EDGE has ended and the academic year is back in session. It always brightens my day to see an EDGE-er on campus, especially when I see many of them together. I know that the friends I made in EDGE, with the University of Glasgow students, the high school students, and the Columbia students, are ones that I can count on and keep in touch with for years and years to come. Especially for the Columbia students who got to know each other a lot better, there's something notable about being placed in a different environment with 16 people from your own community, and then coming back to sustain those friendships.
This summer was a learning experience, to say the least. I'll spare you and give you the brief version of things I learned from EDGE 2008:
1) There are few things as precious as connecting and being able to relate to someone from a very different background and lifestyle.
2) Anyone can be a team leader, but what really drives the success of a team is the ability for individuals to be team players.
3) Sometimes, to help yourself, you have to help others. It was very rewarding to see the high schoolers mature and grow; investing a little bit of time to help them gain presentation, communication, and technical skills went a long way.
4) Working to live is quite different from living to work. The Scottish mentality of "working to live" demonstrates their ability to accommodate for their personal life, family, and friendships.
5) When in a different environment, step outside of your comfort zone. Sometimes, it's fun to live life on the wild side, to explore a city by bike or foot, to try things you would never try before, and to realize your capabilities by pushing your limits.
6) You are the architect of your own experiences. If a situation turns awry, make what you can of it, and take control of the matter.
7) If things are ever bad, search for the sense of humanity innate in everyone; it's what drives people to care for each other.
8) It's okay to mess up. We learn by growing from our own mistakes.
9) Never underestimate how satisfying a home-cooked meal can really be.
10) Be yourself, and everything and everyone will fall into its proper place.
Friday, 19 September 2008
Wednesday, 13 August 2008
Awards Ceremony
We figured it out. EDGE, you're busted. Give yourselves up now -- we know you're trying to turn the world Scottish.
That was the premise of the 20-minute performance made by our cohort on the final day of the Encouraging Dynamic Global Entrepreneurs program here in Scotland. We based our skit around the idea that Mags, the logistics director of EDGE, was in cahoots with the NEDs of Glasgow and other international University leaders to dominate the globe. To be perfectly subjective (not that I have any bias, right?), of the three cohorts, our performance was the most creative; it
had a plot, and still managed to incorporate a rap song and a bhangra dance.
That night, at the EDGE Awards Ceremony, over 140 students joined their clients, their business advisers, their team mentors, and the different coordinators of the program to celebrate the end of the program. Everyone was dressed up, and most of the men wore kilts. Renting a kilt is an interesting procedure, a bit like renting a tuxedo. Like most guys, I chose not to wear my kilt the "traditional" way; I opted for underwear just in case there were miniature creatures crawling around in the rented kilt.
At the awards ceremony, the dinner was followed by a traditional céilidh (pronounced "kay-lee") dance. After the trial run of the dance at the Highland Games, we were ready for a bigger challenge, and sure were given it by the musicians. But the dance was only part of what made the night so special. The wine flowed, as did the tears eventually, as sentimental goodbyes took the form of strong handshakes and even stronger hugs. Though most of us were seeing each other for the last time, EDGE had been the new beginning for many lifelong friendships.
That was the premise of the 20-minute performance made by our cohort on the final day of the Encouraging Dynamic Global Entrepreneurs program here in Scotland. We based our skit around the idea that Mags, the logistics director of EDGE, was in cahoots with the NEDs of Glasgow and other international University leaders to dominate the globe. To be perfectly subjective (not that I have any bias, right?), of the three cohorts, our performance was the most creative; it
had a plot, and still managed to incorporate a rap song and a bhangra dance.That night, at the EDGE Awards Ceremony, over 140 students joined their clients, their business advisers, their team mentors, and the different coordinators of the program to celebrate the end of the program. Everyone was dressed up, and most of the men wore kilts. Renting a kilt is an interesting procedure, a bit like renting a tuxedo. Like most guys, I chose not to wear my kilt the "traditional" way; I opted for underwear just in case there were miniature creatures crawling around in the rented kilt.
