Everything really is better...

...when you share it with the ones you love.  Gosh, this is SO true. I didn't even really think about it before going to India.  I mean it's a cliche statement, something we all know, but I especially realized it while I was gone.  I was on this amazing trip, this experience of a lifetime, and so much of my heart was back home.  


Before I left, when I told people I was headed to India for a month, most people would respond with, "What is Jake going to do without you?" or "How are you going to be apart from Jake for that long?" I honestly underestimated it.  I thought to myself, "We're independent, time will fly by, I hate routine and this is a way to shake things up."  But it seemed to have almost shaken it up too much.  


Here I was, in a tropical city while Minnesota was experiencing the below zero deep freeze and record amounts of snow, and I was wishing so badly to be experiencing the trip with the ones I love.  I was staying at the nicest place I've ever stayed, being escorted around by a driver, eating amazing food from all over the world.  When I ate at Zen and ordered a table for one, I truly thought to myself, Gosh, this whole experience would be so much better with Jake here."  


It sounds like a 'duh' statement, I know, but it's a great reminder to not take things for granted.  I really enjoyed my time, and believe me, am so grateful for the experience.  But next time I know not to underestimate the feeling of loneliness, and heck, maybe Jake would like a vacation to India as well!  He'd eat curry, lentils, and paneer, right? (In reality, he'd probably try to survive on naan.)  But it's once again not about the rich, fancy, expensive experience.  It's the enriching, special, fulfilling experience we seek.  Sure, if it can be rich, fancy, expensive, and be enriching, special, fulfilling, well that'd be pretty great too. :)

And The Things I Will Miss.

Obviously I wasn't going to leave it at that!  There are some things I will most certainly miss about India, and hopefully be able to take some of them back with me. :)

• The work day starting around 10am - obviously a plus for me!
• The laid back attitude about time.  While I like things to happen relatively on time, I find myself able to walk slower and talk slower while in India, which is refreshing.
• The ability to meet in person with various people I've built relationships with over time, who normally I just see over video or hear on the phone.
• Even moreso, the awesome friendships I've made.  I will miss being in close proximity to lots of people, but three who stand out: Charu, Nidhi, and Anitha. Their pictures are below :)
• The weather here, which resembles Southern California or Florida pretty much every day of the week.  It hasn't rained since I've been here, nor is there rarely a cloud in the sky!
• The Leela.  This place has been luxurious, and I will miss the warm hospitality I've received on all fronts.
• My daily math practices, which include converting time to Central Standard, converting miles to km, converting fahrenheit to celsius, and pounds to kg.  It definitely keeps the mind young!
• The sense of accomplishment I've had from working on and completing something very big for Target.  I've been able to see transformation in people's ability to do their jobs, and given them tools and skills to better do their jobs.  One guy emailed me and said "I would like to really thank you for all your help in making us better managers and in fact better people in society."  THAT is awesome.
  

 Anitha, Nidhi and me in the Target cafeteria (above); Charu and me at her house for dinner (below)

Things I Won't Miss About India...

So, it's been a great month.  Fantastic, some might say.  I've loved a lot of it, learned a ton about India and myself, and taken a few great tidbits of insight away with me.  I however, will NOT miss the following things:

