My name is Alana Hale and I am a graduate student with Walton. I’ll be spending the next three weeks in India, studying the culture and business practices of the country. I’ll be blogging during my time there (complete with pictures!), so that y’all back at home can see what the group is up to.
Right now we’re sitting at the Chicago airport - we have a teensy layover (5 hours…) I figured this would be a good time to give you some info on the process that led up to this trip.
Over the past semester, the group that I’ll be traveling with (all U of A students and faculty) have attended Saturday sessions to prepare ourselves for the culture we’ll be embracing over the next three weeks.
We've had five pre-departure classes meant to prepare us for the time we'll spend in the country. Each class has followed the same layout (presentations, discussion, lunch, Bollywood movie), but has differed in its focus.
Week 1: Intro & Basic Questions
Presentations: Background on certain historical figures (our group: CV Raman)
Movie: 3 Idiots
Week 2: History of India
Presentations: Timeline of Indian History (our group: the Mughal Empire)
Movie: Mr. & Mrs. Iyer
Week 3: Culture of India
Presentations: Art, Music, Language, and Architecture of India (our group: Music)
Movie: Guru
Week 4: India today
Presentations: Foreign policy, Government, and Infrastructure
Movie: Rang de Basanti
Week 5: India today
Presentations: Economy, Culture, and Business Environment (our group: Economy)
Movie: Diwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge
All of the movies were FANTASTIC. If I were to rank them, it would look like this (starting with my favorite):
3 Idiots
Rang de Basanti
Diwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge
Mr. & Mrs. Iyer
Guru
(that was actually difficult. Other than 3 Idiots being the standout favorite, I like the others about the same. You should watch them ALL!)
It’d probably also be helpful to tell you about what I packed. Now, I’ve been abroad four times before, so I’ve become a “study abroad packing pro.” I only brought a mid-sized checked back and a small backpack (we are only going to be there three weeks, but we’ll be traveling through two different climates, so narrowing down clothing choice was tricky).
I ended up bringing:
Clothes (for two different climates)
A jacket
An extra pair of shoes (and flip flops for the shower)
A towel
A sleep sheet
Toiletries
A curling iron & straightener (though I’ve been told I’m not allowed to wear curls while I’m there…crazy things happen when I let my hair stay curly…crazy things)
A first aid kit
Like a thousand batteries (my camera eats them)
My Mountainsmith bag
An umbrella
A small sewing kit (I’ve needed it on every trip I’ve gone on, believe it or not)
Gifts for our hosts
My netbook & charger
My cameras (video & still) and chargers
A teensy tripod
Accompanying cords
My iPod & headphones & charger
A plug adapter (for all those chargers)
My journal
A book for the plane
My passport, ID, credit card, and cash
A folder with all of the information I could ever need
That’s about all I have for now. We’ll be landing in India about 9:35 Monday night (Delhi time), and I’ll update you as soon as I can. ‘Til then!
Right now we’re sitting at the Chicago airport - we have a teensy layover (5 hours…) I figured this would be a good time to give you some info on the process that led up to this trip.
Over the past semester, the group that I’ll be traveling with (all U of A students and faculty) have attended Saturday sessions to prepare ourselves for the culture we’ll be embracing over the next three weeks.
We've had five pre-departure classes meant to prepare us for the time we'll spend in the country. Each class has followed the same layout (presentations, discussion, lunch, Bollywood movie), but has differed in its focus.
Week 1: Intro & Basic Questions
Presentations: Background on certain historical figures (our group: CV Raman)
Movie: 3 Idiots
Week 2: History of India
Presentations: Timeline of Indian History (our group: the Mughal Empire)
Movie: Mr. & Mrs. Iyer
Week 3: Culture of India
Presentations: Art, Music, Language, and Architecture of India (our group: Music)
Movie: Guru
Week 4: India today
Presentations: Foreign policy, Government, and Infrastructure
Movie: Rang de Basanti
Week 5: India today
Presentations: Economy, Culture, and Business Environment (our group: Economy)
Movie: Diwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge
All of the movies were FANTASTIC. If I were to rank them, it would look like this (starting with my favorite):
3 Idiots
Rang de Basanti
Diwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge
Mr. & Mrs. Iyer
Guru
(that was actually difficult. Other than 3 Idiots being the standout favorite, I like the others about the same. You should watch them ALL!)
It’d probably also be helpful to tell you about what I packed. Now, I’ve been abroad four times before, so I’ve become a “study abroad packing pro.” I only brought a mid-sized checked back and a small backpack (we are only going to be there three weeks, but we’ll be traveling through two different climates, so narrowing down clothing choice was tricky).
I ended up bringing:
Clothes (for two different climates)
A jacket
An extra pair of shoes (and flip flops for the shower)
A towel
A sleep sheet
Toiletries
A curling iron & straightener (though I’ve been told I’m not allowed to wear curls while I’m there…crazy things happen when I let my hair stay curly…crazy things)
A first aid kit
Like a thousand batteries (my camera eats them)
My Mountainsmith bag
An umbrella
A small sewing kit (I’ve needed it on every trip I’ve gone on, believe it or not)
Gifts for our hosts
My netbook & charger
My cameras (video & still) and chargers
A teensy tripod
Accompanying cords
My iPod & headphones & charger
A plug adapter (for all those chargers)
My journal
A book for the plane
My passport, ID, credit card, and cash
A folder with all of the information I could ever need
That’s about all I have for now. We’ll be landing in India about 9:35 Monday night (Delhi time), and I’ll update you as soon as I can. ‘Til then!
