Only eleven more days in India, and only one more day here on the MICA campus in Ahmedabad. We'll have a final class tomorrow on quantitative research methods- conjoint analysis (Sunday) from 7:55am to about noon. We have until tomorrow night to turn in our only assignment; a group project from the qualitative portion of the class. We were divided into groups of 4 or 5 and had to conduct a series of in-depth interviews of Indian students re: America and also American students re: India. Each group is expected to complete at least 5 interviews from each country. We worked in groups to come up with a Discussion Guide, then had to combine the best portions of each into a master guide to use in the intereviews. Now, we have this afternoon and then tomorrow (if needed) to analyze the responses, come up with consumer insights, and write a report on the research. It's crunch time! Hopefully we'll come up with some good research findings and strong consumer insight about what college students think of India and America.
Classes during our time at MICA have been intensive, since we've had to cram an entire course into 40 hours of class over only two weeks. However, I have learned a lot. The most interesting part of our interviews was the final question, where we asked each student to describe a typical person of the other culture (India/America).
So, here are some of their words on how India is personified. First of all, the older generation is like Gandhi:
"(I’d personify India as) a wise, old sage. Someone who’s been around forever. A complex old man, but gentle. He’d be thin, dark, in pajama-like clothes. He’d barely be getting by (very low income). It would be hot and he’d have no A/C. Maybe not even have a house. If he had a job, it would be a religious one (like a leader or elder). He might play a game of cricket every now and then, but no other entertainment. I also think of Mother India, but mostly an old religious man like Gandhi comes to mind."
as for the younger generation of India (think "Slumdog Millionaire");
"I think Americans are a lot fatter than Indians. They are much skinner." "Yes, I would say this person is attractive or average. A different type of clothing but an average style." " She would be 30, well, there are a lot of young people there and old people. But the average person I think of would be around that age." "I feel like they would work in some sort of business environment. They are producing or selling something. A modest job. Maybe somewhere around or below American minimum wage." "They would probably live in a modest apartment." "Probably driving just a 5 or 6 year old sedan. Small compact car. They seem to all drive small cars - they are most affordable." "They like to watch TV just like us, read the paper, yell at the neighborhood kids. I think they are a lot more involved with their close neighbors than we are." "I feel like it's someone who works that hard for their money wouldn't just blow it on materialistic things."
Here were some of the personfications that Indian college students had of a typical American:
"Huge, tall, bulky, not as big as the Australians, blonde, brownish, white, freckles. Dressed in a bikini, working a lot and stressed out. Friendly and loud. Probably lives in a large house with 3-4 bedrooms and a bathroom for each person. This person has a car, as does each person in their family."
and one more (think "Sex and the City"):
"Young adult, between 18-24. A woman, beautiful, attractive, confident, independent. Hair color blonde/golden. Style of dressing anything she is comfortable with, but a good sense of style. A New Yorker. She would have a job, since I’m in a creative field, I’d say she’d be in advertising or the TV industry. Income level mid to upper class. She’d drive a hybrid Honda. She’d have a boyfriend and a housemaid. In her free time she’d read or travel. She would be happy and culturally aware. She would be kind. She’d know more than one language (English, French). She’d be Catholic."
The stereotypes are very telling, aren't they? Somewhat true, although obviously cliched. I think that perhaps we all should move beyond Hollywood and Bollywood and gain personal experience with the other country through travel and beginning new relationships! We'd all be better off for it.
To see more photos of my time in India, go to http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=67693&id=1493536168&l=6effaaef67 or connect with me on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/alexandra.watson. You can also find me on Twitter as "abcwatson".
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