My family and I will be flying out on December 19th, and returning January 8th. My parents have not been clear who will be paying for the trip - either Spirit of Math or our family - however it is clear to me that all of the flights and accommodations are paid for and I am not expected to pay for any of it.
I will be flying to Frankfurt and then taking a connection to New Delhi, the federal capital. New Delhi is where the wedding will be held, and also where the resort is.
Thursday, 22 November 2012
Tuesday, 20 November 2012
Bit of an Unusual "Dream Vacation"
Going to Mumbai and New Dehli, India is currently my dream vacation simply because of the motivation I have to build my family’s business. My parents own a company called Spirit of Math Schools Inc. and through a series of connections, there is now the perfect opportunity to expand into India.
This isn’t the typical “dream vacation” and I feel like I must explain why this is my dream vacation. First, I am an extremely competitive person, and I my parents company has turned into a passion of mine. The following reasons are why this traveling to India fits into my dream vacation: I enjoy teaching others, and I want to see this company grow to become something huge.
To find out more about Spirit of Math Schools Inc. click here.
Why India
The reason why this is a great opportunity for Spirit of Math Schools Inc. is because of the networking that will take place during a friend's wedding. Below is the invitation that they sent us.
Wedding Details
Traditional weddings are usually held over a three day period. Here are the events that will be held over the three days.
Mehndi & Cocktail (Saturday, December 22nd 2012, 7:00pm)
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| Mehndi |
- Cocktails are pretty much self-explanatory: have some drinks and meet some people. However, this is specific to the males.
- Mehndi is the application of henna, a temporary tattoo. This is for females only.
- Other blogger's have mentioned that once a white woman walks into the room, she is often grabbed immediately and pushed to the front of the line to get Mehndi art done.
Sagan & Engagement (Friday, December 28th 2012, 6:30pm)
- The Sagan is supposed to be an opportunity for the relatives from both sides to meet each other.
- During the Sagan, the groom performs a fire ceremony called 'havan'. Once the groom does this ritual, the bride's relatives and friends bless the groom and offer him sweets and gifts.
Wedding (Saturday, December 29th, 11:00am)
- Wedding is also known as Lawan Phere and according to http://www.indiaweddingplanner.com/ the wedding consists of nine separate events. I will talk about how I will prepare for this in a future blog.
Reception (Saturday, December 29th, 7:00pm)
- I was unable to find out any information on what we would be doing specifically, however I read that it is very similar to that of North American weddings because of it is used as a chance to celebrate the marriage with food and music.
Where will I be?
I will be flying to Frankfurt and then taking a connection to New Delhi, the federal capital. New Delhi is where the wedding will be held, and also where the resort is. When I was at the travel doctor getting my shots, she emphasized repeatedly how important it was to stay at a high end hotel or resort, and so, the first thing I did when I got home was to take a look at the hotel I would be spending most of my time at. This is because the wedding will also be on the resort I am spending my nights: the Tivoli Grand Resort Hotel.
This is also chance for my parents to get some business done, and so we will also be flying to Mumbai (formorly Bombay)to talk to India times, and meet with our lawyer.
- This is the lobby of the hotel, unfortunately I was unable to get a higher resolution picture, so you can find the rest of the gallery by clicking here.
This is also chance for my parents to get some business done, and so we will also be flying to Mumbai (formorly Bombay)to talk to India times, and meet with our lawyer.
Who am I going with?
Both my parents, and my sister who is a 21 years old student studying photography at Ryerson University. I am assuming my sister will have the time of her life taking pictures in a new lanscape.
My mother, Kim Langen, is the CEO and my father, Darrin Langen, is the President of Spirit of Math Schools Inc. and they are both connected with the father of the bride because he owns one of our franchises.
