When Jeffery was in India...

WISHING I WAS THERE WITH HIM...

friends across the world

For all of you that read my blog religiously I thank you very much, traveling alone is hard and having an outlet like this blog is helpful in releasing my thoughts and observations to those that are interested.

In the guest house there are many different nationalities. There are Saudi's, Palestinians, Sudanese, Iranian, German, French, Korean, Nigerian etc.

I have made many friends from different countries and I am expanding my network exponentially everyday. My goal was to find a job in India but what I stumbled upon was much more valuable.

In the guest house I had a nice crew of friends. There was me the Canadian then there was 1 Iranian, 1 Sudanese, 2 Saudi's, 1 German and 1 Palestinian, 1 Moroccan, 1 Swede

I had only met one Iranian before I met 2 in the guest house. My knowledge of the Iranian people was zero all I knew was what I saw on the news and from what I read in the papers and online. It was amazing to be able to hang out with an Iranian guy for 2 weeks here in Mumbai. He changed my perception on Iran and I find myself compelled to travel to his wonderful country.

Amir the guy from Iran has so many crazy stories but I thought I would tell one story that shows how crazy this guy is.

In Iran if you want to leave the country before your 35 you have to go to the Army for 2 years. Amir told me that all you do in the army is stand for 2 years straight. He was compelled to find a loop hole in the system. His girlfriend was taking psychology at the time. She told Amir to act like he was a schizophrenic person. Amir for 2 weeks went to evaluation centers where people evaluated him to see if he was mentally fit. After 2 weeks they deemed him mentally unfit and he was released from the military.

Amir loves basketball and he is a little bull. We played I told him that I would beat him 11-0 and that I would give him 10 000 rupees if he scored a point. I beat him 11-0 but he showed some competency on the court. He was a lefty and would just attack the basket like a wild bull.

My friend from Sudan his name is Mustafa. I liked to call him Moose and it caught on with everyone in the guest house. Moose is a great guy and the friendliest guy I have ever met. He isn’t the smartest, but he makes that up with his kindness and relaxed vibe. He showed me the soccer game and we played almost every night together. The kids at the soccer match really liked him and looked up to him. Moose has been living in the dorm of the guest house for almost a year. He knows everyone around and taught me how to baksheesh. He works for a pharmaceutical company but I don’t know what he does.

The Saudi guys are very interesting characters. They are the most hospitable people I have ever encountered in my life. They are very generous and very respectful; I was totally amazed by everything they did.

The Saudi guys, Khallis and Azziz, would make lunch for me at an Arabic hotel close to the guest house. They would make the rice and prepare the meat as well as the soup and the amazing sauces. It was an amazing experience to have home cooked Arabic food prepared by friends. They are in a weird business and I hope this doesn’t offend anyone. Saudi Arabia from what I understand with discussions with Khallid is that there are not that many low class citizens in Saudi because of the wealth. The wealthy want drivers, cleaners and the government wants labor workers. What Khallid and Azziz do is they send Indians and Nepali's to Saudi to work. They are a broker for sending people to Saudi. Aside from that these 2 guys pray 2 times a day everyday which I think is amazing.

The German guy named Flo was super chill. He lived in a village in MP which is 1 state south of Mumbai. He lived for 14 months in a town teaching English. He can speak fluent Hindi and he loves speaking to every person he sees. It’s funny because everyone lights up when he speaks back and they want to talk forever to him. He hasn’t cut his hair in 10 years, and he hardly shaves. He bought a bike in Hampi and came all the way up to Mumbai sleeping in the woods and camping. He would actually drink 50 chais (teas) a day he was addicted!

More Mumbai

The reason for my second trip to India was to find a job in Mumbai. I knew that it would be hard and it would take much persistence on my part. I have been here in Mumbai for 18 days and counting, I have had many job interviews and many meetings with little success up to this point.

This is the longest I have ever lived in a city outside Canada. The temperature hovers around 27, 28 degrees everyday. It’s always beautiful and I just think to how the weather is in Montreal.... and I smile!

Most of my meetings/interviews are in Bandra which is 1.5 hours from Coloba (where I’m staying in Mumbai). To get to Bandra I have to go to Churchgate station which is a 25 rupee taxi, and from there I hop on the city train to my destination. I usually get the oddest stares because I am in my suit on the train; I find it extremely funny. All businessmen and women have drivers and that how they get from their house to their work (unlike me who is on the local train). The train is 4 rupees and I never pay, the line to buy the tickets takes way too long. It’s incredible how Indians are so frantic getting on and off the train. You need to cover your face getting off the train because people are trying to get on and off while rushing like a heard of bulls.

Once I arrive in Bandra I have to find an honest rickshaw driver. HAHAHA....There are none to be found ever! I am like a walking gold token for all the drivers waiting. I have a method which I think is very clever. The rickshaw drivers say a price which is 100 times the real price. I tell them yes I will pay that, but when I arrive I pay them what I think they deserve. The drivers are in heaven wondering what they will buy while they’re driving me to the location but when I give them what the fare is actually worth they become very very angry.

The new complexes in Bandra would make Dubai blush. The buildings are magnificent and very elegant with all the newest amenities. It is truly incredible; you forget you’re in India for awhile. As well the security to enter the buildings would make Fort Knox proud.

I have met with RBC, KOTAK, CNBC, UBS and several Consulting Firms. They all tell me the same thing; that they are all walking on egg shells right now. They will be hiring in April and I need to call them then. The positive thing is that I am meeting face to face with the firms which are important in India. I have a follow up meeting with CNBC, they want me to do an internship for a month to see if I fit in well with their team. They want me to go on TV and stuff which is crazy because I have never been very good at public speaking but I guess I can learn.

I realize now that my initial diagnosis of the Indian market may have been false. I thought that within 5 years India would be following China's economy. The more I stay in India and the more that I have meetings I realize that it may take 15 years for India to have the necessary infrastructure in all facets of life to be as powerful as China.

1) The corruption in India is ingrained in the people. It’s incredible how you have to pay people off to do anything. This is a side story that may describe to you the corruption in India. I was playing basketball with two Iranians one of them has a business in exporting. He tells me wild stories how he has to pay around every corner in order for his business to run well. We were getting kicked off the court and the Iranian who has to pay everyone off runs to the security guard and puts a 100 rupee note in his pocket. The security officer then turns around and it was like nothing has happened.
CORRUPTION IS A PROBLEM.

2) You will see the separation between China and India this October at the Commonwealth games in Delhi. Remember the Olympics in 08 in Beijing? I remember amazing structures and a flawless ceremony. I don’t think India can come close to what China did. We will see soon enough!