Today is our last day at Agastya. At our final meeting, the
entire team sat down with Thiagu, Nitin, Naresh, and Ramji and discussed the
future of the Brightbox then we gave the leaders of Agastya feedback on how
they can improve the organization. Quite frankly Agastya is an amazing non
profit and I think education systems around the world should look to them for
guidance. If all children learned like the children at Agastya, I strongly
believe that we would be better off as a planet but that’s just my opinion.
After wrapping up and saying goodbye to everyone we met at Agastya we drove through horrible traffic to get to our hotel in Bengaluru. Upon arrival at the hotel, we were all in agreement that it was disgusting and no future trips should ever stay here. Me, a lover of cleanliness disinfected the entire room and was very grateful that we only had to spend one night there. The next day was one of the best days of the semester because Siddhartan, Jamie, Mary and I got the opportunity to tour the city and really get to know each other. Previously there was a lot of tension among team members but for me, this day wiped the slate clean. We had a quick breakfast then went to a traditional Indian arts and crafts store where we all bought the most beautiful, hand crafted tapestries that Northern India is known for. We visited the Bull Temple and its neighboring Ganesh Temple where we saw centuries of beautiful architecture. After this we went to a shopping mall and had my favorite meal of the entire trip, a vegetarian Thali meal where several curries, soups, desserts and rotis were served to us in tiny bowls. Before we could empty our bowls, the waiters refilled them which is basically my life dream. After such a tasty and incredibly filling lunch we were shocked to learn that it only cost about $6.50 per person. We spent the rest of the day shopping, eating and laughing.
On the way to the airport, I came to the conclusion that next
semester’s team should begin with team bonding before the slightest bit of work
is done because if I had gotten to know Mary and Jamie sooner, working with
them would have been a blast. I came to India with a lot of resentment and
annoyance for some of my team members and I left feeling like Mary, Jamie and I
were old friends reunited. I think I can speak for the entire team when I say
that this has been one of the biggest learning experiences of our lives. For
that I am very grateful!