Same but different

Vellayani in the rain, I leave the Kanthari campus in the afternoon on my way to Bangalore and then Shillong in the Northeast of India. The first challenge is to find the right bus stop in Trivandrum where to catch my bus to Bangalore. As always, communication is not so easy, but at the end I find the place and start the journey. I have a comfortable place, the only problem is that I slide down my seat every time the bus slows down because I cannot put my feet on the ground. After more than seven hours the bus finally stops. I have some food, but When I want to pay they just ask me where I am from and don’t take my money. The bus keeps going all in all more than 17 hours, the rest of the journey without any stops.

Once I get down the bus in Bangalore, there are immediately three rickshaw drivers around me: “‘where are you going?” – I don’t know where I am going, I am just hungry! So finally they take me to a stand at the road side to have breakfast, a rice pancake with coconut jutney and tea.

In Bangalore I make several new friends. First I get home made lunch, later some typical snacks, then I am taken around the city and we sit in the park to chat and relax. Not to forget the motorbike ride in the traffic jam and the trip by metro with two very worried girls who try their best to help me around. The day ends with a Rajastani dinner on a roof terrasse. So much food!!!

the day after we travel to Guwahati by plane. There, we have a great meeting with an applicant who traveled more than 24 hours by train just to meet us for an interview. The car ride to shillong takes about three hours, mostly up the hill. It is an adventurous trip and I am happy that I cannot see the narrow street with all the trucks we pass on our way. We are happy when we finally reach Shillong and Bethany society. More about our stay in Shillong will follow soon.

Eleven months have come to an end and it is time to prepare for departure. On December 3rd 2011, 16 participants from 13 different countries graduated from the International Institute for Social Entrepreneurs (IISE). Now we are ready to go back to our home countries and make dreams become true.

The stay in India was a unique learning experience for me. Interaction with friends from all over the world, an intensive training programme and a beautiful environment were very condusive for the development of dreams and concrete plans. Discussions while swimming in the lake were part of the daily routine as well as creative sessions and long hours work on business plans. The opportunity to share ideas and experiences with fellow participants and catalysts opened up my horizon and showed me many different perspectives on life.

On one hand I stayed eleven months in India, but on the other hand I know very little about the country. Though most of the staff is Indian, the campus is more an international community. I also noticed that Kerala is a very special part of India with a high level of education and a high standard of living in general. People are very friendly and helpful. It is very safe to walk on the street because the crime rate is low, the only risk is the traffic which does not follow any rules.

I enjoyed Indian food, especially the big variety of vegetarian dishes, spicy vegetables and of course the fresh fruit that grows in this tropical region. The kitchen staff on campus took great care of us and prepared nice food.

The stay in IISE inspired me a lot and I learned many useful skills to start my own project. The project ideas changed several times, now I go back to Germany for some time and get myself organized for the next steps. Of course I keep you posted about my development and the next stop on my journey. Thank you to all the readers who followed me through the Indian experience and I hope you join me on the adventure beyond IISE.