Day 1. After a 9-hour flight from Paris, my boss and I arrived to Bangalore.
I was realizing that this business trip was the first opportunity for me to excel in my new position in the company. I was going to spend one week in India to meet Indian colleagues and put in place all the tools and processes on which I worked in order to follow offshore activities, and also one week with my new boss (new since 2 months ago).
The first feeling was good as we had found many subjects of conversation and the communication was very easy and natural. Arriving at the airport, he helped me with my luggage at the airport which was very kind. After exchanging money from euros to rupees, we took the taxi I booked from France to go to the hotel.
I arrived in my room and was so excited. I obviously talked to my friends I was already missing and tried to sleep, it was 4 am local time. We had to go to Cap Gemini the day after in the afternoon, so that we could have some rest.
Day 2. I was so tired that I didn't wake up for breakfast, I met my boss for lunch at the hotel and we started to know each other. I found in him a very open-minded and very interesting guy. He traveled a lot and used to work with people from different countries. Then, we took the taxi to Cap Gemini.
I was impressed by the noise of the traffic and the way of driving of Indians.
I was impressed by the noise of the traffic and the way of driving of Indians.
When we arrived at the building, I saw a lot of security stops and metal detectors, our laptops were daily controlled when coming and when leaving the building.
The working afternoon was very positive for me. I could meet the whole team and talk to them about the problems they encounter every day and I had already come up with a big actions list. Then, the Indian manager took us after work in a good Indian restaurant not far from our hotel. This dinner was the opportunity to talk about business and other subjects and the food was delicious.
Day 3. This day was also very positive and I could see that my boss was satisfied about my work.
He introduced me to a French guy G settled in Bangalore for one year. For dinner, we went with him and his girlfriend to a restaurant in a very luxurious hotel "The Leela". Before leaving France, all the managers who used to go to Bangalore told us to go to this "must see" place.
It was a very nice evening in which we talked of course about business but also about the expatriate life. You have to know that if a French guy has an employment visa for India, his wife or girlfriend does not have the right to work and she can only get a tourist visa. Foreigners are also not allowed to drive in India and they are offered a car with a chauffeur. So F's girlfriend explained to us that she was enjoying her life in India, as she was sleeping a lot, waking up late, doing siestas, doing sports in the coconut house where they live (kind of place where all foreign businessmen live with a lot of facilities), going out with friends to restaurants and shopping, she was also in charge of organizing parties with the French settled in Bangalore.
I personally think that this type of life would not suit me because I would feel useless in the society, or at least I would be in some organizations for example to help Indian women to get more rights. Indeed, an Indian woman does not have a lot of freedom, for instance most of the time she doesn't even choose her husband and discover him the D-Day. I've heard about a true story. The mother of a 22-year-old girl had been showing her daughter's picture to all the families in the district to find her a husband. In India, if you are a girl and you are 22, you have to marry!
It was also amazing to see the difference between G who was quite silent and reserved about his opinion on his life in India (sad because his parents were still far etc) and his girlfriend who said that she would never go back to France.
Day 4. We were off in the afternoon because we wanted to visit the city center of Bangalore. My boss contacted a French guy P who was in the company in Toulouse before having decided to settle down in India. P sent us his chauffeur to bring us to the hotel then to a restaurant where P and 2 French friends of him were waiting for us. The conversation was very interesting and I was impressive but these guys. I could notice that there was a lot of business to make in India.
Then, P told me that if I didn't want to get bothered, I had to buy Indian clothes to be more comfortable. I was wearing a skirt (not a short skirt but normal). My boss told me "we'll go together to a shop and we'll find something for you", I felt very embarrassed...
I was trying first typical Indian clothes, then I finally bought jeans and every time my boss was giving me his opinion. Then the chauffeur took us to P's small company in which he could show us his offices. I was very surprised and impressed by his capacity to start his career alone, he did everything on his own (recruitment, redaction of human resources documents, technical installation etc).
He also explained to us that when first he came with his wife and his 6-month child, he decided to settle down in a typical Indian house in a typical Indian district of Bangalore.
Then, we went to a market before he invited us to his place for a drink before going to a restaurant with Bollywood decoration nearby. The house was very nice and he showed us the method he used to have potable water in the house and all the things they tinkered.