• Security everywhere.  We get patted down to get on the metro, to go into the shopping mall, and everywhere my car goes, we have to stop and have a mirror on wheels check underneath the car and in the trunk.  For what, I asked? For bombs.
• In India, they drive on the left side of the road.  This means they also WALK on the left side of people.  It sounds simple, but going up stairs, down hallways, etc, it's been tricky to remember to stay on the left!
• Traffic, traffic, traffic.  There is no predictability!  Evern worse, I am not able to drive myself which is really frustrating.  I have to rely on others to find the way, take me places, get me there on time.  While it sounds nice, I will appreciate having my own car!
• Feeling like I just pulled an all-nighter every afternoon around 4pm.  I'm way more exhausted! I think it's the time change, though I never really suffered from jet lag.  Not sure but it's annoying.
• Sensory overload at all times.  The sights, sounds, smells-- these things can put you in a quick daze as it's hard to get away and find some peace and quiet to hear yourself think!
• Due to packing for 1 month, my uber-limited wardrobe is getting annoying.  I've been wearing the same shirts and pants for 4 weeks now, and definitely ready to get home to my closet.  Yes, it makes me appreciate how many clothes I DO have at home!
• Full service everything.  While it does sound nice, it gets old when everyone says "Yes Madam" and everyone is expecting a tip.  The guy who places my bag on the security belt, the guy who pushes the button in the elevator, the woman at the store expecting me to buy not one scarf, but five scarves.  I am independent at home so self service will be much enjoyed.
• Ice water!  We can't have the water here, so I've been missing a nice glass of cold ice water.  Funny the little things you miss, right?

Dr. Shetty = A Real Visionary, Philanthropist

“If you rethink processes, you can have as much or better outcomes.” ~Mani, after our visit with Dr. Shetty


I want to tell you about the best visit of the trip.  It was a life changing visit, to Narayana Hrudayalaya, where we met with the hospital’s founder, Dr. Devi Shetty.  Dr. Shetty is an amazing man, a true philanthropist, idealistic, innovative, and with a strong global mindset.  Smart is an understatement.  Big picture, long term thinker is spot on.


He started by asking us what we think is the #1 industry in the world - guesses?  Food/Agriculture.  How about #2?  It’s healthcare.  The world’s healthcare industry is $4.5 trillion, and $2.5 of that - over half - is from the U.S.  That’s more than double the entire Indian economy ($1.2 trillion)!!  Why is it so expensive??


Dr. Shetty has an analogy, that in the U.S. we have developed the Rolex of healthcare.  What do we need to tell time?  A Timex would do just fine.  Instead of being realistic about quality, cost, and accessibility to all, we have required everyone to buy a Rolex when they really just need a Timex.  Healthcare is the same - and it’s out of control.  How would we downgrade everyone to a Timex so healthcare is accessible for all?  He talked about it being a human rights issue, to deny people the procedures they need to save their lives.  So the surgery costs $8,000.  Do they only get life if they can afford the $8,000?  40 million people in the U.S. have no access to healthcare, but it doesn’t have to be this way.  He explained that the U.S. has one of the poorest values for healthcare, meaning the quality you get for the cost you pay.  


Dr. Shetty looks at it in this way - we have quality healthcare, but we need a mechanism to deliver it to all.  We don’t need R&D to develop new things if we don’t have a way of distributing what’s already available.  The broken link is the delivery process.  He used the mobile phone as an example - mobile phone bills used to be expensive!  Now 750 million Indians have mobile phones - the process of distributing them has allowed for economies of scale to drive the cost down.  So what if we look at the entire world as a healthcare market?  What if - in his example - we added a 10 rupee (23 cents) tax to everyone’s cell phone bill, which was used as an insurance premium and access to healthcare?  Now we’ve hit 750 million Indians.  This will help drive costs down.


Eight years ago, Dr. Shetty started an insurance program at 11 cents per month for Indians.   Now Indians have access to healthcare, and he doesn’t even turn those away who can’t afford the cost.  He said those who can’t pay still help the cause by increasing the order volume.  His surgeons are not paid per surgery, they’re paid a decent salary.  He estimates that surgeons in the U.S. perform 2-3,000 surgeries, while in India surgeons perform that by age 35.  They’re truly technicians, they get in, perform the surgery, and other specialists look after the patients pre and post-op.  


Dr. Shetty’s hospital is for profit - they’re not losing money.  But they’ve managed to find a way to drive down costs and increase accessibility.  In fact, his goal is to have 30,000 beds by 2015!  (He has more than 5,000 right now.)  His way of thinking was profound: “The future is different from the past, not an extension of the past.  Choose a path that will help the essentialities, not the accessories, of life.”  He said that in the U.S. we don’t push hard enough for lower costs, but that while 20th century growth was driven by machines, 21st century growth will be driven by healthcare.  If less than 10% of the world can afford a kidney, heart, or brain transplant, things will change.  We can’t rely on the past to predict the future.  Methods will change; process will change.  Luckily there are guys out there like Dr. Shetty fighting for it - for the health of all people.  

