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This blog was mainly about my Erasmus in India. In other words, my impressions during my exchange program at IIMB (Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore). As a potential tourist in India, one might also find useful information and advices on my blog. More than 250 posts and two years of blogging! Don't hesitate to comment!

My blog was initially written for my friends and relatives. Few of them read it on a regular basis. What they want is to hear me TALK about my life in India… Me, passionate, almost hysterical... Strangely, my readership is a lot more diverse and large than expected. On one side, many Indians end up on my blog via the “indianblogger” ranking. On the other, many indiafreaks, expatriates and exchange students visit my blog to learn more about the country and to ask me specific questions. This blog also gave me the opportunity to join the Belgian delegation in Bangalore.

As I’m back in India, this blog currently relates my personal life as an expat. For more informative posts about the country and/or my previous travel experiences, check the sidebar.

NB: Links to other posts and to ads are respectively in red and green in the text.

Summer is over

Summer is over and I’m all set for the monsoon! How strange is that statement when summer has only started in Belgium… I always thought that four seasons – summer, fall, winter and spring - following each others in a specific order was a constant all over the world.

In Delhi, a crazily cold winter is chased by an extremely hot summer, followed by the monsoon. As I come from a relatively cold country, the winter was perfectly manageable. By contrast, I had a tough time surviving during the hot season. For the first time in my life, my body was exposed to 46+ degrees and the heat waves gave me the impression to be in the middle of a fire. Due to the high temperatures, a cable melted in my street depriving me from electricity and hence from must-have fans…

One year in India

I have been in India for more than a year (four months in 2005 and the past eight months). Time for some retrospection!

In December 2004, I had to choose my Erasmus (exchange student program) destination. I was quite interested in going to Asia even if I had never heard of any of the Asian universities mentioned on the list. The country definitely prevailed on the brandname. In order to decide on my destination, I sent a few emails to my seniors. I received prompt replies, some positive, some highly negative…

Let me share one with you… The 4-page well structured email was written by one of my seniors who was then exchange student at IIMB and who wanted to shorten his stay on the campus.

The email was originally written in French. Only the gist is provided here and my comments follow… My senior started with the biases affecting Europeans visiting India and pursued with IIMB-specific issues. He referred to “Indian students” while I prefer to use the term “IIMB students” in my comments.

1) Biases

-Adaptation syndrome: Europeans who come to India are ready to accept everything. They think, based on their religious traditions, that living a tough life for a while can only be beneficial.
-Generalized exception syndrome: Trying to comfort themselves, some Europeans state that the problems they face in India are also present in their countries. However, there is a notable difference between India (where problems are recurrent) and Europe (where the same problems also happen but on an exceptional basis).
-Pink glasses syndrome: Any absurdity in India would be considered by a foreigner as of major cultural interest.
-->Comment: I can only agree with the three biases even if I would slightly moderate them. Foreigners are not only emotionally-driven, they also have brains. Adaptation has always been part of the evolution. One should be able to decide for himself what he can or cannot tolerate. Cultural flexibility varies from one individual to another. But in no case, the urge to adapt should be an excuse to accept everything.

Source

2) IIMB issues

a) Academics
-There is a consensus among exchange students to say that IIMB courses are of bad quality and that some Professors don’t understand what they pretend to teach.
-->Comment: The course quality mainly depends on the professor ability to understand and transmit key concepts. At IIMB, as in most academic institutions, there is a mix of good profs, profs with great knowledge but little pedagogic skills and bad profs who rely heavily on textbooks...
-Grades are subjective.
-->Comment: True. Compare two copies with the same answers, the grades will be different. Underline the keywords, your score will steeply go up!
-Exams are disconnected from what is taught during the classes and from the compulsory readings.
-->Comment: True for some courses.
-Indian students are not motivated as the fifth term does not count for their overall grade and hence hardly participate in group projects.
-->Comment: Partly true (The fifth term grades won't appear on their resumes but a minimum overall grade is required for the two year program). I agree on his point but the blame should be put on both sides to gain objectivity. Some exchange students are in India only to travel and hence do not really work hard either.

