Entrepreneurship Development Institute Internship 2014 – Fourth Week, Jordan

On his return from a tiresome field trip spent conducting research, Jordan updates us on his first week back in the EDI centre…

Clip clop came the sound of Alex’s and my footsteps as we reached our adopted home – Ahmedabad. The previous sixteen hours had been a typical Indian train journey consisting of around twelve hours’ sleep and four hours of eating. Upon arrival at EDI, Alex and I headed to bed to gain some post-fieldwork recuperation.

Wednesday was a good day. After being advised to rest, Alex and I decided to have a relaxing day in Ahmedabad’s city centre for the first time. A typically eventful auto rickshaw ride saw us arrive at the exclusive Alpha mall, allowing for some retail therapy and, of course, McDonalds.

Thursday through Saturday was a return to reality, and we documented all of our fieldwork research in a structured fashion. Solidifying a detailed outline of each document was the main priority for the Thursday, with Friday and Saturday being used to get the bulk of our first draft of the process documentation and the business plan done.

Sunday arrived quickly, as work had made the days fly by, and an early start was the order of the day as a heritage walk had been organised with everyone from Boston and Newcastle, along with some EDI students in the city centre, for 9:00 am. Waterproofs at the ready, the auto rickshaw journey to Ahmedabad centre began. The tour included a variety of interesting aspects about the city, from the wide array of secret passageways throughout the city, to the Jain temples (somewhat of an area of expertise for Alex and me post-Chanderi). Needless to say, after the appetite-inducing walk, the group headed to Alpha mall to indulge in Pizza Hut and Subway. Following on from this, the group wanted a taste of the real India, and so we naturally headed to the Western-style amusement arcade within the mall, fairground rides included.

Overall, Week four was a good one. We made big strides towards the completion of our internship project, along with enjoying a bit of relaxation that was the goal set on the train back to Ahmedabad.