Princess, 12th Grader Boston English High School
India is phenomenal! Immediately upon arrival I was taken aback by the smells, the transportation system, the chaos and the varying conditions of the country. Today was the big day we all had to dress up. We were told to dress professionally because we were on our way to Fidelity Worldwide. Well my day got off to a rocky start. The airport misplaced my luggage so I had no idea what I was going to wear. I was devastated and I said to myself “India is not so great.” Disregarding the fact that I had no clothes, I had to make the best out of the worst situation. This could probably be the only time in my life I’d be in India. I decided that I can’t let something like this ruin my day. Luckily my roommate Naimah had extra clothes to share and things started to look up.
We got on the bus at 8am, and pulled off five minutes later. On our way to Fidelity we saw many interesting things. We saw horses on trucks, cows in the middle of the street, elephants in the middle of the street, trash on the side of the roads and even pedestrians crossing the streets recklessly. It was completely crazy on the road with walkers dodging cars and motorcycles. This just made me appreciate the American roads and places with sidewalks which seem more predictable and safer.
We finally arrived at Fidelity at about 10am. When we first got off the bus the weather was pleasant and all eyes were on us like we were celebrities. As we made our way toward the tall buildings I noticed two young women walking up to our group. One of the women stretched out her arms indicating that she was begging for money. This was one of the hardest things for me because I hate seeing people in need and not being able to help them. It broke my heart because as she asked for money we all had to turn a blind eye so we don’t attract negative attentions or more beggars.
As we walked into Fidelity we were welcomed with love and everyone was so excited to see us and teach us what they do at their jobs. At first when I walked in I thought this was going to be a boring visit. Then I started to learn a lot about business and international companies. As the day went by I had to go through it with an open mind. Doing so resulted in a day filled with learning, laughter and bonding.