-Most Professors have incomprehensible English even for English-speaking exchange students.
-->No Comment!
-It is compulsory to assist classes and many Indian students sleep during the lectures.
-->Comment: True. Some IIMB students even snore in the classroom. With my exceptional adaptation skills, I managed to do the same a few times ;o) Hmm, not proud of it. This is the kind of things for which it is better not to adapt…
-Most Indian students are mediocre but already adapted to the absurdity of the system which guarantees them good grades.
-->Comment: IIMB students, often considered as geniuses in India, know the system and know how to play with it but it doesn’t mean that they are mediocre. The CAT, IIM's entrance exam, is not made of extremely difficult questions but as only a handful of students are selected every year, one has to be really fast to answer correctly most of the questions. In short, it is not difficult to crack the exam, it is difficult to be within the first few with the highest score. The speed and preparation criteria prevail on the intelligence one (after all, isn’t it like that in real life too?). Obviously no test is perfect but as far as I’m concerned I clearly didn’t notice a lack of intelligence among IIMB students*. In short, I would say that IIMB students are often extremely good with numbers as many of them have an IT background. In addition, they had to demonstrate a great ability to deal with pressure during competitive placement processes and during their first year given a really crunched schedule. On the dark side, a student who ends up at IIMB by "accident" would probably still be there at the end of the curriculum as only a few students fail.

b) Others
-The bureaucracy is omnipresent and problems are never solved.
-->No comment!
-Standards of living are low and hence most exchange students witness some forms of health problems. Worse cases include repatriations and hospitalization. In addition, fatigue is a general condition for all exchange students.
-->Comment: His point was largely illustrated by a panel of real-life examples. In my year, one exchange student left the country two days after her arrival on the campus as she couldn’t handle the cultural shock and most exchange students suffered digestive and fatigue problems. However, I am not aware of any critical incidents. On my side, no Delhi belly but fatigue and hair loss compensated by vitamin tablets.
-Mess food is bad in terms of taste and health content which results in nutritional deficiencies.
-->Comment: Well, it is supposed to be mess food not fine cuisine! The taste was acceptable but menus strongly lacked variety. Regarding the nutritional content, Indian cuisine (in general) tends to overcook ingredients which results in vitamin destruction.

-Indian students listen to music at full volume 24/24. As a result, sleeping or studying in hostel rooms is extremely difficult.
-->Comment: I was in a relatively quite hostel block but true I kept wondering when the IIMB students sleep. Music is on all the time at high volume and some students sing as well ;o) In addition, a few parties are organized on the campus. Given the power of the loudspeakers, all the hostel windows shake till the end of the party at 6am. Then ready at 8am for a 90-minute lecture, or worse, a quiz.
-Bathrooms are disgusting.
-->Comment: I have seen better even in many low-end hostels but it was still manageable.
-Rats are present everywhere at IIMB.
-->Comment: I only saw a few of them during my stay on the campus and got one in my room once.
-The campus is polluted.
-->Comment: Compared to the city where IIMB is located, the campus is a pollution-free zone.
-The so proclaimed computer center has slow internet access and few resources. In addition, the IT staff constantly checks on what students do.
-->Comment: He really had to complain about everything, hadn’t he?
-The sport areas include a volley ball court with a broken net, a tennis court without net, etc.
-->Comment: Things had slightly improved on that field between his Erasmus and mine.

Source

My decision

Based on his description, any mentally sane person would refuse to go to IIMB. I guess I had already unconsciously made up my mind when I received his email.

The night preceding the final decision, I dreamt of rats (the rat scene in Orwell’s 1984).

In August 2005, I was on my way to India. I spent four months at IIMB, returned to my country to finish my studies and went back to India in September 2006.

Indians frequently ask me how I like India. First of all, it is an absurd question as India is huge and diverse. Then, no country is good or bad. There are things which I like and others which I dislike. At first, my judgment was influenced by the three layer pink glasses that I was wearing. In addition, I had imagined the country to be poorer, dirtier and more dangerous. Positively surprised, everything seemed wonderful. Now, after one year, there are things which I can’t accept anymore.

All in all, I had an incredible time in India and met wonderful people. It was an amazing learning experience including both positive and negative situations. Back in 2004, I would clearly take the same decision… The question is…

…Is it worth prolonging the experience as I still have so much to discover in other parts of the globe?


