Panda Handling and Sociological Studies in India, China and Hong Kong
Brian McMahon | September 28, 2009
Brian McMahon alongside the Li River in Guilin, China.
Having finally left my home away from home at the University of Hyderabad in India, it feels somewhat strange that my time there has come to an end. As alien as the environment I was in may have seemed at first, by the time I left I had become accustomed to it more completely than I could have realized. I have met up with Michael Nekrasov (another PRIME student and foreign correspondent).
Landing in Hong Kong was a much more interesting experience than it would have been had I traveled there directly from San Diego. Riding the ultramodern train to the huge city of neon and commerce was quite the contrast from where I had been. Everything seemed so blindingly bright and so surprisingly neat and organized for such a busy place. Cars were actually stopping at red lights, people were using crosswalks, and there wasn’t a single cow in sight. Very strange to me.
Sunset of Hong Kong Island taken at the Star Ferry Pier.
I continually have found myself surprised at things that in San Diego would seem commonplace, like when Michael Nekrasov (another PRIME student and foreign correspondent) suggested I take the map I was holding over to a woman walking down the street to ask her for directions. In India I wouldn’t have considered this, as the attitudes towards inter-gender interactions there would have made the exchange awkward at best. My actions have apparently changed in addition to my perceptions, at least according to Michael’s observations. He is constantly horrified when I lead our way to cross the street in the way I have become accustomed to, meaning I nonchalantly stroll into oncoming traffic on a busy street. I just comment that you generally won’t be able to cross an Indian street without suspending your self preservation instincts a little and walking in front of a couple of honking buses.
McMahon in the night streets of Hong Kong, China.
I also learned quite a lot in India, and feel like I have improved my sense about how to approach international collaborations in research and business greatly. I found that the notions of social level left over from the caste system are still very prevalent in India. This structure means that one must be prepared to allocate time for decisions to propagate to the appropriate level in the chain of command to be approved. Task completion is much more compartmentalized than in the United States as well, so if the person who at a lower level is not available to perform a task that would be their responsibility, it generally won’t get done by anyone until they return. Though I was frustrated by this situation at first, along with the highly bureaucratic nature of most organizations in India, I learned that it is a reality that needs to be expected and prepared for to ensure success in a project in India.
McMahon holding a Red panda in Chengdu, China.
Now that my project is done though, I am free to roam about Asia at my leisure. Along with my backpack, I am carrying with me newly changed perspectives on the world from my stay in India. I write to you now from China where just today I got to hold a fluffy red panda, and for dinner ate a fish that I helped catch with a net in a pond behind the restaurant. This will be an interesting trip.
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