A Wing and a Prayer

I have been trying to not write this blog, I mean how many people out there are already 'dissing' the airlines and the airports and travel in general, what can I really add. Plus I already ranted about my trip here, do I really have the right to complain a second time. Well, I do and you have the right to ignore me and I would understand if you did.

The trip to the Airport was the typical Tilt-A-Whirl experience. I think the driver had decided that I had not seen enough of the city's underbelly so he decided to take the (non) scenic route to the Airport but we arrived alive and unscarred and in India this is something of which you dream whenever you get into a vehicle. People insisted that I leave what I thought was ridiculously early, four hours before my flight and though I thought it unnecessary, I acquiesced and went early. What no one mentioned is that you must pass through Immigration to LEAVE the country. Did anyone in this incredibly long line give any thought as to what would happen if they could not pass the immigration inspection LEAVING the country. If I fail then would I have to STAY? Am I the only person to which this makes no sense.

Nevertheless, I didn't fail and was passed through to security which was the typical inspection to make you feel safe and sent off into the terminal. At this point I began to relax a little, I am a little closer to home. Am I truly in a hurry to be home? Of course, I want to see my family, eat something familiar, drive on a road where people stop for stop light. Mostly though at this moment, I just want the traveling part to be over.  They call the plane and we get in another line which is moving incredibly slow until I realize we are going through security AGAIN, so off come the shoes again another pat down and another line at the front of which is ANOTHER security check. Are people just justifying there jobs at this point?

The plane to Amsterdam was interminable but the flight staff was nice and the food (after six months of starvation) was heavenly. Over the two flights to get home, I ate more than I had eaten in the past week.  I also caught up on my movie viewing over the two flights. In Amsterdam at the next security checkpoint they made me take off my belt. I had lost 10 inches on my waist, I said, "If I take off my belt, my pants will fall down." The rude reply was "You could buy smaller jeans." The urge to strike him was strong and the filter that keeps a person from doing it was weak due to the fact that I had now been awake for 24 hours but I resisted.

Safely home, one final insult awaited me. The company who was contracted to pick me up was a no show. The only reason that I am not posting their name has nothing to do with any fear of being sued since the truth is a defense against libel, it is simply that I cannot remember their name.  Feel free to check with me before hiring anyone out of Detroit, I will find out for you. I made it home nonetheless.

Safely in the arms of my family, I am unpacking and sorting, I notice that my nail clippers have been removed from my suitcase. My nail clippers have been removed from my suitcase that was checked into the baggage compartment. Let's see if I understand this -- A pair of nail clippers buried in my suitcase which in turn is buried in the belly of the plane to which I would have had to fight my way down, then root around for possibly hours before I found my bag, only to return to the cabin to what, give the pilot a really bad manicure. Please.

So enjoy your next plane ride, I know I will.

The Grinch Who Left India

Every Indian down in Indiaville liked India a lot but the Grinch who lived West of India...did not. It may have been because his shoes were too tight , it may have been because his heart was two sizes too small but staring down from his hotel with a strange grinchy frown. "I must find some way to get out of this place! For tomorrow, I know, all those Indian Drivers will rush to their cars then the noise noise noise noise, there's one thing I hate, all the noise noise noise noise. They'll squeak beep and tweet, they'll blow all their horns." The Grinch sighed some more, ``Then the Indians down in Indiaville will sit down to a feast, they will feast and they will feast and they will feast feast feast feast. They will feast on Spicy Dal with Spicy Masala Rice and Spicier Masoor Dal on the plate to the right. They will eat Spicy Palak Paneer with Spicier Tandoori Chicken. They will even put chili powder on their Fruit Salad piled high. Then they will do something I hate most of all, they will turn on the music and a singer will start singing. She will sing and she will sing and she will sing sing sing sing in that high alto range which makes my ears ring."

The more the Grinch thought about it the more he knew. ``I must get back to the West, why for 153 days I have put up with it now, I must find a way...but how?`` Then the Grinch got an idea, he got an awful idea, the Grinch got a wonderful awful idea. ``I know what to do`` said the Grinch with a sneer ``I`ll buy a ticket on one of those great silver birds, that`s how I will do it, I`ll go back to the West``. He crept down the stairs, his bags in his hands, the lobby was dark, the guests in their rooms. He stuck his head out into the warm Indian night then he slithered and slunk with a smile most unpleasant out to the cab stand and stuffed his bags in the boot one by one.  Then he slunk to the Ice Box where he didn't take the Spicy Bhaji and the Spicy Masala Dosa, he left the Son Papdi, the Rasgullah, the Jangri, and Lassi. The Grinch even left the last can of Gulab Jamb.