*Let’s be proactive. I expect IIMB students to say that most exchange students underscore IIMB ones. Keep in mind that 1) many exchange students didn’t study in English during their education; 2) many of them have different kind of exams and grading systems in their country; 3) many of them have a tough time adapting to the country/food/sleepless nights and it negatively impacts the quality of their studies; 4) many of them come to India to travel not to study; 5) some of them don't have to care about their grades at all as they won't be taken into account by their schools. In short, most of the exchange students are either not in a position to give the best of themselves or are simply not willing to do so.

Trek to Dodital

The goals

Stated goal: reaching Dodital carrying our backpacks
Additional personal goal: climbing further to the summit or staying in Dodital for potential retrospection

The planning

Day 1: 7h of jeep and 6km of uphill trekking
Day 2: 16km of uphill trekking
Day 3: 14km round trip to the summit or day in Dodital
Day 4: 14km of downhill trekking
Day 5: 8km of downhill trekking and 7h of jeep

Me (after all, it is my blog ;o) )

I am a thin always hungry chainsmoker who had to quit sport/basketball long ago on doctor request due to weak back and knees. I was not worried about the absence of muscles on my body but knowing that we would have to carry our bags was more of concern.

Was it my first trek? Well, yes and no. Yes, it was my first mountain backpacked trek. No, I had taken part in a two-week trek a few years ago. Carrying our bags was not requested but unfortunately, I had stuck my back so badly after a week that I had to be emergently repatriated to my country (GESA assistance provides amazingly good services!). Since then, I tried to muscle my back to avoid such experience. I was confident I wouldn’t get stuck any more but also knew that I would go through some bad times during the trek.

The team

We were a team of highly motivated and goal-oriented TSC employees. Aged between 21 and 30 year old, we had enough cumulated energy to all reach Dodital despite some individual known/unknown physical weaknesses.

While carrying the bag was probably going to be tougher for the girls due to generally less muscular bodies, climbing to the snow-covered top would be more challenging to the guys as their body weights would bring them down deeper in the snow.

The preparation

In addition to the feedbacks from the people who went to Dodital the previous year, we also met the guy in charge of the trek. The message was clear: be mentally prepared!

Mentally prepared? I’m still not sure of what they meant. Of course, I knew I would make it. What was I supposed to do? Standing in front of my mirror and trying the Couet method?

My preparation was short and not psychologically-oriented at all. This damn bag had to be as light as possible and I went as far as to cut my soap in two pieces and to take my smallest underwear’s ;o) The result: a bag weighting no more than 6-7kgs.

The trip

Despite a tire puncture on the way to the station, we caught the train to Hardwar on Thursday evening. The next day was going to be hard on my stomach. 7 hours in the jeep and only one stop on the side of the road for me later, we reached the starting point of the trek. The journey had finally started…

The first 6km of the trek were challenging. We had to get used to the bag and to the uneven path covered by rolling stones. I had decided to walk at my own pace and to minimize the number of breaks I would take in order to avoid wasting energy. It turned out to be the best strategy as re-starting after a break was particularly killing. In addition, it quickly appeared that my pace was faster than the group one. Hence I could fully enjoy trekking which, for me, should be a solitary activity. The view was majestic. I loved the silence and the loneliness of the mountain. Both are almost impossible to obtain in Delhi and it felt wonderful to rediscover them again.

The next few days were going to be fully relaxing, spending the day on the mountain paths and the nights in tents. The food was regularly served and despite being lost somewhere in the nature, the meal quality was highly appreciable.

We reached Dodital on the second day in the evening. The next two nights were going to be tough as the weather was extremely cold. I hardly slept, managing to rest my body for an hour or two. Strangely, despite being deprived of sleep, I felt energetic during the days. The lack of cigarettes, the absence of urban stress and the revitalizing fresh air were a perfect combination.

During the first night spent in Dodital, many of us had nightmares which were, according to our guide, a side effect of the cleansing process.

On the third day, most of us tried to climb to the summit. The snow had fully covered the ground and made the ascension slippery. Despite this constraint, the climbing seemed relatively easy. Sliding on our butts to go downhill was highly enjoyable. Back in my childhood! ;o)

Trekking downhill was physically more exhausting. While muscle pains go away quite quickly, joint pains keep increasing. My back had started hurting on day one but the pain at the knee and ankle levels luckily only appeared on the fourth day. That day (and the next one), I had to cut on my speed, highly frustrated to be limited by my own body.

