dirty shops, on the side of a busy congested road in Bangalore, there is an opening.  This opening is filled with lush green grass, blooming flowers, and a huge, remarkable palace.  What’s amazing though, is that this palace, is not a palace at all, but a hospital.  Who would have ever thought, that among the beautiful buildings in the world, one would be a hospital.  There was something that bothered me today though.  I bought a chicken sandwich at the office cafeteria; there was almost no chicken on it.  I got three slices of bread, half an ounce of chicken, and more hot sauce than I could have in a week.  On a plus, they had great egg fried rice, especially for 50 cents, American. ☺

Today’s lesson, hospital’s can be beautiful, and don’t get the chicken sandwich.

You’re welcome,

x

Day 1 Part 2

Have you ever seen a full family of four, on what the US would label a 1-2 person scooter?
Have you ever gone head to head with another car, avoiding collision by half a foot?
Have you ever seen geese, cows or goats in a city?
Have you ever seen a cab driver pray before embarking?
Have you ever seen a horse pulling a carriage with steel beams in heavy traffic?
Have you ever seen a teenager driving a steamroller?

…I have.

This concludes day one.

Today’s lesson, I’ve seen more than you,

You’re welcome,

x

Day 1 Part 1

About the smell

I was right.

Arrival

I had heard that upon arrival to India, the first thing that hits you is the smell.  When I walked off the plane, I caught a whiff of something, but it wasn’t the overpowering, knock you on your ass, aroma I had heard about.  After this I thought, it won’t be so difficult after all.  I soon realized something though, when I was being driven to my apt; there was very little traffic.  This meant that few people were up and, being 2am, I suppose that is appropriate.  In fact the nighttime population of Bangalore is predominantly four legged with a yelpish bark.  The dogs roam the streets of the entire city.  It is curious to see some awake, some asleep, some alone, some in groups.  It made me wonder if there is a society among dogs.  Leaving the dog’s aside, for the time being, the nighttime, I realize, is fooling me.  The smell will come with the following morning, I can just feel, like the blob, the smell itching for morning, so it could regain its strength.

My taxi ride from the airport was about as painstaking as possible.  Lanes did not exist in the eyes of my driver, and neither did safety or any sense of urgency.  I found it remarkable, coming from the US, that a driver would so willingly choose to drive so slow.  It honestly made me feel as if he was contemplating pulling me over to rob me, but thankfully he did not.  We straddled the lines at a solid 35kmh (about 23mph) most of the way, having our doors blown off by scooters from the 70’s.  The slow journey did give me an opportunity to observe my surroundings.  I didn’t realize the fact that I had never seen a true slum until now.  I looked upon broken down buildings, with lights on, clearly inhabited.  I could not imagine living in such a situation.  What was amazing was the occasional contrast of a plot of mansion, or a state of the art corporate building.  I realized I was in the eye of the globalization hurricane.  The slums of the third world and the corporate superpowers were meeting right before me.  I say it is the eye, because they do not fight each other, nor do they, truthfully, benefit one another.  They live in a quiet harmony, allowing the rich to get richer, and the poor to stay content.  Whether you see it as good or bad, this city is truly remarkable.

Today’s lesson, this is Bangalore.

Your welcome,

x

In transit

I am on my way from the US to india, and in the nearly 12 hrs I've spent in airports/planes I have decided one thing.  There is no one cuter, or more entertaining to listen to, than old foreign people.  The way they waddle around and look all confused as to how they even got to where they're standing is remarkable.  Even when speaking a different language, they are hilarious to listen too.  You can just tell that they are complaining and getting up in arms about how things were better in the years gone by.

Todays lesson, watch old people, they're funny.

Your welcome, 

x