A Beautiful Mistake - A Tale Of Summer Of 2018

With many things going through my mind, I boarded the flight. Landed in Accra (Ghana), and thought of keeping all the biases aside and look at the things as it is and then decide. I was overwhelmed to see the reception from our company officials. They took great care of us and made us feel like we don't just share a professional relationship, but also a strong personal bond. My major worries were "What will I eat there, as I'm a pure vegetarian?", "How safe will I be?", "How will I work there with the language barrier?". I initially saw all these coming as I was biased with the Africa stories I heard for 6 months after my placement. But then I realized the basic human nature. We, humans, make an image of things which we have just heard of. We form opinions, come to a conclusion and the worst part is that we spread it and reinforce those opinions amongst others. I got trapped in the same cycle. But having experienced life in Ghana for 2 months, I can say that 'We All Stereotype'. It’s our inherent nature. We simply believe what we see or to be precise, what is shown to us. In Ghana, I found people to be very warm and loving. The culture of treating non-natives was far better than in India (I feel really bad when I say this, but that's what I felt). Now come to the work culture and ecosystem.

I had speculations about whether I will be able to give my best in Africa with the language barrier and an entirely different work culture. But to my surprise, I found an amazing work culture, engaging project and very dedicated people to work with. Initially, I had some problems, understanding them, but after some time, language was not at all a problem, as a majority of people there were able to speak English, differing from my bias that Africans are not well educated. I was given a sales project wherein I had to start an entirely new channel to sell. ‘’Indomie noodles’’ and ‘’Pringles’’ (Yes, you read it right) through hawkers. Basically, I had to wander on the streets of Accra, talk to hawkers, consumers, distributors, and retailers which showed me a very granular picture of Africa. I was treated with great respect and love. I then realised that everything which we see on internet related to Africa is not always the true picture. I was mesmerised with the place, culture, warmth of the people, intellectual level and affinity towards harmony. The company is also great to work with. All the expats there made sure we get acclimatized to the new environment and understand the place with great detail. I was initially worried about my learning there,as I was biased that Africa is not a good place to work and not a developed one. But I had immense learning and due to a flat hierarchical structure of the organization, I got to understand every aspect of the company’s operations. One of my major learning was that I witnessed how the collaboration between two companies happen and what made this learning steep was the fact that I was the only point of contact between the companies till the final decision was made. I learned how outsourcing is done and at the first place why is it even required. This made me apply all my learnings of 1 year at IIMB. My co-interns made my stay cherishable there. Looking at the real picture, I realised that ' It was indeed a beautiful mistake of my life'. It would have been good if I was placed in some Indian Company, but now, I thank God that it did not happen, else I wouldn't have experienced a beautiful place which has been stereotyped always.