As expected we reached our ending (and starting) point on the fifth day and went back to Delhi.


My feedback

I LOVED TREKKING!

But truly I was disappointed at some point. On the first day, after a kilometer of trekking, five bags were down. I was really surprised and couldn’t understand it given the quality of our group. In my mind, we would all meet the stated goal or at least all try to go for it. I accept failure but only when the necessary amount of efforts had been beforehand targeted to reach the goal.

I kept that feeling for myself till the last day. Then, during the feedback meeting, it finally went out. True, it brought up some negativity but what is the point of having such meetings, if one can’t speak his/her heart out.

As I am an optimist person by nature, I keep in mind the fact that we all achieved something during the training. We were all at some point hero ;o)

(Chronologically)

-Someone decided to go back to Dodital and tried to reach the summit
… and did so despite a fear of heights.
-Someone tried to carry her bag a second time despite a frail morphology
… and came back to Delhi with two toenails missing.
-Someone decided not to follow the mass by staying in Dodital
… and perfectly adopted the trekker look.
-Someone desperately fought with the slippery snow on the way to the summit
… and almost had to have one of his fingers amputated.
-Someone made it to the summit despite knee problems
… and saved my life by offering me the last piece of her chocolate (Hypoglycemia on the way up).
-Someone made it to the top
… and survived the presence of ghosts around the night camps.
-Someone made it to the summit despite belly cramps
… and survived miles away from the first beauty salon.
-Someone picked up garbages while walking on his first day to clean up the mountain a bit
… and fell from a cliff.
-Someone made his way alone to the summit
… and did so despite kilos of (photo)rolls in his bag and an addiction for pictures.
-Someone proved his team spirit and kept encouraging others
-Someone perfectly coordinated the TSC group
… and both desperately dug into the snow to get one of their shoes back.

On my side, I got the confirmation of a strong will power. I also learned to smoke bidi’s and above all… I managed to remember the (INDIAN!) names of all the team members ;o)

I had decided that this trek would be a solitary experience. I know now for sure that my body can’t easily stop my mind. Next time, I'll be more of a team player.

Looking for...

Wondering if you possibly know where to find Hindi and Indian dance classes in South Delhi, near Alak Nanda market.

Source

Thanks in advance!

Proud to be a Belgian: trade

At last, a fifth part…

Pune, July 21: IT is not the usual suspects - the US or the UK firms - that have emerged on top of the Pune investment brigade. The latest source of fund flow is the ‘Land of Tintin’ famous for its beer and chocolates. Belgian companies, having already marked their presence in Pune’s industrial belt, will be pumping in close to 20 million euro in the next year, mostly for expansion. No wonder then that the consulate has decided to celebrate the Belgian national day in Pune on Friday.

Source

A few facts

Trade

Belgium has emerged India’s second largest trade partners within EU with bilateral trade in 2004 at 6.49 billion euros, 75% of which is in diamonds. India’s aim is to diversify bilateral trade which is dominated by diamonds to areas of information and communication technology, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology where there is a tremendous potential for synergy.

Major items of Indian exports to Belgium are iron & steel products, minerals fuels, oils and products thereof, apparels and clothing accessories, organic chemicals, fishery products, man made staple fibres, electrical machinery etc. Major items of imports to India from Belgium are precious stones and metals, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances, iron & steel products, pharmaceuticals, organic chemicals, plastic & its products, electrical machinery & equipments, photographic & cinematography equipments, measuring equipment, wood pulp etc.

Trade volume between the two countries has increased in a sustained manner since 1993. However, given the size of the India market on one side and the role Belgium could play as a privileged gateway to Europe for Indian products on the other, there are several areas of economic cooperation, where true opportunities can exist.

India is having deficit balance of trade with a number of countries. At the end of fiscal 2001-02, it has unfavourable balance of trade (in US$ million) with countries like Belgium, Germany, UK, Sweden, Finland and Austria. The list was led by Belgium (-1372.38) followed by UK (-402.33), Sweden (-247.44), Germany (-239.75) and Finland (-92.34).

