Rotman International

I have just been skimming through some of the presentations that we saw in India. The companies were extremely candid about their business strategies & challenges operating in India, but all were optimistic about the future.

A sample of the companies that we visited and what they shared:
Ogilvy & Mather: insights into Indian consumers.
EMRI: A not-for-profit emergency ambulance system. Great work bringing quality emergency care to the country.
J Sagar Associates: a look at the complexities of Indian law
McKinsey: India's Economic Forecast
MakeMyTrip.com: An entrepreneurial venture

Seriously, this is just a sample, but I'm pleased to have been part of the tour. There are some pictures posted on the Rotman International Facebook Page if you are interested :)

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggedy Jog

So I didn't blog as much as I had intended in India.
1. Because we were SO BUSY every day! Seriously, hardly any leisure time (not that I'm complaining because the company visits were FANTASTIC!)
2. Because Internet was actually rather expensive in India.
Please accept my apologies for not keeping you entertained with all of my antics over the past 2 weeks - I will try to catch you up on everything that I learned and experienced in India.

But....

Not today...

Today, I have another story to tell you, and it goes a little bit like this:

I met up with a classmate from the India study tour this afternoon for drinks in the sun (I am currently a woman of leisure after all - AKA, still on the hunt for the elusive summer job). We were reminising about the tour - the good, the bad, the ugly, and out of the blue he says something like this,

Friend: "Megan, I have to ask you something."

Me to myself, "OK this is weird"

Friend: "I hope you don't mind, it might be a little bit... personal"

Me to myself, "scrap that. This is DEFINITELY WEIRD"

Friend: "I was talking to my coworker about the trip and...."

Me to myself, "where is this going??"

Friend: "My friend wanted to now everything about the trip and wondered if anyone had blogged throughout the trip, and I discovered your blog - hope you don't mind me asking, but why do you blog?"

Me to myself: "Seriously? Is this the burning, personal question? What a relief!"

So why do I blog? Well, I'm actually not sure, but it definitely is fun to look back at what I wrote, so I hope that you enjoy!

Bombay

I am sitting in my hotel room in Mumbai India after my alarm clock failed to go off. I feel terribly guilty for standing up my friend this morning at 5:30 AM! We were going to go check out a fishing village to see the boats come in - hopefully I can get a rain-check!

I've been in India for the past week and a bit. What a neat country! Delhi was mainly under construction while we were there, but there was a certain energy and optimism everywhere we went - even though we were all under security threats at the time. Let me tell you, there is nothing like waking up to CNN calling where you are 'Terror Central' and reading in the newspaper that an attack is 'imminent'! And yet, life on the streets of Delhi continued as normal!

We spent 2 days in Hyderabad. Not nearly enough time to get the flavour of the city!

Yesterday was our first free day. We went to the Elephanta Caves on one of the 7 islands of Bombay. What a surreal place! It is an island temple that was carved hundreds of years ago out of a solid piece of volcanic rock. Huge statues of the god Shiva were carved into the walls of the temple showing pieces of the legend of his life. Like everything in India, it was an absolute wonder to see. It was EXTREMELY hot for my poor Canadian skin (40+ Celcius plus humidity!), but so very worth it! We then went for a walk along the harbour before calling it a night. Mumbai is positively beautiful!

The trip has been a whirlwind of company visits intermixed with transfer between locations. The companies themselves have been AMAZING! More on that later.

On a final note - Indian food is the best. I've been trying so many new and interesting dishes with names I cannot pronounce. The way the flavours intermix on my tongue is mind blowing! Nearly every meal has been amazing.

We have to buy Internet access in the hotel by the 1/2 hour and I see my time is nearly up. Usually a sign that my blog post is getting a little bit long.

Just your average Friday...

Writing my last exam of year 1. Then flying to India.
You know, the usual. Just your average Friday.

The Operations exam is wee bit terrifying. Yesterday I kept feeling like I was going to throw up while trying to work my way through practice problems. No actual vomit though, so I guess I got my nerves under control. (ish).

What my day consisted of
[x] Clean house (vaccuum, bathrooms, laundry, wash floors, dishes
[x] Pick up ANTI-malaria pills & emergency stomach infection pills
[x] Take Daisy for a long (ok, medium) length walk
[x] Buy batteries for camera & memory card
[x] Pack for 10 days of business formal events, plus a bunch of fun things too
[x] Study for Operations
[x] Have mini-nervous breakdown
[x] Study some more
[x] Watch documentary on India on CBC.ca (quite good)
[x] Pack some more
[x] Panic some more
[x] Come to terms with the possibility that I am not a natural at Operations
[x] Sleep

It was quite a productive day.

PS - I also ate lots of salad & fresh veggies since I'll be avoiding them for the next 2 weeks. Also drank water from the tap, another thing to avoid.

Random Note:

Giardia is a miniature parasite that can infect the water. It's one of the reasons that I plan to brush my teeth with bottled water just in case. What you might not know is that this isn't the first time I've come face to face with this little critter.

When I was a canoe guide, we used to purify the lake water to avoid contracting Giardia. Or, as it's known in Canada, 'the Beaver Fever.'

And now you know.

Ouch!

I finally got my inoculations for my upcoming voyage to India. I am officially protected from Hepatitis and Typhoid. Plus, I will soon be in possession of anti-malarial pills and an emergency dose to ward off extreme diarrhea.

I now have one very sore arm and a REALLY long to do list.

Now, if only this pesky essay would finish being written and these exams studied for so that I can start to concentrate on such things as laundry, shopping and packing.

Bon Voyage! (soon)

India Prep

Today was our final India Study Tour class.

I am officially BURSTING with excitement! Still so much to do - namely pick up my newly renewed passport and expiditing a tourist visa. Just the small things.

*yikes!*

India - the journey officially begins

The journey begins long before stepping foot into the airport. Today we began our preparation for our trip to India. While there are only fifteen students in the class, it is evident that we each have unique experience and interests which guarantees a access to a broad base of knowledge.

There are a number of class deliverables, all of which I'm looking forward to. The basic idea is to become an expert in an industry which operates in India so that when we visit, we are able to gain a deeper understanding of the nuances to conducting business overseas.

We began by looking at Indian culture - or as our professor pointed out, generalizations as our learning experience is based on research, thus is subject to many exceptions. Prior to class, we watched a film called 'Outsourced' in which an American moves to India after his entire department is, you guessed it, outsourced. He encounters many challenges in adapting to his surroundings which led to much class discussion.

I am beyond excited about this trip and learning experience!