In this market, one guy was looking at me when I was walking with my boss then he came and talked to me while my boss was on the phone. He said that he was an engineer, that he also loved singing and that I could be his bride. When my boss came and watched the scene, he had an argument with him and told me that he would always keep an eye on me. I liked it!
Thus, in two days, we met two couples with different visions about the life in India.
I was trying first typical Indian clothes, then I finally bought jeans and every time my boss was giving me his opinion. Then the chauffeur took us to P's small company in which he could show us his offices. I was very surprised and impressed by his capacity to start his career alone, he did everything on his own (recruitment, redaction of human resources documents, technical installation etc).
He also explained to us that when first he came with his wife and his 6-month child, he decided to settle down in a typical Indian house in a typical Indian district of Bangalore.
Then, we went to a market before he invited us to his place for a drink before going to a restaurant with Bollywood decoration nearby. The house was very nice and he showed us the method he used to have potable water in the house and all the things they tinkered.
In this market, one guy was looking at me when I was walking with my boss then he came and talked to me while my boss was on the phone. He said that he was an engineer, that he also loved singing and that I could be his bride. When my boss came and watched the scene, he had an argument with him and told me that he would always keep an eye on me. I liked it!
Thus, in two days, we met two couples with different visions about the life in India.
Day 5. Friday was the last day of my mission. We had many workshops, recruitment interviews... We had lunch with the two top managers with whom I had empathy and finished the day by meeting the whole team, a speech of my boss and my speech which I think was very good. Then we had dinner all together before my boss left to the airport.
I was excited to stay the week-end and thus have the opportunity to visit the city.
I was excited to stay the week-end and thus have the opportunity to visit the city.
Day 6 (Saturday). I went with 3 colleagues to Mysore, a city not far from Bangalore. We left very early in the morning and had an Indian breakfast on the way.
We stopped in a birds reserve, we took some photos then once arrived in the city, we had a great time and I did many things for the first time of my life: I tried a sari, visited a palace, climbed on an elephant and was invited in an Indian family for dinner. This moment was very interesting for me as I could really discover the way of living of this family and the local culture. The father of my colleague and friend gave us a very warm welcome. The house was full of people: parents, brothers, sisters, sisters-in-law, children, friends etc and everybody was nice. Women were mostly in the kitchen to prepare the meals. I ate with my hands on a banana leaf. Before leaving, my friend's mother came with a small tray with powder and a rose. She did the red powder between my eyes and gave me a rose. His father offered a book for me. I was very affected and did the namaste sign. On the way back to the hotel, I was sick in the car but It didn't matter a lot because I had a new interesting experience in my life that day. My colleagues were worried.
Here are some photos of Mysore:
I could also notice babies walking in the shantytowns and very miserable people living on the road. Sometimes, it is so hard to see such scenes.
Day 7 (Sunday)
The day after, they called me and I was okay so we went to Bangalaore city center, we had a walk in the commercial street, I took the typical taxi and then we had a drink in Hard Rock café with another colleague who joined us.
At night, I was coming back to France.
We stopped in a birds reserve, we took some photos then once arrived in the city, we had a great time and I did many things for the first time of my life: I tried a sari, visited a palace, climbed on an elephant and was invited in an Indian family for dinner. This moment was very interesting for me as I could really discover the way of living of this family and the local culture. The father of my colleague and friend gave us a very warm welcome. The house was full of people: parents, brothers, sisters, sisters-in-law, children, friends etc and everybody was nice. Women were mostly in the kitchen to prepare the meals. I ate with my hands on a banana leaf. Before leaving, my friend's mother came with a small tray with powder and a rose. She did the red powder between my eyes and gave me a rose. His father offered a book for me. I was very affected and did the namaste sign. On the way back to the hotel, I was sick in the car but It didn't matter a lot because I had a new interesting experience in my life that day. My colleagues were worried.
Here are some photos of Mysore:
I could also notice babies walking in the shantytowns and very miserable people living on the road. Sometimes, it is so hard to see such scenes.
Day 7 (Sunday)
The day after, they called me and I was okay so we went to Bangalaore city center, we had a walk in the commercial street, I took the typical taxi and then we had a drink in Hard Rock café with another colleague who joined us.
At night, I was coming back to France.
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire