From stray dogs to Taj Mahal: View of an American in India

(Warren and me at the Leela Bangalore)

Last summer a 23 year old American Intern, Warren K Jones came to India to work at Wipro. I had the opportunity of meeting him and spending some time with him. These are some the excerpts from some of our conversations.

On his reason to come to India

I have always had a travelers spirit since I was a child so when the opportunity to intern in India arose, there was absolutely no way I wasn’t going to take it. Talking to my mother a few weeks before my flight, I explained to her that I wanted to go primarily for my own spiritual and mental growth along with my professional development and experience. I loved the idea of completely immersing myself in a different culture and I felt that India would provide the perfect environment to accomplish both my personal and professional goals.

On his expectations before coming to India

The only knowledge I had of India was from what I’d read in books, heard from people, or seen in movies. I sensed that it was going to be a place that would truly change my life. I am a strong believer that we all have multiple periods of incubation throughout the course of our lives that turn out to be what I call “Landmark moments”. Similar to the visual of us forming or transforming in our mothers’ womb, these incubation periods serve as a rebirth in a sense, consisting of situations in life that come to potentially define us or change our perception and perspective about certain things. They cause us to learn more about ourselves, reconcile relationships, change our profession, move to another place, or even pick up new hobbies. Each person’s situation and reaction to that situation is different, but they are landmark moments that we never forget and can identify easily as something that changed the course of our lives. My expectation for me going to India was that it would become one of my landmark moments.

Three things that amazed him about India.


The three things that amazed me most about India had to be the stray animals, the population & traffic, and the architecture.

1) Stray animals: I was amazed by the large amount of stray dogs I saw parading around every corner, shop, and street. I felt bad for some of them especially those with obvious diseases and injuries. I was also fascinated by the number of cows and other farm animals walking or lying around the city. I am so used to seeing these animals either houses or on farms in America, so it was shocking to see such a drastic difference in India.

2) Population & traffic: The population and traffic itself wasn’t what amazed me. What amazed me was how calm and at peace everyone seemed amidst all the chaos. I sensed that the population has put India at somewhat of a disadvantage in terms of its development as a nation and has led to a lot of poverty. To come from America where even the most rural or least populated area is developed and the poorest people are provided basic necessities, and to then come to India was mind boggling and truly amazing. It was amazing in a different kind of way. I realized how blessed I am and how much more appreciative I need to be. I conceptualized the idea of a developing country, but I never understood fully the magnitude of that word until visiting India.

3) Architecture & Sculptures: The architecture of a lot of the hotels, temples, some homes, and monuments really intrigued me. Specifically the Taj Mahal of course. I was amazed at its size, beauty, and detail. I can’t believe a structure so gorgeous was built so long ago.
There is one more thing that I loved about India and really amazed me. THE FOOD!!! I LOVE IT!!!
Challenges that he faced

Upon my arrival into New Delhi and after going through immigration I somehow managed to lose my passport which had my Visa inside. I was scared at first because I was always told that’s the number one thing you don’t want to do especially in a country like India. Losing the passport created a lot more challenges for the remainder of my stay. I had difficulty in getting a sim card for a phone, a data card for the internet, and domestic travel at one point was very stressful all due to my lost passport and visa. In the end it all worked out and I wouldn’t change a thing if I could, because I met a lot of great people who were nice in helping me during the process and managed to get me the items I needed. My only other challenge in India was the fact the Rickshaw drivers knew I was foreign and automatically charged me extra every time I needed to go somewhere. I got smarter throughout the duration of my visit and was able to negotiate with some of them, but I lost a lot of money from being ripped off sometimes.

Any changes to his perception after the trip

My perception before my trip derived from movies, people, and books and those didn’t do it any justice. After being back home and having adjusted to life in America my perception of India now is that it is a very beautiful despite its chaos and development battles. There is a spirit of peace and a community of warmth and love. People work very hard there and in my opinion too hard, but I feel like things can only go up for India. Slowly but surely, India will be where it needs to be.