Hallo from South Africa

Hoe gaan dit? (How are you in Afrikaans)

It’s been forever since my last blog entry and I don’t know where to start – should I tell you about my “vacation” week at home in Dubai where my classmate Nizar and I were set up to meet companies and interviews through IMD career services…or about my family vacation through beautiful Italy and my new found love for the beautiful, vibrant, cultural city of Florence…or about my younger brothers graduation in Birmingham………

Well let’s put all that on a hold and let me welcome you to South Africa and Joburg….the class of IMD arrived here on 22^nd and I kid you not when I say that having 70+ classmates on the same aircraft can be quite the experience….long conversations catching up with each other and discussing our various experiences…..and then landing in Johannesburg welcomed by our program director and IMD Executive director – Hischam El-Agamy – who has been instrumental in setting up the expedition to South Africa.

This is the 5^th year of the Discovery Expedition where we work with local South African SME’s , MNC’s, NGO’s and state ministries to help them improve their operations….this is where we try to get our hands dirty and understand the South African context….but what is this South African context ? It’s this all-encompassing feeling of unity between the different cultures and races of people here…it’s the fact that everyone feels South African first before any reference to their heritage whether its European or Indian or African…if they even mention it that is…..it’s this sense of belonging and pride in what the country has achieved in the past few decades….it’s this positivity and hope in the  amazing future of the nation…..it’s in their food where we yesterday learned to cook a Indonesian-malay influenced South African dish called Bobotie…..it’s in the wonderful stories I have shared with taxi drivers, employees, clients and classmates about the nation, the history and this sense of forgiveness and compassion to forget the past and move forward together….and I had all kinds of expectations and assumptions about this country before I came here and I must say atleast in the neighborhood we live in – Sandton – this is nothing short of an international city with tall skyscrapers, huge malls, office complexes, etc….

We are all trying to learn, immerse ourselves and help people like a few of my classmates (in the pic below) are doing with their project helping under privileged homeless children ……if we can make a difference to one of their lives even for a day , a week or a month…. I would imagine that we can be happy about our small little contribution….

 

Dankie South Africa for your warmth, your sense of positivity, hope and your compassion and openness….