Our @IveyMScstudents are in the final weeks of their Ivey Global Lab experience. The purpose of the IGL is to allow students to experience first hand what it is like to work in an emerging market, gain some hands on experience and explore different cultures. This weeks blog post from MSc and CEMS- MIM student Aleks Jasinska explains what it is to be a global cosmopolitan, a term we use here at Ivey quite regularly. Aleks shares what it was like to celebrate Canada Day and a birthday in India, taking part in a Bollywood event and learn the official sport of India!
Life in Pune is very exciting these days and lots has happened since we got back from our Break week. With only two weeks left of IGL, we keep busy at work and maximize our time in India. Last week, I ran into a French person in a coffee shop in Koregaon Park – a place in Pune which is home to many foreigners. He immediately asked me to join the French community for an event the next evening. It was Friday and many of our friends were free; we attended with a group of francophones and other Ivey students who decided to practice their French. We quickly realized that there is a huge expat community here in Pune – the WhatsApp group we are part of has over 50 people! We met 20 people from France, Belgium and India and had one of our best nights in India – mingling, dancing and networking with other young professionals.
The very next day, we woke up early to learn how to play cricket. We had so much fun and some people’s natural talents really came through. We are lucky that monsoon has barely reached us in Pune because the less it rains, the more activities we get to participate in throughout the week. Had it rained, it would not have been possible to play this sport that Indian’s are obsessed with!! Contrarily to popular belief, cricket is not India’s national sport, it’s actually hockey! India and Canada have that pastime in common.
Later in the evening, we celebrated fellow student Kai’s birthday which involved birthday hats, food and great company (but we chose to avoid the Indian tradition of feeding him cake in his mouth with our bare hands). Birthday celebrations led to conversations about our adventures and about what we look the most forward to in the upcoming year. I think through being here we realize how lucky we are to be in the MSc program, it’s such a privilege for us to experience India and to work abroad for these few months. As we celebrated Kai’s birthday, other classmates discovered the beauty of our dual-degree program. As some students from Pune reunited with friends in Bangalore, they also attended a CEMS event organized by local Indians. Everyone had an incredible weekend and we got back to the grind first thing on Monday.
Nowadays, work is very busy; we invest more time into preparing for our final presentations as we are prepare to wrap up our IGL projects. But we still get to enjoy ourselves even when we have work… Throughout the week, at separate occasions, many of us took time to go to the cinema to see the newly-released Bollywood movie called ‘Udta Punjab’. This phenomenal movie is perhaps one of the best movies I have ever seen. It is about Punjab’s drug scene, how it is driven by the corrupt government and it majorly affects youth. Though we can only watch them if they have subtitles, Bollywood movies have become a new addiction these days… there is no better way to learn about the Indian culture than to experience the dance, the music, and the colours that make this country so unique and special.
Fast forward to this past weekend… A large group of students went to Mumbai for two days where they met up with students from Bangalore as well as Andy (one of our MSc alumni who just graduated with the class of 2016). Mumbai was flooded with rain but – rain or shine – there is always lots to do! Meanwhile, out of those who did not attend the reunion, some people went hiking to a fort (Lonavala) which is right outside of the city. Others also explored Pune since it is one of the last weekends left for exploring local activities. One of my highlights of the weekend, however, was watching the Poland vs Switzerland euro soccer match with my Swiss roommate Celine. We went to a pub on Saturday – along with new friends from Poland, Germany, France, Spain, Belgium, and India – and watched Poland defeat Switzerland in the penalty shootouts (go Polska!!!!). All these people we were with are exemplary global cosmopolitans that we aspire to become – they have lived everywhere, speak multiple languages, and are open and excited to meet new people no matter where they are from. It is always impressive to see how foreigners come together when they are away from home; every person has a fascinating story and it’s exciting to become part of their story as well!
Team Pune!
So far India has been an incredible experience and I am sad to be leaving home in just a few more days. But the next adventures are just as exciting! Let’s see how this year rolls out as I prepare to set off on new adventures in Europe and South America. Stay tuned, more stories to come!
Aleks