Table for One

Last night I committed a crime - well, according to the book Becky shared with me, Never Eat Alone, it's a crime.  I ate alone.  I requested a table for one. 

It was funny too, because at a hotel that caters to businesspeople, it's quite likely the staff is used to people asking to sit alone at the table.  But they always look a bit sadder when they help you than when you have others at your table.  Two servers asked me if I wanted a newspaper to read, and another stopped by to chat for some time.  Maybe they don't think it's sad, maybe they just want to give me company.  I honestly think it's a good skill to have... the ability to eat alone and be comfortable with it.  Not alone but with a book, or a Blackberry, but to just sit and watch the things going on in the restaurant.  It was fascinating, to have no distractions and just focus on the great food in front of me!  I mean how often do I really just get to sit and enjoy my meal, without the TV on, the (fabulous company of others), or on the phone?  Not very often.


Lucky for me I've had Drew here with me, another Target co-worker I've become friends with during this trip.  I haven't had to eat alone very often!  And the best part of the meal was that I FINALLY enjoyed some really awesome miso soup I'd been craving for a few weeks.  Awesome.

Expat?

During our class we were able to meet with a lot of people with a wide variety of experiences, from native Indians, to global leaders, to Americans on expat assignments for 1-2 years.  One of the leaders we met with last week talked about becoming an expat, moving to another country, the opportunities and challenges with a global lifestyle.  He talked a lot about patience.  This is something I’ve seen tested just over the past 3 weeks!  I have had to completely change my measure of time, of waiting, of success.  It’s all relative, right?  Back home I operate practically to the minute.  If I have to be somewhere at 10:00, I am pulling up somewhere between 9:59 and 10:01.  Traffic is for the most part predictable, as are the expectations of my counterparts.  Here I’ve had to take a deep breath and tell myself, “Who cares?”


He also talked about becoming an expat with family involved.  This trip has definitely made me more interested in some sort of global opportunity.  For any of you who are considering, here are his basic rules:

1. Choose infrastructure (e.g. house, car) that is comfortable/similar to your family
2. Deal yourself with all externalities (e.g. paying bills) and don’t rely on your family/spouse to do this
3. Find some way for your family/spouse to network and vent with people with whom they have a commonality
4. Create networks!  Book club, knitting club, international school, hobbies, lifestyle
5. Maintain equidistance between your home, your work, and your children’s school (if applicable) - make this triangle as small as possible so everything is somewhat closeby - take time out of the unpredictable commute
6. Build a support system both at work and socially
7. First get up on a cell phone, then a car/driver, then get a banking account, then focus on housing.  These are the things to focus on, in that order.
8. Make sure you understand the value of what you’re doing, as this is a once in a lifetime opportunity.
9. Again, be patient!  Patience is the only thing that will help you survive.  It will be tested, but it WILL be worth it.

Staged Growth and Heavy Youth Population

1/11/11
Monday morning in Bangalore.  Amazing.  I can’t believe one week had passed.  Yesterday (Monday) we met with a good friend of Mani’s from Business School and an incredibly insightful man.  


He talked a lot about the challenges and opportunities for India as an emerging economy.  He started with a question - why is traffic so bad?  Answer: Because it’s a “pay as you go” service.  Its developing.  There isn’t money to throw up roads like the U.S.  Countries have to go through phases, so medium-quality roads have to be built before high quality roads can start to find their place.  Because of this, he said India’s economy will always be 20 years behind the U.S., because progress is exactly that, progressive.  Staged.  Phased.