It was a quarter of dawn when he packed up his cab, his clothes and his trinkets packed into his bags. An hour to the Airport, up up up did he travel. At the terminal he paused, looking around, and the Grinch with his Grinch feet very far from the snow stood puzzling and puzzling, ``Why don`t I want to go? With all the noise and the dust and the heat and the smog! Why wouldn't I want to leave this behind?`` He puzzled and puzzled til his puzzler was sore, then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. "Maybe it isn't about what you are doing or even where you are doing it, maybe perhaps it`s a little bit more. Maybe it is about the people you meet when you journey near and far. The honest, open and real people who take you into their hearts." What happened then, in Indiaville they say, the Grinch`s small heart grew three sizes that day. Then the true meaning of India came through in a flash and the Grinch found that he had the strength of ten Grinches....plus two. Now that his heart didn't feel so tiny, he was able to board the plane in the early morning light. Though he was leaving India for his home in the West, India would never ever leave him and wasn't that best!

Top Ten Things I Will Miss

It is sad that India is so far away from my home, what a wonderful place to visit:

10) The People: I injured myself the other day, not too serious but I cut my arm fairly deeply when I banged it on a car door. The genuine concern was overwhelming, maybe even a little embarrassing. One person has made it his personal project to nurse me back to health. He brings in cotton and gauze and bandages and antiseptic and ointments and tends to it everyday. He consulted with his sister who is a doctor on how to properly assist me. Previous to this, I had spoken to this person only once which is a testament to him.

9) The Food: "Wait! That was on your 'Things you won't miss' list?". Well, I have lost 8 inches on my waist and at least two shirt sizes since I have been here. I cannot say for sure but I estimate the weight loss at upwards of 40 pounds which I can mostly attribute this to NOT being able to find food that I like and not having the cornucopia of choices that are available in NA. There is a secondary benefit which has been having a limited number of meat choices which is something that I have already been trying to cut back.

8) The Weather: Yes, I know I complained about the sameness of everyday weather but my NA home  is going through one of the worst Winters, certainly in my memory, and it appears that it may not be cleared up by the time I return.

7) The People: I am often times invited on excursions. One person in particular has taken me sightseeing on several short trips to different points of interest in the local area on his own time just because he knew I was interested. He doesn't gain anything by doing this, he just wants me to enjoy my time here.

6) The Prices: Apartments are generally owned which in NA, we would call this a Condominium. This is called a home since very few people own land. Although prices for a Condo could easily reach into the millions, a condo in a luxury building in a suburb can be had for $75,000 (Cdn).

5) The People: The people I have been training have embraced my training and in turn made me look good to my managers.

4) The Food Portions: Everything here is sold in smaller versions when compared to NA, a Large size here would correspond to a Medium in NA and there is no Extra Large or Super Size. This has caused me to rethink how much food and/or beverage I might need at one time and I hope this lesson stays with me on my return to NA.


3) The People: Being here has made me re-examine my concepts of friendship. People here are very open and pursue friendship easily even with someone as insular as myself.

2) The Prices: Everyday goods such as food and clothing are about one-third the price you will find them in NA. Less if you shop markets rather than malls. Even prepared foods such as McDonalds are half or less the price you will find it in NA.

1) The People: One person here has been making food specifically tailored to my taste buds. These are local dishes for which she cuts back on the spice to make them more palatable to my weak taste buds. This is something she decided to do on her own just because she knew I was struggling with the local food. I did not ask her to do this but I will be eternally grateful for her intervention.

 Feel free to invite me back.

Top Ten Things I Won't Miss:

No matter where you go when you travel, you will find things you wish were different:

10) The Sameness: When we Northerners take our Winter vacations in the south we marvel at how green

things are but we don't live there where nothing ever changes, the circle of life (and death) exists here but is far less obvious than when the leaves fall, then the snow covers the ground, then the trees buds and then the leaves are back. Without a Fall and Winter, there is no Spring, only endless Summer.

9) The Noise: Mumbai and most other municipalities is an assault on the senses, especially the auditory sense. The traffic noise is loud and constant, quitting only in the wee hours of the morning for only a short time. It is very difficult to get use to the loud deisels, the unmuffled rickshaws, and the constant horn honking as drivers jockey for position on crowded roads.