At the awards ceremony, the dinner was followed by a traditional céilidh (pronounced "kay-lee") dance. After the trial run of the dance at the Highland Games, we were ready for a bigger challenge, and sure were given it by the musicians. But the dance was only part of what made the night so special. The wine flowed, as did the tears eventually, as sentimental goodbyes took the form of strong handshakes and even stronger hugs. Though most of us were seeing each other for the last time, EDGE had been the new beginning for many lifelong friendships.
Tuesday, 5 August 2008
Glasgow by Bike
Sorry about going MIA for nearly a month!
Last Saturday, another Columbia EDGEer and I biked up from Glasgow to
Loch Lomond, a 30-mile journey factoring in pit stops and detours. Although it was a bit tiring, the journey was scenic and quite beautiful -- check out the photograph! On the return trip, we ended up biking back at 3 a.m. from Dalmuir and through Clydebank. It was relaxing, perhaps a bit soothing, having the vast night roads of a foreign country all to yourself. Once we crossed the border into Glasgow, we got a helping hand from a jolly old taxi driver, Gordon, who gave us a free lift to our dorms!
That little incident is a good example of Scottish culture. Here's a great thing about Scotland: the people here are in general very friendly. They'll ask you how your day is going and be sincere about it, invite you out to a pub with them, and lend a helping hand when necessary. You can see this caring, people-focused attitude permeate to their work culture; it's not uncommon for most shops to close at 5, and for most workers to be packing up their bags by 4:45. My cousins who visited from India pointed this out too: perhaps living to work, instead of working to live, is the American mentality we have grown way too accustomed to. Sometimes, we lose sight of the friends, family, and humanity that matter most.
In other news, I made some delicious chicken alfredo pizza here with a friend of mine. I'm quite proud of it! I'm used to making pizza with my mom (she mainly takes care of the dough), but making the entire pizza without her help was quite an experience.
We met a Columbia alumnus from the Glasgow region the other day, Martin. He graduated from the School of Journalism just a few years ago, and is now a BBC reporter working in Afghanistan. He told us about some of the challenges he's faced -- learning the language, dealing with the heat -- and it was definitely quite interesting to see how one man could have had such a fascinating gloabl experience.
Anyways, we've finished up our consultancy reports and are now wrapping up our presentations. Only four days until (most of us) head back to the States! I can't believe how time has flied.
Last Saturday, another Columbia EDGEer and I biked up from Glasgow to
Loch Lomond, a 30-mile journey factoring in pit stops and detours. Although it was a bit tiring, the journey was scenic and quite beautiful -- check out the photograph! On the return trip, we ended up biking back at 3 a.m. from Dalmuir and through Clydebank. It was relaxing, perhaps a bit soothing, having the vast night roads of a foreign country all to yourself. Once we crossed the border into Glasgow, we got a helping hand from a jolly old taxi driver, Gordon, who gave us a free lift to our dorms!That little incident is a good example of Scottish culture. Here's a great thing about Scotland: the people here are in general very friendly. They'll ask you how your day is going and be sincere about it, invite you out to a pub with them, and lend a helping hand when necessary. You can see this caring, people-focused attitude permeate to their work culture; it's not uncommon for most shops to close at 5, and for most workers to be packing up their bags by 4:45. My cousins who visited from India pointed this out too: perhaps living to work, instead of working to live, is the American mentality we have grown way too accustomed to. Sometimes, we lose sight of the friends, family, and humanity that matter most.
In other news, I made some delicious chicken alfredo pizza here with a friend of mine. I'm quite proud of it! I'm used to making pizza with my mom (she mainly takes care of the dough), but making the entire pizza without her help was quite an experience.
We met a Columbia alumnus from the Glasgow region the other day, Martin. He graduated from the School of Journalism just a few years ago, and is now a BBC reporter working in Afghanistan. He told us about some of the challenges he's faced -- learning the language, dealing with the heat -- and it was definitely quite interesting to see how one man could have had such a fascinating gloabl experience.
Anyways, we've finished up our consultancy reports and are now wrapping up our presentations. Only four days until (most of us) head back to the States! I can't believe how time has flied.
Wednesday, 9 July 2008
Bhangra on the Loch
In a meeting with a marketing adviser today, I was dozing off when something woke me right up. It was a smell, not necessarily a foul smell, but definitely familiar. I recognized it as a smell from my house, when my mom cooks...
PAKODAS!