While India is an emerging economy, its $1 trillion GDP is still less than $1,000 per person, compared with $3,000 per person in China and $45,000 in the U.S.  It is expected to grow eight times by 2050!  So although the economy is emerging, there’s still a huge gap in purchasing power for individuals.  On average, things in the U.S. cost three times what they cost in India.  We learned about decent college grads making $900/month salaries, and when you use the multiplier, that means $2,700/month in the U.S.  This looks more comparable.  


The other crazy thing is the large youth population.  A third of India is under age 20 - this IS the future workforce of the world.  By 2020, when baby boomers are all retired, there will be a 17 million shortage of workers in the U.S.  This is a great reason to go global, and while companies realize a cost advantage for building offices overseas (including Target), another key reason is to build a location that can help sustain a quality workforce in 10 years.  So the U.S. has an expected 17 million labor shortage, but India in 2020 will have a 47 million surplus!  Right now they have their pick of jobs, but as the number of graduates continues to increase exponentially, they’re not going to have as many jobs to choose from.  In the U.S. we’re not only going to have less workers, but people are going to live longer (2020 life expectancy in the 90s!) so we’re going to need to work longer and support more elders.  Scary thought!

Quick Update

Gosh I am behind on my blog posts!  The school portion ended last night at Target.  Most of my classmates/friends are en route to Minnesota.  I checked in to the Leela Palace where I'm staying for the next two weeks for work.  Overall, the class was a ridiculous amount of information, insight, knowledge, perspective, and examples of why it is imperative to think globally.  We need global mindsets as we enter the next 10, 20, 30 years of work. I met with so many amazing people!  A quick recap.  We visited with 21 companies/government entities.  We did the following visits:

Delhi:

• Nasscomm
• Delhi Metro
• Gaboli
• Environment Secretary
• Bharti Walmart
• Chintan
• Department of Technology
• United Health Group
• Ameriprise

Bangalore

• Cisco
• Lenovo
• Mu Sigma
• Infosys
• RSP Architects
• Narayana Hrudayalaya Hospital
• Assetz
• Sony
• Madura Retail
• Mindtree
• Teamlease
• Target

I can't wait to tell you about Dr. Shetty and the hospital he started.  It's a crazy vision for an optimistic, idealistic, visionary and impactful man.  I will write about that soon.  For now, off to bed, but thanks for keeping up on my trip!


Allison

Taj Mahal - A Place of LOVE

1/10/11
Today was our first full day in Bangalore!  First impressions are great.  I love Bangalore - way more than Delhi.  More on that later.  For now, I want to write briefly about our 18 hour day trip (6 hours each way!) to Agra to see the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort last Saturday.


We left our hotel at 6:30am and arrived in Agra at 12:30pm.  The bus was comfortable enough, but the weather was COLD.  Like 35 degrees, and no heat on the bus.  Luckily I remembered to bring a blanket from the hotel for Anne and me to stay warm!  We were all freezing the whole ride.

Bus driver warming his feet on the exhaust pipes (above); cow outside McDonald's (below)

Agra is a very touristy town.  Agra has 5 tourist sites, of which the Taj Mahal is of course most popular.  We were able to see two on our day visit - the Taj, and Agra Fort.  Both were impressive and pictures will not do any justice.  It was cloudy/foggy the entire ride to the Taj, and when we got there, the sun burned through the clouds and was beautiful!  Clear blue skies.  Fresh air. (There are laws prohibiting gas cars a certain distance around the Taj to keep air quality high.)  Our tour guide, Furqan Ali (“Ali”) was really good.  He is getting his second PhD, he is a pharmacist and has his first in Medicine, and now is going for  a PhD in Anthropology.  He claims he’s going to be on the National Geographic channel in April - I need to Google him to see if any of this is true. :) 

Either way, a nice guy, history buff, and knew tons of interesting facts about the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort.  He seemed to work as a tour guide because his enjoyed it, it was a passion, not because he needed the money.


The Taj is really a building of love - it reflects the deep love a king had for his queen, as he built this place for her to rest her body when she dies.  Her resting place (the Taj Mahal) is white;  he had plans to build a matching black one next to it for his body, but it never happened.  Both of their bodies are buried here and we were able to walk in and see the above ground replicas of their tombs.  It was romantic in a way, even if over the top and over elaborate.