8) The Dust: Albeit this is not the Rainy Season but because of this the dust builds and builds and coats everything, the streets, the sidewalks, the cars and even the leaves of the plants until the whole countryside is dun coloured.

7) The Music: Sorry to all you World Music Fans, Indian Music hurts my ears. Indian Songstresses sing in the Alto and above range as compared to the NA songstresses who are generally in the soprano range. Men often sing in Falsetto, a style that went out in NA in the Fifties.

6) Taxis and Rickshaws: 'nuff said!

5) The Staring: I have mentioned this before but it bears another mention, Indians stare and there is nothing you can do about it. They will stare at you unwaveringly. Staring back does not stop it nor does nodding acknowledgement. I continue to use my strategy of "passive ignoring", look just to the left or right of the starer(s) as if there is something more interesting just over their shoulder. You might consider mirrored sunglasses as another form of passive ignoring but there is nothing that will stop them from staring.

4) The Vigilance: I am constantly on edge about from where the food or especially the water came. I ask for drinks without ice, and if they put ice in it, I take it out. Mumbai is famous for "street food" and the food itself is probably quite safe but if you take a moment to look around you will see they are cleaning the dishes and utensils in a bucket of dirty water.

3) The Spicy Food: 'nuff said!

2) The Pollution: Several Indian Cities have been designated as "Killer Cities" due to the toxic air quality. For Air quality, of the Top Ten Most polluted cities four are found in India with New Delhi being singled out as amongst the worst in the world with air pollution 60 times higher than what is considered safe. When measuring water pollution, Vapi, a city just north of Mumbai, has 96 times the mercury levels that the WHO considers safe.

1) The Bustle: Not being from a Metropolitan Area, I am not used to crowds and the crush of people. Of the top 20 twenty cities in the World as measured by population density, 10 of them are found in India so almost all localities here are heavily populated. As a result, sometimes the niceties are lost. If I am waiting in line for a train ticket and I leave more than a couple inches between myself and the next person, someone will step in front of me. The most recent time, I was next to be served, probably five people behind me and a man stepped in front of me. Sarcasm is lost on people that do not speak English, because when I said, "That's okay, I wasn't standing in line, waiting for a ticket.", all he understood was "ticket" which he took to mean that I needed his help to buy a ticket. A strange mix of disrespect to me and everyone else in line but polite enough to want to help me buy a ticket. At the pantry at my worksite, if I am placing my order, people I know will reach across the counter or over my shoulder to make a purchase. At my most recent visit to Starbucks, I was third in line, a European woman was second, an Indian was first and another Indian man walked around us all and stepped in front of the first person. The European woman shooed him away for which I was quite surprised but still pleased to see.

Despite this list, I would happily come back. Look forward to my Top Ten Reasons I Wish I Could Stay.

Who Taught You That?

I have always intended that my blog have two main focuses (focusi?). First, it is an opportunity for me to try to make sense of the differences between our two cultures which helps me to keep smiling my way through my day even when adversity comes as it so often does. Second, I hope to create a base for NA travelers or workers to be able to align themselves more quickly to what is a culturally polar to their previous experiences. I said at the beginning that I am on a `skills transfer`, bringing Western Ideas and Strategies to the East. Without bragging too loud, this has been successful, there has been a measurable increase in performance but as my time winds down, my Managers in NA are asking how are we going to make sure that these lessons `stick`. How will we be sure these strategies can be maintained or possibly even flourish after I depart.

In NA, we push logic, in fact we teach "Critical Thinking" in our schools. If A = B and B = C then A = C. It allows or evens demands that students think about what they are learning, to be able to place facts into larger contexts. In India they teach by rote and require blind acceptance of their students. They cram information into students and the students are expected to spew it out without question. I have had the fortune of having long discussions with parents with school age children and although the children are filled with information, without the ability to question  the information, facts become jumbled and often misapplied. Without the ability to integrate information, to put it in logical order, you cannot be sure if the information is even correct. Students are never asked questions directly, teachers ask group questions and students answer in GroupSpeak, multiple people answering in unison. As part of a group your knowledge is limited to that of the group, you will not exceed your group.

Knowledge and intelligence are not the same thing. Indians are very intelligent and for the most part, well schooled but individuals will not stand out for fear of being found wrong which in turn colours everything they do. Fear of saying anything lest you be found to be wrong, even if you are not wrong. Fear of offering an opinion or suggesting a change no matter how beneficial on the off chance that you someone will disagree. Senior management encourages this silence because it makes people easier to manage. If no one offers an opinion then there is nothing to discuss. As a management style, it is the most comfortable way to manage. If no one offers a counter suggestion or a new idea then the status quo reigns supreme.