I squirmed a little in my seat, wanting to leave the meeting and explore the origin of the smell. As I basked in the ephemeral glory of the delicious scent of burning oil, hydrogenated fats, and greasy goodness, I came to the realization that Indian food is not something to be taken granted for.
Indian food is kind of like Thai food. There are too many arbitrary spices, oils, and ingredients, and too many complicated steps involved in making the actual dish. Ask an Indian person how to make chicken curry, and you run into two problems: 1) they won't know how to quantify how much of anything to put, cuz they eyeball it, and 2) their recipe is different than every other "chicken curry" recipe. Whenever someone asks me if I can make Indian food, I give them an incredulous look. I can mix a factory-made sauce with chicken and warm up some frozen garlic naan. Does that count?
Speaking of food, I've been really good about having breakfast every day! Hopefully I won't be lazy and this trend will continue into the school year.
A brief list of things I've done over the past week:
1) Visited Edinburgh
2) Talked to random strangers about pre-packaged salads
3) Impulse-shopped at grocery stores
4) Explored a historic cotton mill, New Lanark
5) Danced bhangra on a boat in the middle of Loch Katrine
6) Attended, and led one or two, meetings with clients
7) Discovered how to cook chicken
8) Discovered how not to cook chicken
9) Played basketball for three straight hours
10) E-mailed and chatted with new and old friends
11) Gained some understanding about myself as an individual
12) Visited the library & checked out a book, The Kite Runner
13) Rekindled my interest in jazz
14) Baked cupcakes (not from scratch)
15) Skyped home
16) Gained weight!
17) Learned a bit about marketing
18) Played with plastic bubble balloons, or "b-loons"
19) Hung out with friends
20) Ate a half-chicken, baguette, and cheese for lunch. Thrice.
Okay compadres, I'm out. Dinner time!
PAKODAS!
I squirmed a little in my seat, wanting to leave the meeting and explore the origin of the smell. As I basked in the ephemeral glory of the delicious scent of burning oil, hydrogenated fats, and greasy goodness, I came to the realization that Indian food is not something to be taken granted for.
Indian food is kind of like Thai food. There are too many arbitrary spices, oils, and ingredients, and too many complicated steps involved in making the actual dish. Ask an Indian person how to make chicken curry, and you run into two problems: 1) they won't know how to quantify how much of anything to put, cuz they eyeball it, and 2) their recipe is different than every other "chicken curry" recipe. Whenever someone asks me if I can make Indian food, I give them an incredulous look. I can mix a factory-made sauce with chicken and warm up some frozen garlic naan. Does that count?
Speaking of food, I've been really good about having breakfast every day! Hopefully I won't be lazy and this trend will continue into the school year.
A brief list of things I've done over the past week:
1) Visited Edinburgh
2) Talked to random strangers about pre-packaged salads
3) Impulse-shopped at grocery stores
4) Explored a historic cotton mill, New Lanark
5) Danced bhangra on a boat in the middle of Loch Katrine
6) Attended, and led one or two, meetings with clients
7) Discovered how to cook chicken
8) Discovered how not to cook chicken
9) Played basketball for three straight hours
10) E-mailed and chatted with new and old friends
11) Gained some understanding about myself as an individual
12) Visited the library & checked out a book, The Kite Runner
13) Rekindled my interest in jazz
14) Baked cupcakes (not from scratch)
15) Skyped home
16) Gained weight!
17) Learned a bit about marketing
18) Played with plastic bubble balloons, or "b-loons"
19) Hung out with friends
20) Ate a half-chicken, baguette, and cheese for lunch. Thrice.
Okay compadres, I'm out. Dinner time!
Sunday, 29 June 2008
Fanny packs.
Yesterday was the EDGE Highland Games. A bus drove all 144 of us to Balloch, a really beautiful scene of Scottish highlands: rolling hills, ponds of water, open green fields, big trees, and lots of sheep poop.
A few of us took the opportunity to sneak up the tower of the castle and climb onto the roof; it was definitely worth playing hooky for! Ravi and I even had a small bhangra dance class after the games ended; it's really funny to see what their conception of "Indian dance" is (think yoga poses).
