Out and About

The first test and projects were submitted at the end of last week, so the weekend has been full of grading and time out and about in Bangalore. On Friday night, I went with the professors to do a little shopping, well really browsing, to figure out what souvenirs are available locally, so we can be prepared when looking for souvenirs while traveling. After that we had dinner at Hard Rock Cafe, and then hurried home to watch the semi-final playoff match for the IPL cricket league. Saturday morning was filled with grading of marketing projects. But come evening, some of the students and I headed to The Biere Club for some micro-brews.

Sunday was a day of more exploring. One of the professors, a student and I headed to the botanical gardens. They are very green and clean, is great contrast to the city which surrounds it.  Here are some pictures from our trip:

All-in-all it was a great weekend! Up next are two days of class followed by four days of travel.

The work has arrived!

Classes have started and we are all settling into the daily routine. For me it looks like this:
7am - Wake up, shower, get ready
7:45 - breakfast
8:15 - Set up the classroom technology for lecture
8:30 - Marketing Class
10:30 - Head to the gym (students are in Organizational Behaviors class during this time, but I don't have to attend)
12:30 - put away all the equipment used for lectures
12:45 - lunch
Afternoon - prep for the next day, grade, help students, and if there is time left - nap!

The pace of the classes is now starting to catch up with the students, and so their afternoons and evenings are filled with individual homework assignments, test prep, and group projects. For some reason they have become a lot quieter than when we first arrived!

In addition to the class assignments, students have also been participating in dance and yoga classes. They are all very excited to attend yoga class, but getting the guys to the dance classes isn't as easy. Once they are there, they have fun though! We will all be performing the dances that we are learning at a celebration dinner when the first session of classes end (June 14th).

Tomorrow is the first test, so students are busy studying. On Friday they have their first group assignment due, so they have been taking breaks from studying to work on that. They are looking forward to getting both of these out of the way, and having some fun this weekend!

J-105 - a room with a view

Thought I would share some pictures of my room and surroundings here at Woodstock Express.

My closet and bathroom. Not quite enough storage space, but making it work!

The view from my door:

 The pool and basketball court - in the pouring rain!

Back in Bangalore!

Here we are, already at day 3 in India. So far, we are off to a fabulous start. After more than 40 hours of total travel time, on Monday we arrived at our home for the summer - Woodstock Express. We were given a tour of the facilities, which includes a cafeteria, restaurant, small gym, game room, swimming pool, and a room newly created for us to use as a classroom. That evening we all ate dinner together in the on-campus restaurant, and we were all excited to taste the delights of Indian cuisine. The food served here is very good, and is a combination of Indian food and international fare. With full stomachs, and a severe lack of sleep, it was straight to bed after dinner!

Day 2 started off nice and early for me, with a 3am trip to the airport to pick up a student. Up next was breakfast, and then loading onto a bus for a short tour of the city. No city tour would be complete without a stop at the local mall, right?!? So we stopped at 2 of them. It was a great way for the students to start orienting themselves with the city, and the services and restaurants that are close by. The final stop of our city tour was in the evening, at Purple Haze, a Jimi Hendrix inspired pub. The students had a great time getting to know each other a little better and loved interacting with the locals. This was also a great way to get over the jet lag, as we didn't return from the pub until 11:30.

Today we started off the day with dance lessons. A classical trained dancer came to Woodstock to show us some moves from 2 different styles of Indian dance, one traditional and one folk. This was just a general introduction, but the students will continue to meet with her in small groups to learn a 2-3 minute dance which they will perform in a couple of weeks. It was a lot of fun to try out the dance moves, and a great team building activity, since most people were not in their comfort zone during this activity.

Tonight we are all having dinner at Manipal County, which is just down the street from us. This is another opportunity to show students the options available to them in our neighborhood. Tomorrow classes start, and it will be back to the books for all of us!