Think about all the successful Indians in Multinational Corporations, look at their resumes and you will discovered that they are Western Trained. The most recent example to come to mind is that of Satya Nadella, the new CEO of Microsoft. He first studied at the University of Bangalore, then the University of Wisconsin, then the University of Chicago. Indians bring their intelligence to the NA but then must learn Critical Thinking to be successful in NA. India is a battleship and as such it needs to be nudged slowly onto a new (Global?) course. Management must believe that it is possible and right now, management does not. Senior management does not even need to use intimidation to rule, they are followed because that is how it has always been. Even if change is necessary, they do not have to convince anyone because no one will argue. As a result, change is rarely made since change comes as a result of a recognition that not everything is working well. Furthermore, change is not always top down and this is something that is clearly missing. Since the people at the pointy end do not offer suggestions, management may or may not be aware that change is necessary.

While we in NA may disagree and while it may seem antithetical to us, to an Indian Business Manager, this all makes sense. Most Indian Business Managers were trained in the Indian System, rose up through the Indian Ranks and never went afield unless it was on vacation. Indians who train in NA stay in NA. So an Indian only sees a different style when someone from NA comes over to impose their will and with their History of Colonialism going 600 years back (or further), most Indians have learned to nod (waggle) their heads like they agree and just wait for the Westerner to leave (because the Westerner always will) so they can go back to Business-As-(Indian)-Usual.

It is unfair to suggest they are "doing it wrong" even if it doesn't make sense to a NA and no matter how many times a NA will tell or even show them how to do it differently, the lessons cannot 'stick'. Maybe the skills transfer should be done in reverse. Since a NA is highly unlikely to move permanently to India, maybe the Indian Manager (or manager-to-be) should be brought to NA for enough time to be immersed in the new behaviours before introducing these behaviours into the Indian office environment.

Be Different

I have always posted original work but I today I am offering up a speech done by my son, Joshua, when he was 13 years old. I have two reasons for posting this work. First, normal fatherly pride and second, it dovetails nicely into my next post (details withheld at this juncture).

It's called Be Different, by Joshua M. (Please do not copy/steal, for this speech is my son's and I am placing his copyright on it right here)

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Before I begin, I wish to have your full attention. Now, I want to give you a task, so listen closely. With my words, I want you to compare them to whom you are now, and how other people see you. Simply picture yourself in the places I will ask of you to be in, not as a hypothesis, but as a demonstration of the truth. Now then, teachers, judges, fellow classmates and all fellow people of the world, my name is Joshua Mitchell, and I wish for you to never forget that name, as I wish for nobody to forget yours either. I want to be remembered long after I die, and I want to be remembered as more than 'just another person'.

How many people are in this world? What is it now, seven-billion or more? And among those, how many of you are there, as a person? I think it's one, or something close, not too sure. Either way, how many gallons of water are there in the sea? Or grains of rice in bag? Many. It doesn't seem to matter if you drained a gallon of water from the sea, nor if you spilled a single grain of rice. Well, really, how is any of it different than a single person living a normal, albeit mediocre, life ? I mean, with all these people in the world, one of them doesn't really matter. But, what if you were simply a grain of rice? If you had dropped on the floor, nobody's going to really care, would they? Unless, of course, that grain of rice was actually a pebble of gold.

'What's your point?,' you may be asking. It's simple.

I don't want to be a grain of rice, a chunk of salt or a star in the sky. I want to be the shining sun that outshines any candlelight in the daytime sky. We all want to be suns, but alas, we aren't. But do we want to be forgotten? Never. But out of the billions of people living in the world and the billions dead, with all these famous names such as Aristotle, Micheal Jackson and Abraham Lincoln, can we really make a name for ourselves ?

Yes, yes we utmost definitely can. But how?

By being different. There are hundreds of artists, poets, musicians, intellectuals, etc in the world, but just because many of them can think but can't do big, and neither can we, it doesn't mean we cannot think of the present, and our own community.

The point is, that you must be different, be absolutely different. If you're quiet, and I know many of you are, be loud, for the world is a crowded room of people saying their name. Some speak, some yell and scream, some can buy megaphones, but some, likely you, whisper their names. We whisper because we don't have the courage to be ourselves. That's the number one step. You might say 'But I am myself, I am quiet', you're wrong. Every human mind screams equally as loud as each other, it's those who are willing to speak equally as loud that are heard. Writers, artists, politicians, inventors, company founders, mathematicians, teachers, scientists, doctors, electricians, lawyers, kings, comedians and even cooks all express their ideas, and many of them do it loudly.

