Our First Week's Adventures

During our first week at the Manipal Press, we did so much.  One of the first things we did was tour the different plants associated with the Press.  There are several factions associated with the Press including commercial printing, business forms, security printing, telephone cards printing, variable data printing, and university documents printing.  Rachel and I were lucky enough to see how all of these processes work.  It was so interesting to see a book being made from start to finish.  It was also intriguing to see how many different areas are included in the scope of printing.  Not only does Manipal Press produce books, but also credit cards, personalized checks, diplomas, and even prepaid telephone cards.  This wide range under the umbrella of printing is a big part of the Press’ sustainability. 

Also during this first week, Rachel and I found out how we will be spending our time within the company.  Rachel will be in the “Think Tank” working on finding additional sustainable markets in the U.S. for the Manipal Group.  I am very excited to be working with the Head of Finance and Accounts.  I have already learned a little bit about the differences between Indian and American financial statements, especially the balance sheet.  Currently I am learning more about cost accounting, especially the cost sheet.  I am working on producing a cost sheet for a prospective job

.  Combining what I have recently learned about the printing industry and what I know of cost accounting is challenging, but I have already learned a lot.  It is really great to have the opportunity to use what I learned in the classroom in a real application. 

We moved from the hotel into our apartment on Thursday.  It was very exciting to finally feel like we had our own temporary “home” here.  It is a small one-bedroom apartment with a kitchen and a bathroom, but we already love it.  It’s not much, but it is more sufficient for us.  The night we moved in we thought we would try Indian pizza to see how it compares.  It was so funny when we tasted the pizza and realized that it tasted nothing like American pizza.  We were quite hungry though, and it tasted delicious.  One of the

 best parts about our apartment is that we are able to cook.  We made breakfast this morning (Saturday), scrambled eggs with tomatoes, onions, and cheese with breakfast potatoes.  We were quite proud of ourselves given that we only have two saucepans, spoons, and a very dull knife to work with. 

Yesterday Rachel and I spent the day in Mangalore, about 60 km from Manipal.  We went to tour Primacy Industries.  It is a candle factory associated with the Manipal Group.  After meeting the president, we toured the showroom and saw all the different types of candles Primacy makes.  We also got to see the burning room where they test the number

 of hours each type of candle will burn.  There is also a room where they make samples and test all the different types of candles.  And of course we saw the actual factory.  It is incredible how quickly a candle can be made.  Depending on the type of candle, they can turn the raw materials into a beautiful candle ready to be shipped off in mere minutes.  Primacy provides candles to several markets including the U.S. market in Steinmart, Pier 1, and Dollar General stores.  Rachel and I talked about how excited we would be to look at the candles when we get home and know that we were in the factory where they were made. 

After touring Primacy, we were given the afternoon to explore Mangalore and see what Indian malls looked like.  We went to lunch at a Northern Indian vegetarian restaurant.  It was a beautiful open-air restaurant on the second floor of shop, and the food was so delicious. Rachel had Veg. Kurma and I tried Mushroom Kadai.  Not only did we find a beautiful place for lunch, but we also filled our vegetable quota for the week! The dining experience in India is q

uite different than in the U.S.  The meal often begins with a plate of raw red onions and limes.  We haven’t quite figured out if we are supposed to actually eat it, but neither of us is wiling to give it a try.  After the meal, you are given bowls of hot water with lime to wash your fingers.  Then they bring bowls with fennel and sugar candy for you to eat.  It is supposed to be good for digestion, but neither of us can bring ourselves to eat what looks like bird food to us.  Much more time is taken for meals than in the U.S.  At home it seems like you sit, you eat, you leave, but here you tend to take your time a bit more.  That seems to be the recurring theme, actually.  It is the one thing Rachel and I are having a bit of a hard time getting used to.  Americans are very time oriented, and 9 o’clock means 8:55, while 9 o’clock here means anywhere from 8:50 to 9:15.  It’s actually very nice to not be so focused on time, but is has taken some adjusting. 

Anyways, let’s get back to our day in Mangalore.  After our delicious lunch, we went to see what an Indian mall looked like.  We were very surprised by how similar the mall looked.  It was a new mall called City Centre and was still partially under construction, however, the stores that we already there were very nice.  There were hardly any differences except for the actual clothes in the stores.  We enjoyed walking around and looking at all the different types of clothes.  We even found some shirts we really liked. After our shopping adventure, we went back to Manipal hoping to get in some time beside the pool before dinner.