The building itself is ornately decorated and it is unreal to believe that this was all built by hand.  The bricks are white - a beautiful white that turns bright white midday, and then pink and orange at sunset.  They only allow visitors at sunset 5 days per month - right around the full moon.  Having been to 2 of the 7 Wonders of the World (this and Machu Picchu), it was interesting how different the two are.  Both uniquely impressive, both worth the visit, but highly distinct.

Next we went to Agra Fort and saw this amazing complex of buildings of beautiful red stone.  As we entered both the Taj and Agra Fort, we were bombarded to buy things in the same way movie stars are bombarded by the paparazzi every day.  It was unsettling, stressful, and annoying.  They literally set things on our laps and shoved them in our faces, shouting prices “400, okay 350, okay 300, okay 200 ma’am, okay 150 best price.” This was all in a matter of 25 seconds between the gates and the bus.  Our tour guide helped us buy things cheaply and in peace - another reason we liked him.

Agra was a fantastic day and well worth it. We were able to enjoy a catered meal, private bus, entrance to these two sites, and a visit to a family-owned business (supposedly the descendants of the Taj Mahal family) to observe the creation of such ornate marble décor and buy a few things.  I got 2 coasters which can be used or for decoration.  Knowing I like useful things, what do you think you’ll be able to rest your glass on next time you visit my house?!

Chintan Means "Concern"

1/7/2011
Yesterday (Thursday) we started the morning a bit later.  It was nice to have some time to enjoy breakfast and socialize as a group!  Late morning we went to Chintan, which means Concern in English.  Chintan is a non-government organization (NGO) that was started due to the fact that impoverished people were picking recyclables out of garbage on the streets.  The people who work for Chintan make $90 per month.  They run an operation where they move garbage in and literally pick electronic waste and other recyclables out with their bare hands.  They weren’t wearing gloves!  They SIFT through the garbage, pile by pile.  It was humbling to see, and if you’ve ever had a hard day at work, it’d be good to think of these workers and what they do every day.  

It was also neat to see how hard they work.  They don’t have much, but they weren’t begging for money or food from us.  They just continued to work at their jobs.  Some of the people are in charge of heavier labor like transporting boxes/bags in on carts, heaving it over their shoulders or pulling a huge cart strapped around their waste.  It was like a small community - they seemed to all get along and there was even a small café on the street where some were enjoying a small lunch.  There were dogs (of course) and some children.  I really enjoyed this visit and it was neat to get away from the beaten path of business and see how a small community of workers like this operates and what their lives are like.  Here are some pictures from the experience:

Packages of waste moved in to be sorted (above); a black spot of ashes where people burned garbage to start a fire to keep warm (below).  All over the city, small fires of garbage are started on the sidewalks/streets for the homeless to keep warm.  Saturday the high was 53, low was 39 degrees.  And they don't have heat!

 A puppy sleeping in Chintan on a stack of packages (above); sign for booking scooters to transport packages (below)

 Scooters for transport (above); passenger train (below)

 Chintan workers sifting through garbage piles for e-waste and other recyclables (above).  They work very hard for $90 per month; A brick house near Chintan (below).  This house is actually very sturdy compared to many.

 Recycle sign outside of Chintan (above), writing is in Hindi; piles of garbage waiting to be sifted through (below)

Me at the Chintan sign (above); packages of fruits and vegetables for transport in a neighborhood nearby Chintan (below)

 Gate to Chintan (above); Puppy and its Mama (below)

Transport/manual worker near Chintan (above); Packages for transport - very common on Indian streets (below)

Cows are sacred to Hindus, so not eaten, but used for hauling cargo and often seen roaming the streets.  Cows are all owned by someone (above); Small houses in a village on our drive back to the hotel (below)

Cow used for transport (above); Man selling water on the street (lemons are in the water for freshness - below)

Someone's house in a village on the way back to the hotel (above)