Some of it was really fun -- I learned how to shoot a bow and arrow, I chased a pack of ducks around an obstacle course, I laser-shot at flying discs, and I tossed a huge log ("caber"). Some of it was not so fun, like when the "toss the haggis" game turned bad when one of the haggis burst open upon landing. I also learned a new meaning of an American term. Here's a conversation that ensued with two Scottish kids:
Me: I wonder how distinctive we sound with our American accents.
Other Columbia Kid: All we need now are fanny packs, and we'd look like tourists.
*Scottish kids burst out laughing*
Me: What's so funny?
Scottish kid: You said what?
Other Columbia Kid: We'd look like tourists with fanny packs...
*Scottish kids burst out laughing again*
Scottish Kid 1: Do you know what a fanny is?
Me: Your butt?
Scottish Kid 2: No.
And I'll leave the rest for you to deduce. A fanny pack is a bit of a misnomer since American's don't actually wear them at their fannys (by the American definition); they wear them in the front. We learned that they call it "bum bags" over here, which is also a misnomer. Our name would be more appropriate by their definition...
The dryers here don't really dry. It's an international problem among universities, I guess.
What's odd over here is that the major supermarkets -- Tesco, ASDA (a part of Wal-Mart), Sainsbury's, etc. -- are all also financial firms. That's right, the same place where you get your apple juice and cereal is also the place where you get your car insurance and home mortgage. Hungry? Why not protect your assets while you're at it?
This week at work, we were assigned our homespaces (offices) and we visited our clients. Of our cohort, we were the unluckiest group in terms of homespace. Our homespace is about the size of my dorm room here, with one table and six computers crammed in, which offer restricted access to most websites (no gmail!). That's okay though, because our projects are still pretty cool, and our team works well together.
There's a decent Indian food presence in the fast food and the frozen food sectors here. I've tried the frozen chicken makhani and chicken korma here, and it's pretty good. Still, it doesn't really compare to my mom's food. (Hi Mama!)
Okay children, good night.
Sunday, 22 June 2008
The Glasgow Smile
It's been a week since I first came to Scotland!
A lot of the other students in our cohort were surprised that the American kids weren't that dominating or obnoxious, and that we were friendly. Messing with their preconceptions is always fun. Today, a few of us convinced a high school student that in America, water is rationed as a public good, and that American kids are indoctrinated from a very young age that "The government is always right."
Payday was on Friday. They pay the American kids in cash. Woohoo! That's such bad accounting practice. Claire Eckstein would not be happy. SDA would not approve.
Glasgow has this really cool mall slash entertainment center called XSCAPE. Inside is a rock climbing course, an indoor ski slope, an arcade, a movie theater, a roller coaster, bowling, mini golf, fancy restaurants, and shopping venues. It's pretty sweet; I wish the U.S. had something like that. I went rock climbing (my first time!), which was a lot of fun. I definitely want to go in the city sometime.
I learned of this thing called the "Glasgow smile" the other day. Wikipedia defines it as "the practice of cutting a victim's face from the edges of the mouth to the ears: the cut - or its scars - form an 'extension' of what resembles a smile." Anyways, needless to say, we were all pretty scared, but we've been assured that we're in a pretty safe area, and we have little to worry about. Still, some Scottish guys can be aggressive. A few of us were playing frisbee in the park and were joined by some Scottish kids. One of them accidentally threw the frisbee into a guy walking in a group beside us, who proceeded to kick the frisbee. The Scottish guy who mis-threw the frisbee went up and started bumping chests with the other dude, and eventually a few fists were thrown. Silly children.
Time for the lesson of the day.
BRIEF LANGUAGE LESSON: SCOTTISH 101
Glasgow smile = something you don't want to get
NED = Non-Educated Delinquent (think: hicks)
haver = talking rubbish
rubbish = trash
haggis = traditional Scottish meal
em = um
blutered = drunk
tartan = criss-cross pattern found on kilts
second name = last name
aye = yes
The University kids are really chill, and are good hosts too. They give us all the inside info -- what to buy, where to eat, where to go out, etc. -- and even invite us over to their places. I'm in a group with two other Uni (yes, they abbreviate it here) kids, two high school kids, and a Columbia girl, Sue. We work pretty well together, which is good.
