Cultural Environment. A subject in the first semester of the International Marketing Management degree programs, which is educated by Dr. Manuel Vermeer from the East Asia Institute. Due to his special and family relationship with Asia (lecturer at the OAI and son of an Indian woman), countries such as India increasingly became the focus of our lectures. As our Master's course consisted of 18 students who didn't know each other very well, we discussed "introductory events" outside of lectures. When a fellow student jokingly exclaimed: "An excursion! To India!", a grin spread across everyone's face. At first, everyone had clichés about the country such as Bollywood films, poverty, dirt and a lack of security in their heads, which some people also seemed to recognize from the film "Slumdog Millionaire". The idea, which was initially seen as fun, increasingly turned out to be a unique opportunity to travel to a completely new country with Dr. Vermeer in the company of someone who knows the country. He was immediately extremely willing to introduce us to his second home country. Our course director Prof. Dr. Edith Rüger-Muck was also enthusiastic from the outset and agreed to accompany us on the trip, as the aim of the Master's course is to promote internationality and cohesion within the course through joint activities outside the lectures. Not everyone could have imagined such an exotic excursion and so on 26.01.2019, the final 12 participants were told: "Let's go to India!" (S. Birkhofer)
January 26/27, 2019: The suitcases were packed and the neck pillow was strapped to the backpack for the eight-hour flight. We flew directly from Frankfurt to Mumbai. We arrived at Mumbai airport at 00:30 local time. Despite our concerns about the functionality of the e-visa, we had no problems entering the country. From the terminal, we took a bus with our guide Viren directly to the hotel. Our journey was accompanied by honking horns and the "courage to leave gaps" driving style. During our time in Mumbai, we were accommodated at the Gordon House Hotel, which is not far from the Gateway of India and the Taj Mahal Tower Hotel. The rooms were clean and the staff very attentive - according to our lecturer, things can sometimes be a little different. Nevertheless, we had to get used to the background noise on the first night. 22.8 million inhabitants in Mumbai are hardly a comparison to the cities in Germany. The next morning began with an Indian breakfast: scrambled eggs masala with chili and coriander and a mango lassi to balance out the spiciness of the scrambled eggs. Our tour to the Dharavi slums started at 2 pm. On the way there, we not only learned how to walk the streets of Mumbai (in the truest sense of the word), but also a lot about the culture and life in India. According to our guide, traffic lights and crosswalks are just disco lights in India. The motto: Breathe in, breathe out, put your hand out and walk, looking to the right and left if necessary. Sounds a bit tired of life by German standards - but in Mumbai it's the only way to cross the road. The Dharavi slums turned our idea of a slum completely on its head. The slum is one of the most productive slums in Mumbai and is estimated to have the highest population density in the world. In keeping with the motto "time is money", small factories and stores selling food, clothing, leather goods and even food stalls have opened on every street corner. Admittedly, the first impression is tinged with pity when you compare this with the standard of living in Germany. But if you look beyond your own nose, you realize that we can still learn a lot from India. (M.-L. Uibel)
January 28, 2019 : Today's program included a train ride from Churchgate Station to Mahalaxmi Station to visit the Dhobi Ghat open-air laundry. In and of itself, a train ride is nothing spectacular, but buying a train ticket in Hindi and standing in trains that have no doors so that you can get off at the next stop while the train is still rolling is something we have never experienced before. Once we arrived at the Dhobi Ghat laundry, we explored how the laundry of hotels, hospitals and the latest fashion brands was cleaned by hand in the open air. From washing to ironing and sterilizing, everything is possible here. At lunchtime, we took a more leisurely approach and explored the harbor on a boat tour from the Gateway of India (the landing point for ships in Mumbai) in bright sunshine. (B. Baumann)
January 29, 2019 We set off early in the morning. We were picked up at 7 a.m. sharp by a small coach in front of our hotel. We were off to Sanjay Gandhi National Park, almost 40 km away, a green patch of almost 70 km2 in the middle of Mumbai, a city with a population almost ten times the size. Shortly before heading into the jungle, we all had a round of masala chai at a small street food stall in front of the park entrance. Accompanied by two guides, we rode through the national park on simple mountain bikes in first and only gear. Everyone was surprised by the sudden silence that overtook us the deeper we got into the jungle. The destination of our "Tour de Mumbai" was a gigantic structure in the middle of the park: the Kanheri Caves. These were built by Buddhist monks in the 4th century BC as a sacred pilgrimage destination. Our almost 7 km long, varied drive from the west entrance to the caves was enriched by a colorful variety of animals and a small, secluded village community and ended with a mountain ascent worthy of a stage. The incomparable view from the summit of the Temple Mount left us all in awe. After a short break in the sun, we set off to discover the caves inside the mountain. In addition to some frescoes and statues carved into the wall, there were also two 16m high stone Buddhas. These have significant historical value, as the only equivalent statues from this era in Pakistan fell victim to a terrorist attack. After several hours of exploring, we drove back down the mountain at a relaxed pace. Ultimately, this was a very impressive excursion which, despite the physical exertion, helped us to recharge our batteries for the rest of the week. Unfortunately, many people from and around Mumbai are not aware of the significance of this special place. However, the authorities in charge are trying to create more awareness about the history of the park and consolidate its role as a green retreat in the middle of the city. (N. Thoma)
