09-03-2024
Our second week in Kerala was all about the reason why we came to Kochi. So although it has been a while since our last post, don't be mistaken. A lot has happened!
On Monday we first had a meeting with Dr. Geo. It's up to us to decide what we want to do. How many days, how many hours a day, what do we want to tell the students. We get total freedom. As we would like to have the same days off, we prefor the same working hours. As for timeing, we agree upon working on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Simon will be teaching the MBA students at the Albertian Institute of Management. I'll be doing sessions with students in the retail bachelor department. Simon will be focusing on sustainable business in marketing research and retailing and services marketing (his area of expertise in the past). I will be focusing on the 6 R's of the circular economy and creating awareness of sustainability in retail and in life (my area of experience in the past few years).
We had a special luncheon: Every year there is a "Star student of St. Albert's"-election. Students are nominated, and in several rounds, in which some will have to leave the competition, they have to explain why they are a Star. This Monday had the final round. The jurors were professors from other colleges, and the conestants had to explain one last time, in fluent English, why they should win.
During lunch, one of the professors told me about some of the participating students. Young people who had to overcome quite a few difficulties to get where they are now. Like being married off at a young age, have a baby at 18 and start studying at 20.
The rest of the day we spent preparing our classes. We have until 28 March. 29 March is Good Friday, resulting in a short holiday on account of Easter. After that it's time for the exams, followed by the summervacation. In June the new academic year starts, and we might do the same sequence of classes again.
That night, the Brothers invited us to join the farewell function for the senior participants of the civil servant programme. There would be some speeches, and dancing and singing. When we were there, Simon was asked to also give a speech for the boys. The whole thing was to take from 7 till 8, but eventually it lasted from 8 till 9.30pm, after which everyone was starving. We had dinner with the students and the chairman in the canteen.
As Simon could get started, I was hoping to get some sort of planning the next day. But this Tuesday was a feastday at school. Officially teh last day of school for the departing bachelor students. And a feast it was! The students were all dressed up. All departments had a special programme in the morning and at noon there was dancing. The young men dressed in suits, the young women wearing sarees. All dancing to Gangnam Style.
We could use the morning for preparations. In the afternoon we were formally introduced to the team of professors at the MBA. Of course we got the questions "Why India? Why Kerala?" Well, India because I have been wanting to visit India for some 40-odd years. Since I became a beatlesfanen I was a teenager. And Kerala because our friend Prakash is from Kerala and had some contacts here. Next, we got some explanation of the workings of the smartboard that can be found in every classroom at the College.
While I was plodding with my future sessions, Simon started teaching. Only for two days this week, however, because on Friday it was a holiday: Maha Shivaratri. As this is a festivity that mainly takes place at night in the tempels and houses of the devotees, we did not see much of that.
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