But I'm not telling you to think of the future, think of the present.

Be extremely different! Do community service, persuade others to do things, explain your thoughts, dress like an alien, have a different hairstyle every day, end every sentence with the phrase 'da ze', talk to anybody about anything, search for aliens, practice magic tricks, sing in your favorite language, show your face, humiliate yourself, do ANYTHING to get people's attention! Don't be afraid to embarrass yourself, for it's better than not being noticed at all.

"Life is what we make it , always has been, always will be." That was the quote of the day when I started writing this after lying in my basement trying to come up with a speech topic. That quote was by none other than Grandma Moses, a woman who entered an art career at an advanced age, whose pictures had become famous simply because she had a joy for art, of which she expressed even when she was old and retired. See, she wanted to make a name for herself, and she did alright. And what she did was a fact, always has been, always will be. Anything that happens in real life, anything you do, no matter how unnoticed it may be, will be a fact, it always has been, and always will be, and that is irreversible.

Did you live your life whispering? Or did you live life shouting? Are you a grain of white rice, or will you be a grain of brown rice mixed in a white batch?

If you are, your contrast is just as golden as a shining sun.

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(Yes, I know there are some errors but overall I think the message is pretty clear.)

My son has reminded me to make my voice heard because anything that I want to say can and will matter.  I, too, will strive to leave my mark in this world.

Hey Buddy, Stay In Your Own Lane!

I know that an Indian thinks it is normal that a pedestrian crossing the road WILL BE honked at by several drivers; that a motorcyclist traveling down a highway WILL BE honked at by another vehicle to move aside; that on a three lane road with all three 3 lanes full, a fourth vehicle  trying to pass by straddling the lanes is reasonable and that the shoulder of the road is just another lane. These and many other realities are unavoidable on an Indian roadway. There are few stop signs, even fewer stop lights, and I have yet to see a posted speed limit.

I have NEVER been in a vehicle driven by ANYONE while in India where horn-honking was not involved while I am not even sure where the horn-honking button in my car back home is located. I have chosen to NOT drive while in India for the simple fact that I am too respectful and I cannot act like a typical Indian Driver which would actually cause more problems. The entire system is built on the suppression of Ego. Indians are able to interact without getting upset at these issues because they are able to suppress their Ego response, remove it from the situation. One of my Hosts explained their behaviour by saying "Indians are smart, they don't get mad about things that they can't do anything about." I would say this though, "A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it". Okay, I didn't say it, Kay said it to Jay but I agree. Take this same behaviour and drop it into an area that has a similarly large population per square foot like New York City or Mexico City or Santiago where the people do not have the same ability to suppress their ego and this would be a recipe for disaster.

An Indian believes that the Wild West approach to the activities on the road is perfectly reasonable and although there are rules to driving on Indian Roads, there is little if any enforcement. Indians revel in the freedom that this appears to provide, they believe that they are managing their behaviour better than it would be managed if there were a police presence on their streets. With only 76 police persons for every 100,000 people, manpower is spread so thin that drivers are left to self-regulate.





Self regulation however has led to traffic deaths of 19 deaths per 100,000 people which puts it amongst the highest in the world almost double that of the US at 10 deaths per 100,000 people, triple that of Canada which has 6 deaths per 100,000 people and six times that of England which is amongst the lowest in the World at less than 3 deaths per 100,000 people. When you compare population size, however, then the real story is revealed, of the 12 million people killed on the roads worldwide over 140,000 or 12% of those people are killed in India. This still doesn't tell the whole story because compared to the 797 vehicles per 1,000 people in the US, there are only 18 vehicles per 1,000 people in India.  So if we recalculate the numbers on a vehicle basis, 33,000 people are killed with 260 million vehicles on the road in the US compared to 140,000 killed with 21 million vehicles (more than 10 times fewer vehicles). Let's consider one more calculation, if the US fatality rate per vehicle was the same as India then 1.7 million people would die on the roads in the US each year at which point the US would be able to achieve 0% population growth.

So I would have to ask my Indian hosts to reconsider whether their current situation should continue or whether maybe just a little more policing would be beneficial. For myself, the next time I am pulled over for a traffic infraction back in NA, I will thank the police officer for the safety he has brought to our roads.