Our adviser from Columbia was really nice, and she treated us all to really really good Indian food the other day at this place called Ashoka! The Indian waiter was acting really pushy and was trying to hustle some more money out of us by ordering us extra food before we requested it. Gosh, I miss my mom's home-cooked food.
Tonight I'm going to go to a pub to watch the soccer -- woops, I mean "football" -- match. Soccer is pretty fun to watch, it's a shame that the U.S. is not big on international sports.
Stay safe, children!
A lot of the other students in our cohort were surprised that the American kids weren't that dominating or obnoxious, and that we were friendly. Messing with their preconceptions is always fun. Today, a few of us convinced a high school student that in America, water is rationed as a public good, and that American kids are indoctrinated from a very young age that "The government is always right."
Payday was on Friday. They pay the American kids in cash. Woohoo! That's such bad accounting practice. Claire Eckstein would not be happy. SDA would not approve.
Glasgow has this really cool mall slash entertainment center called XSCAPE. Inside is a rock climbing course, an indoor ski slope, an arcade, a movie theater, a roller coaster, bowling, mini golf, fancy restaurants, and shopping venues. It's pretty sweet; I wish the U.S. had something like that. I went rock climbing (my first time!), which was a lot of fun. I definitely want to go in the city sometime.
I learned of this thing called the "Glasgow smile" the other day. Wikipedia defines it as "the practice of cutting a victim's face from the edges of the mouth to the ears: the cut - or its scars - form an 'extension' of what resembles a smile." Anyways, needless to say, we were all pretty scared, but we've been assured that we're in a pretty safe area, and we have little to worry about. Still, some Scottish guys can be aggressive. A few of us were playing frisbee in the park and were joined by some Scottish kids. One of them accidentally threw the frisbee into a guy walking in a group beside us, who proceeded to kick the frisbee. The Scottish guy who mis-threw the frisbee went up and started bumping chests with the other dude, and eventually a few fists were thrown. Silly children.
Time for the lesson of the day.
BRIEF LANGUAGE LESSON: SCOTTISH 101
Glasgow smile = something you don't want to get
NED = Non-Educated Delinquent (think: hicks)
haver = talking rubbish
rubbish = trash
haggis = traditional Scottish meal
em = um
blutered = drunk
tartan = criss-cross pattern found on kilts
second name = last name
aye = yes
The University kids are really chill, and are good hosts too. They give us all the inside info -- what to buy, where to eat, where to go out, etc. -- and even invite us over to their places. I'm in a group with two other Uni (yes, they abbreviate it here) kids, two high school kids, and a Columbia girl, Sue. We work pretty well together, which is good.
Our adviser from Columbia was really nice, and she treated us all to really really good Indian food the other day at this place called Ashoka! The Indian waiter was acting really pushy and was trying to hustle some more money out of us by ordering us extra food before we requested it. Gosh, I miss my mom's home-cooked food.
Tonight I'm going to go to a pub to watch the soccer -- woops, I mean "football" -- match. Soccer is pretty fun to watch, it's a shame that the U.S. is not big on international sports.
Stay safe, children!
Monday, 16 June 2008
Hello, Scotland
I've decided to keep a blog about my adventures in Scotland. Hopefully I'll update it every once in a while, but if I don't, please be sure to bug me to do so!
For those of you who don't know, I'm in Scotland with 15 other Columbia kids for EDGE, an 8-week entrepreneurship and consulting program. The program is run under Scottish Enterprises, and we team up with University students in China, Canada, and Glasgow, as well as a bunch of local high schoolers. There are three cohorts, and we're in the University of Glasgow cohort, so we basically don't interact with the other international students.
My journey to Scotland was a bit painful; the whole trip took about 25 hours, from the time I left my house to the time I got to my dorm in Glasgow. Friends, it should only take that long to go to India, not the United Kingdom. Anyways, after sitting next to a man who took up a third of my seat as well as the entirety of his, I reached London with just 70 minutes before my next flight. By the time I got through immigration procedures, my flight had already took off.
Woops.
Luckily they put me on the next flight without much hassle, but the caveat was that I was stuck in the London Gatwick airport for an additional 8 hours. I borrowed some dude's cellphone to tell the Scotland people I was coming late, but then I realized that I should probably inform my parents as well. First, I checked out the telephone booth, which charged 4 pounds per minute.
