Paul Ballard's Weblog

I often get asked by family and friends back home to describe what it’s like to be an American living in India.  It’s actually not that easy to do because things that I now see every day and take for granted are so very strange to the average American that there’s simply nothing in American life to compare it to. 

Fortunately some film makers got together and put the experience into a movie called Outsourced.  While the movie exaggerates a bit on the conditions in most of the modern cities in India (for example most professionals work in very nice glass and steel buildings, not concrete bunkers), there were so many absolutely dead-on depictions of everyday life that Susan and I laughed our asses off.  Here are a few examples that we have personally experienced.

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• Riding on the trains – I tried to do a trip in the train but the seats were so close together that the person in front of me, who was facing me would have had to interlock his legs with mine to have enough room.
• Getting mobbed by taxi drivers – This happens at every station or airport.
• Cows (and other livestock) in the streets – Absolutely happens every single day.  We’re beginning to be on a first name basis with several. 
• Nice homes next to slums – This happens fairly often but is usually beautiful office buildings next to shanty towns.
• Digestive Distress – The minute the guy ate the snow cone, Susan and I looked at each other and said “He’s going to regret that!”.  While eating in India is easy enough if you’re careful (and the food is GREAT), eating off vendors in the street is usually a bad idea for the western stomach.
• “Unclean” Left hand – we heard about this before we got here but it’s not a big issue in major cities.  Squat toilets (like the one in the movie) are still found occasionally though and many toilets don’t have any toilet paper in them.  Susan has learned to carry some in her purse whenever we leave the house.
• Sugar in coffee/tea – Indians love sweets and all things sweet.  They dump huge amounts of sugar in their coffee and tea.  In fact a common drink from vendors is fresh pure cane sugar juice.  I’ve heard that India has the highest rate of diabetes per capita of any nation in the world.
• McDonnel’s – Okay they have McDonald’s all over India but don’t think you’re going to get your burger fix there.  They don’t serve beef in any McDonald’s that I’ve been to in India.  Instead they have chicken patties and veggie burgers.  They even have the Big Maharajah, which is a chicken patty equivalent to the Big Mac.  Fortunately for me, they also have the Filet-O-Fish and that is what I usually get.  The fries I’m happy to say are the same all over the world.  They also don’t server beef in Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Papa-Johns, Dominos or any of the other western chains that are all over India now.

Of course those are just some of the interesting and funny things to point out, there were many more subtle things that only somebody who lives here would notice.  It’s these little things that make living in India such a fantastic experience and something I know will be with me the rest of my life.

• Helpfulness – throughout the movie “Toad” is never far from somebody willing to help.  From teaching him how to jump onto the train to helping him find that special room for the night, there’s a cultural desire to help people here that is amazing.  A cynic would chalk this up to their desire to make a quick buck off of what they see as a wealthy  foreigner but there’s more at work here than that.  I’ve seen our local CFO go to what to my American eyes seemed like fantastic lengths to make sure that everybody at a dinner meeting got exactly what they wanted.  It’s a trait in him that I admire and wish came as naturally to me as it seemed to with him.
• “No Problem”, i.e. anything is possible – In the end of the movie, when they move the call center to the roof, I’m sure that seems completely made up.  The reality is, solutions like that occur every day here in India.  This is a country full of people who are used to living with so little that they can solve problems using anything, even a VW hubcap.  No problem. 
• Hard work – Indians are by nature hard workers.  I’m not just talking about the manual laborers or farmers, but even the professionals including my great team of developers.  Long hours and strange shifts (to match their western clients working hours) are the norm here. 
• Holi – The festival of color shown in the movie is very real.  I unfortunately missed it this year as I was in London, but Susan got tagged by her friend Heta.  It’s not as widely celebrated here as it is in Maharashtra (where the movie is set), but it’s still a lot of fun.  I saw the aftermath of the buses and sidewalks when I got back. 

In addition to the funny story telling there are also a lot of excellent insights into the reality of outsourcing and the global markets. 

• Outsourced Jobs – While we like to think we’re the best in the world at everything, the harsh fact is that there are a lot of people in the world willing to do the same job for less money.  The only way to protect yourself from this is not to let yourself fall into commodity work.  Stand out from the crowd, make yourself more marketable.  Even the Indian jobs can be outsourced to the next cheaper country, which happens all the time.
• Made in America – We want to buy American, but we want to pay Chinese/Indian.  American workers cost more money which in turn drives up the cost of products.  We can’t keep pushing companies to provide cheap products and not expect them to find cheaper ways to make them, including outsourcing.  If we don’t like it we can always pay the extra $220 for the American made Bald Eagle statue.  But instinct (and Walmart) says that we’re probably not going to do that.
• “You need to learn about India” – India is the second most populated country in the world and THE most populated English speaking country.  Its combination of low cost labor and access to natural resources means that its economy will continue to grow and become a bigger player in the world markets.  It is absurd to think that any major company can compete without a strategy for Asia which includes India.  1.6 billion people cannot be ignored.  Learning about Indian culture now can only be beneficial both for business and personally.

So if you’re reading this and want to get a better view of what life in India is like for an American, I highly suggest you watch Outsourced.  Oh, and along with all the insight it’s actually very funny, and a bit romantic (in an Indian sort of way).