Investment

Today, Belgium is the 9th ranking investor nation in India.

According to the Secretariat for Industrial Assistance(SIA) Belgium’s total investment approvals into India for the period 1991- Sep.,2004 touched a record figure of Rs. 46,402.5 million (approx. US $ 1.2 billion), with 1998 being a particularly good year account for about 80% of this amount. The actual investment flows for this period, however, have not kept pace with the approvals. There are an estimated 231 joint ventures, most in the small and medium category.

The institutional framework for economics, commercial and technological cooperation is well established with the entry into force of the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement and the Bilateral Investment Promotion Agreement in 1997 and of the Agreement on Economics, Industrial, Scientific and Technological Cooperation in 1990.

Credit line

Belgium has made available to India a credit line of approx. US$ 6.6 million for execution of specific development projects. Part of the fund was utilized for setting up electronic postal system in Mumbai in 1995. Subsequently a portion of the credit was used of setting up of a Cyclotron plant in Calcutta in 1999.

Indian companies in Belgium

Indian software companies in Belgium such as TCS. TATA Infotech, HCl and Infosys have set up offices in Brussels and are doing business with Belgian companies. There are also several Indian IT professional employed by Belgian companies executing on-sight IT projects from time to time.

Indian residents in Belgium

The estimated number of Indian nationals and people if Indian origin resident in Belgium are about 7000. In addition, there are about 25000 Indian children adopted by Belgium parents.

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4.

Holi, the festival of colors

Holi is is an annual and popular Hindu spring festival. It takes place over two days in the later part of February or early March. On the first day, a bonfire is lit at night to signify burning Holika. On the second day, known as Dhulandi, people go around until afternoon throwing colored powder and water at each other. A special drink called thandai is prepared, sometimes containing bhang.

Source

Ready to throw some colors!

Most AIESEC trainees were to celebrate Holi together. But before that, I had to safely reach the meeting point. My mobile carefully wrapped into a small plastic bag, I left my place at around 11am wearing my oldest clothes. As my flat is in a really narrow street, the first challenge was to get out of it without being hit by the water thrown from the numerous balconies. Unsuccessful. Completely wet, I finally found a rickshaw to bring me to Lajpat Nagar. On the way, I had to get out of the auto to buy some colors and some festive kids took the opportunity to throw me some green powder. The game had started ;o)

Late (as usual), we finally left the traineehouse in Lajpat Nagar. The Delhi AIESEC members who had (as usual) organized the party didn’t know (as usual) the way. Packed in three jeeps, we drove north for about an hour.

The place was great. The house was of normal size but the garden was huge and really appropriate to play Holi. When we reached the property, dozens of colored kids were already chasing each others. We spend the whole afternoon throwing colors and water, dancing, drinking and playing soccer. Lot of fun!

Coming back by metro and rickshaw, I reached my place at around 10pm. The second part of the game was about to start and, trust me, it was really less enjoyable. Two hours in the bathroom later, I finally emerged almost clean. I had put some oil in my hair to protect them from the paintings but unlike the other trainees, I hadn’t also covered my face with it. Big mistake…

The Smart Cube

With offices in the US, UK and India, The Smart Cube (TSC) is a small and dynamic KPO company specialized in market research. The Delhi office is located in Kalkaji where over 80 people work enthusiastically to bring the best to their foreign clients.

I’ve been working there for the past six weeks and so far my internship has been enjoyable: a young and self-motivated staff, diverse projects, a pleasant work atmosphere and a flexible schedule as long as the deadlines are met.

TSC is extremely well organized, especially compared with many Indian firms. Hence, no time wasted being idle and high productivity is encouraged. Employee-oriented, the company takes great care of its people from medical coverage to free dinner and transportation for those of us staying late at night. In addition, TSC has decided to focus on creating a pool of highly talented and flexible team players and invests tremendously in training and company weekends.

20 of us joined TSC over the past 50 days linked to a high turnover in the industry and the need of a growing company for more employees. People work hard and smart. A seasonality effect? The fiscal year will end soon and, hence, the pressure for fat bonuses is higher ;o) Let’s wait and see…

Working hard... at a company party!

... and at a company training weekend!