BRIEF MATH LESSON:
4 pounds/minute X 2.1 USD/pound X 3 minutes (GOOD LUCK explaining to your Indian parents why you're stuck in a foreign airport in less than 120 seconds.) = $25.20
$25.20!? I could buy 6 happy meals with that kind of money. Who in their right mind would pay $25.20 to make their parents nervous and panicked? Anyways, I found an e-mail station and just e-mailed my parents. Problem solved, all for just 1 pound.
Speaking of 1 pound, there's this wonderful little supermarket (if you can even call it that) which sells gourmet frozen foods (spicy fried chicken anyone?) for only pound per box. What a steal! Ironically enough, the place is called Iceland...though it does sell fancy foods that aren't frozen, such as cheap wine, teacakes, and stale meat.
The gym here sucks. But the rooms are nice; we even have individual bathrooms, and showers which flood the bathroom (it's desi style baby! about half a foot between the shower and toilet, and no distinct areas for each) while the curtain sticks to you -- ever wonder how many other people it has clung on to? hahah
Today our EDGE training started. It was pretty routine, although my one complaint was that the icebreakers didn't really help us to get to know each other, it only pointed out the vastness of EDGE participants. For you Lions -- you know how Columbia keeps tooting its diversity horn? Diversity initiatives. Diverse campus. Diverse student body. When the Columbia kids walked into the seminar with the other participants in our cohort, we did a double take: what's this? They're all white! Okay, give or take two or three kids, we added the only form of diversity there was to that room.
Moral of the story: appreciate diversity while it lasts. Because reality is nothing like what's inside Columbia's gates.
For those of you who don't know, I'm in Scotland with 15 other Columbia kids for EDGE, an 8-week entrepreneurship and consulting program. The program is run under Scottish Enterprises, and we team up with University students in China, Canada, and Glasgow, as well as a bunch of local high schoolers. There are three cohorts, and we're in the University of Glasgow cohort, so we basically don't interact with the other international students.
My journey to Scotland was a bit painful; the whole trip took about 25 hours, from the time I left my house to the time I got to my dorm in Glasgow. Friends, it should only take that long to go to India, not the United Kingdom. Anyways, after sitting next to a man who took up a third of my seat as well as the entirety of his, I reached London with just 70 minutes before my next flight. By the time I got through immigration procedures, my flight had already took off.
Woops.
Luckily they put me on the next flight without much hassle, but the caveat was that I was stuck in the London Gatwick airport for an additional 8 hours. I borrowed some dude's cellphone to tell the Scotland people I was coming late, but then I realized that I should probably inform my parents as well. First, I checked out the telephone booth, which charged 4 pounds per minute.
BRIEF MATH LESSON:
4 pounds/minute X 2.1 USD/pound X 3 minutes (GOOD LUCK explaining to your Indian parents why you're stuck in a foreign airport in less than 120 seconds.) = $25.20
$25.20!? I could buy 6 happy meals with that kind of money. Who in their right mind would pay $25.20 to make their parents nervous and panicked? Anyways, I found an e-mail station and just e-mailed my parents. Problem solved, all for just 1 pound.
Speaking of 1 pound, there's this wonderful little supermarket (if you can even call it that) which sells gourmet frozen foods (spicy fried chicken anyone?) for only pound per box. What a steal! Ironically enough, the place is called Iceland...though it does sell fancy foods that aren't frozen, such as cheap wine, teacakes, and stale meat.
The gym here sucks. But the rooms are nice; we even have individual bathrooms, and showers which flood the bathroom (it's desi style baby! about half a foot between the shower and toilet, and no distinct areas for each) while the curtain sticks to you -- ever wonder how many other people it has clung on to? hahah
Today our EDGE training started. It was pretty routine, although my one complaint was that the icebreakers didn't really help us to get to know each other, it only pointed out the vastness of EDGE participants. For you Lions -- you know how Columbia keeps tooting its diversity horn? Diversity initiatives. Diverse campus. Diverse student body. When the Columbia kids walked into the seminar with the other participants in our cohort, we did a double take: what's this? They're all white! Okay, give or take two or three kids, we added the only form of diversity there was to that room.
Moral of the story: appreciate diversity while it lasts. Because reality is nothing like what's inside Columbia's gates.
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