Stefania spent her CEMS exchange semester in Calcutta. Feeling cooped up in St. Gallen after her return, she looks back on what she has experienced abroad.
You must be incredibly happy to be back! – I was asked by yet another relative (like many friends and acquaintances alike) during the first couple of weeks after my return from an exchange semester at the Indian Institute of Management in Calcutta. India polarizes – but we knew that. People either love it or hate it. It is true; there were fellow exchange students who were sad and unhappy throughout the months of our stay. Th ey hated it and could not wait to leave the country again. I, in contrast, absolutely loved it, every day of it. I would be lying if I said every minute, because I, too, had some low moments.
The smells, the colors, the food, the noise – India constantly overloads your senses. Be it the fire burning in the neighborhood or the spoiled fish, the varicolored sarees or the curry with cumin, coriander, cardamom, and cinnamon, or the constant honking of car horns. This is overwhelming at the beginning, but honestly I have never felt so alive. Every moment of your day is exciting and new. No, it was not tiring – the contrary! I slept a mere fi ve hours on average in India and did not feel exhausted. India energizes!
And even though I love the smells, colors and food (not so much the honking), it is mainly because of the people why I started loving India.
First, India is the land of entrepreneurs – it is simply fascinating and unbelievable how people without any formal education manage their lives and businesses; how they are brave enough to spend all their savings to open up a kiosk. Swiss people, in contrast, are super risk-averse. What are we afraid of? Let’s live our dreams and take more risks!
Indian students fascinated me with their intuition. At first, I thought they were out of their minds to so readily trust their gut feelings. How can you not calculate risks rationally but just decide and act based on intuition? And these really are the top students, since out of over 250’000 applicants only 450 get chosen for IIMC! Furthermore, despite receiving a similar education to ours, they have deeply rooted Indian traditions and beliefs (some might say superstitions). A friend of mine, who has been trading stocks and shares since the age of 14 and received education from LSE, would not trade stocks in the shipping industry or anything related to water because his astrologer told him not to do so. Naturally, it is also the astrologer who would decide on whether his wife-to-be and him match and what their prospective wedding date and names of the children should be. Ever and anon can you read about deals which were cancelled because a businessman’s astrologer did not approve.
At the same time, my fellow Indian students are incredibly up to date with all world issues. Unlike us, they have understood the importance of social entrepreneurship, conservation of nature and engagement for our fellows. Most of them have even worked in an NGO before. And these are students like you and me, who are being recruited by the big banks and consulting firms of this world, who have all doors open.
Sure, I got the stares. There were Indian men who stared at me the full 45-minute metro ride to town. You feel like an alien. However, it’s mostly curiosity. On the bright side, this meant that I could stare, too. And I did. So no, I am not happy to be back. Clearly, I appreciate life here in Switzerland. But I felt much more alive, grateful and less stressed in India. I miss the sun, light, smells, colors and the people, even the stares …