Greetings from somewhere in India. I’m about 30 minutes outside of the city of Hyderabad. For the last two weeks I have lived in an alternate universe.
12 Ways the Universe has Looked:
Immersion: Being one of 2 foreigners with a group of 80 people from all over India
Schedule and Work Ethic: I wake up at 6am each day and finish work by about 10/11pm. People work sun up to sun down, no complaints.
Diet: Except for one day have not eaten any meat
Lodging: I sleep on a small mattress in a room with two other guys
Names: Here are some examples of names I have had to learn: Easy (ish) – Shivani, Alisha, Rima, Nidhi, Jishnu, Aadi, Tushara; Medium – Anand, Lakshmipriya, Ipsita, Divija, Anukshi, Harder – Abhejeet, Jhalak, Vishnavi, Aishwariya, Vaishali, Geetika, Abhimanyu. The pronunciations are not so intuitive. Some vowels and consonants match English or Spanish and others go completely against all the rules I’ve learned. Pat, would love to have a longer conversation with you about this. Before bed each night I would try to memorize the new team member names.
Games: People love games that involve memorization. A very competitive group. This super kind and supportive group takes a 180 degree to a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde thing when when competition happens. One one day we did the “Amazing Race” Team builder. This was my team:
Sports: Cricket is king, followed by soccer. For cricket it seems like people support teams based on their favorite players and not on the city. With this group Chennai Super Kings is everyone’s favorite. Finals are happening now.
Meetings: Meetings rarely end on time. Sometimes going 2 hours over the time limit. People seem ok with that. I have become weary when someone says: “can I talk to you for 5 minutes?” Never is 5 minutes.
Non-verbal communication: Pay attention to it! Feels like there is 10 different types of head nods that mean 15 different things. I’m starting to understand subtle cues but can’t articulate. Here is a YouTube clip that helps explain this:
Team builders: We do a lot of team builders and improv games. For one game we were given 5 situations and you had to take a picture with your group representing each situation. Can you guess which is which?
Keep Going and Planning: The perseverance, adaptability, and resourcefulness of the group here is incredible. For example, every two hours the electricity goes out for some time. On a 105 degree day we lose AC, no internet, and no light. People act as though nothing happened and just keep working. In the states we have internet that works 98% of the time, post-it notes, nice markers, butcher paper, tape, scissors, etc. Those kind of resources and supplies aren’t as plentiful here so you have to be more creative on how you do things. During a talk about the pursuit of excellence the presenter showed some tapes of the Bulls championship run. Gave me goosebumps and brought me back home.
Questions: People often answer a question with a question. You can present a plan to the team. People might love the idea and be totally bought in but will still ask 15 tough questions. Keeps you on your toes.
Debate: Every idea, program, detail is up for debate. Any idea that is brought up be prepared to explain WHY and the research that informs the rationale behind the idea. Not out of malice or even disagreement, but it’s just part of the culture here. By here I mean my place of employment, not sure where else this applies.
Hyderabad: On Sundays I have the day off. Last week went into the city, ate some delicious goat Biryani and walked around a little.
There are some spans of times (30 minutes to a couple days) where I lapse into deep states of confusion. Other moments I forget I am in India and intensely engage in the work and build rapport with the group. As I try to make sense of it all I try to take people’s behavior and apply a norm, attitude or belief to the rest of the country. You quickly realize the country is too vast and diverse to make those assumptions and you go back to the drawing board. Some meals, during a spirited group conversation, I zoom out and think: “damn this is surreal.” Through the good moments and the challenges I continue to learn.
IT Depends...Explain More 