Both my parents have been to India already, and have shared what to expect. They showed me a video of the "terrifying" traffic. The video showed a car barely passing the car ahead and narrowly missing a head on collision, and if that wasn't enough, a motorcycle wizzes by on the other sided squeezing in between two cars. Now, you're probably thinking, "Nathan, where is this video?". I wish I could show it to you, however the video file is much too large. One thing they did tell me to expect, was that people will want pictures with us because we are white. Below is a picture my mother took, of someone else taking a photo of my father and our marketing coordinator.
My mother, Kim Langen, is the CEO and my father, Darrin Langen, is the President of Spirit of Math Schools Inc. and they are both connected with the father of the bride because he owns one of our franchises.
Both my parents have been to India already, and have shared what to expect. They showed me a video of the "terrifying" traffic. The video showed a car barely passing the car ahead and narrowly missing a head on collision, and if that wasn't enough, a motorcycle wizzes by on the other sided squeezing in between two cars. Now, you're probably thinking, "Nathan, where is this video?". I wish I could show it to you, however the video file is much too large. One thing they did tell me to expect, was that people will want pictures with us because we are white. Below is a picture my mother took, of someone else taking a photo of my father and our marketing coordinator.
I was also told that because we were not from India, we would be paying a lot more for pretty much everything.
This doesn't concern me too much because my parents will be paying for everything. I have budgeted my self $100 Canadian, or 5527 rupees, for miscellaneous purchases such as gifts and souvenirs . The current conversion rate on November 21, 2012 is 1 CDN: 55.2703 Rupees.
Getting Ready For Business
In North America, it is commonly frowned upon for those with money to flaunt it infront of other. In India, it is quite the opposite - you are expected to show off your wealth. With this information in mind, my family and I have prepared ourselves by buying new clothing specific for the wedding. My sister and mother are expected to wear a different traditional Indian dress to each event, and my father and I can wear suits. To keep up the appearances, my father and I already have a tailor in Toronto ready to size us for suits and dress shirts.
On top of looking spiffy in our new "digs", I have been to the travel doctor and gotten my necessary shots and pills. The doctor also gave me some advice to stay healthy; the one thing she said that really stood out was not to eat raw vegetables, especially salads.
We will be visiting India Times and discussing advertising techniques because advertising strategies in India are far different from North America. One piece of information we have already learned is that text messaging between wealthy families is the most efficient way to penetrate the wealthy class. During this session we will be talking about which type of print ads and posters would be suitable for Spirit of Math Schools Inc.
One area that we would really like to advertise in is T.V. One of my friends from India put it best, "An Indian mother would rather get hit by a bus then miss her Bollywood soap opera's". At first I thought it was a little extreme, but then my parents confirmed that behind a cruel joke, he was actually kind of right. The first picture is a billboard, one that is very common around Mumbai.
On top of looking spiffy in our new "digs", I have been to the travel doctor and gotten my necessary shots and pills. The doctor also gave me some advice to stay healthy; the one thing she said that really stood out was not to eat raw vegetables, especially salads.
We will be visiting India Times and discussing advertising techniques because advertising strategies in India are far different from North America. One piece of information we have already learned is that text messaging between wealthy families is the most efficient way to penetrate the wealthy class. During this session we will be talking about which type of print ads and posters would be suitable for Spirit of Math Schools Inc.
One area that we would really like to advertise in is T.V. One of my friends from India put it best, "An Indian mother would rather get hit by a bus then miss her Bollywood soap opera's". At first I thought it was a little extreme, but then my parents confirmed that behind a cruel joke, he was actually kind of right. The first picture is a billboard, one that is very common around Mumbai.
This second picture shows that everyone in India watches T.V. Here you can see that even people living in poverty have satellite dishes on their shacks.
References
http://johnluth.blogspot.ca/2011/01/mehndi-and-cocktails.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mehndi
http://www.indiaweddingplanner.com/indian-wedding-ceremonies/pre-wedding/sagan.html
http://www.tivoligroup.co.in/tivoli-grand-resort/gallery.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mehndi
http://www.indiaweddingplanner.com/indian-wedding-ceremonies/pre-wedding/sagan.html
http://www.tivoligroup.co.in/tivoli-grand-resort/gallery.php
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