January 30, 2019. On day 4, we first visited a training center for women. The site is owned by Dr. Vermeer's family and offers the opportunity to further their education in various ways and thus become more independent through an additional source of income. The training center enables the women to do something for themselves and take care of themselves instead of being there exclusively for the family and completely orienting their lives around it. In addition to training as a beautician and seamstress, sports courses for children and women are offered at weekends. We attended a beauty course and talked to the participants. They were all very welcoming and happy about this opportunity. Each of them had a clear vision of their future and the ambition to achieve their goal. It was very impressive to hear individual stories and the reasons why they chose this path. We spent the afternoon visiting a temple where we fed a cow and took part in a Hindu ceremony. We all received a traditional red dot on our foreheads and a short prayer was said for our safety and that of our families. At the end, we were all given a band around our wrist, which was put on as we recited a ritual in Hindi. As soon as the bracelet falls off by itself, your wish comes true. Another highlight happened that day: a fellow student spontaneously had his hair cut by an Indian hairdresser. We were all excited to see the result and were not disappointed! The hairstyle was perfect! (L. Wölke)
January 31, 2019 After four days full of activities, we had the opportunity to rest for most of the day for the first time on day five, as we had a one-way three-hour drive to Pune ahead of us anyway. There, thanks to Dr. Vermeer's contacts, we were able to visit a production site of the German company Leoni AG, which mainly produces cables for information technology and infrastructure projects. We were warmly welcomed, the company was briefly introduced by an employee in a presentation, after which we toured the production facilities and had time to ask numerous questions. We also had the opportunity to talk to a member of senior management. In particular, getting answers to intercultural questions from the opposite perspective with a lot of practical experience was a great opportunity to reflect and be more aware in the future. We ended the day with a dinner together. It was surprising for everyone that we were able to keep to the schedule almost perfectly, which is by no means a matter of course in India. (V. Scheer)
February 01, 2019 On the penultimate day of our trip, we went to the Goethe-Institut in the morning, which is also known in Mumbai as the Max Mueller Bhavan, named after the German-English Indologist Friedrich Max Mueller. During a pleasant discussion with the German director and three Indian teachers, we learned that the institute had set itself the task of promoting knowledge of the German language and culture. The teachers explained to us that young adults in particular often come to the institute to prepare for a Master's degree in Germany. But families with one parent starting a job in Germany are also familiarized with German culture. According to the Indian teachers, the focus is increasingly on reflecting on one's own culture and developing a sensitivity for German culture. Nevertheless, participants in intercultural seminars are of course prepared for German punctuality, for example. In the afternoon, we explored the area around the famous Crawford Market on our own. Here you could buy everything your heart desires. As most of us wanted to take some great spices home with us, we had traders show us various things and tried to use our bargaining skills until we finally left the market hall with full bags. We ended the day by going to the beach together to watch the sun set behind the skyscrapers of Mumbai, which was a successful Degree for all of us on our penultimate day. (S. Kurtz)
February 02, 2019 On the last day of our Mumbai excursion, we visited the Bombay Store together after check-out and then went to the street stalls and small stores near our hotels in individual groups. In the afternoon, we all gathered at the Taj Hotel for one last drink together and reviewed the trip. While Sabrina met up with our guide Viren to attend a traditional Catholic church service, the rest of the group visited the Bombay Vintage restaurant again, which they joined afterwards. At 9 pm we were picked up by Viren and the coach, taken to the airport and bid a warm farewell. (H. Bucher)
After 7 days in Mumbai, we landed back in Frankfurt, overwhelmed by numerous impressions. During the final feedback session on the last evening, it quickly became clear that many of the clichés we had before the start of the trip had been put into perspective during the week or had even disappeared completely. We were all pleasantly surprised by the warmth with which the locals treated us. In particular, the gratitude with which the families in the slums make a living and the joy with which the kids there invited us to a quick game of cricket made it impressively clear to us that wealth is not automatically the key to happiness! At no point did anyone in our group feel unsafe. Of course, as "Westerners" we were exotic to the Indians, who were quite happy to take photos with us. However, we were always politely asked about this. We were also allowed to take our precautionary supply of charcoal tablets back to Germany; thanks to our lecturer, we were able to enjoy the really delicious Indian cuisine in cozy restaurants every evening. We would like to take this opportunity to say a very special thank you to Dr. Manuel Vermeer, who put together such a varied program for us. Many thanks also to our course director Prof. Dr. Edith Rüger-Muck, who accompanied us on all our tours and always had an open ear for us! Mumbai was an unforgettable experience for all of us, which brought us even closer together as fellow students in a special way. (S. Birkhofer)
