This summer, St. Cloud State University’s College of Science & Engineering has sent two SCSU students, Ali Almanasif and Peter Ojambo, to India. The students are completing an internship at JK Cement Company. The internships were arranged through the JKLU-SCSU Internship Exchange program, a partnership between SCSU and a university in India. The partnership creates internship abroad opportunities for students from both institutions. We are tracking the students’ progress here on the COSE International Programs blog. Check back periodically to hear more about their experiences abroad.
Peter’s Experience in India, Journal Entry 1:
I guess I should start this blog by saying that heading over to India, my biggest concern as well as my biggest excitement was the food. I love to eat – plain and simple. However, when I was first told about India I quickly learned that the country had a love for spice, and for the most part the diet would be predominately vegetarian.
Typical Indian restaurant food
Let’s be real: spicy vegetarian foods are a big no-no (na-na) to me. I was really concerned about how I would be able to manage for a month without meat, but that was part of the excitement as well! So far, Indian food has proved to be good to my system. I would like to report that I will happily and excitedly eat whatever is put in front t of me. My mom would be shocked, right?
We are taken care of very well here, and for that, I am beyond grateful
Another thing that has proved to be quite interesting is exploring and learning about the country and its people. It was very cool to finally get out in the community and partake in what I’d like to call the “ultimate male-bonding” ceremony: basketball. Not being used to the heat, I took a few steps onto the court and was drenched in sweat, a heat tournament in and of itself. Don’t credit me for playing hard, the heat did the work in making me sweat and I will never forget it. We were very successful on the court going 3-1, the loss being due to heat exhaustion.
Sweating together and bonding with new friends
It was quite a happy sight to see people of all ages gathered at the park that day to play together and hangout. Some played cricket, basketball, others ran around the track while a few sat and talked. The sense of community really reminded me of home and I’m sure that this is going to continue to be a very rewarding experience.
A day at the park