Shine — Masters in Integrated Electronic System design Chalmers

In India you need to have good grades in order to gain admittance to such a school. Shine worked hard to maintain his grades as well as running a business. Running a business is not a straight forward venture in India. Once Shine finished high school he decided to leave home to study elsewhere. This is common in India. He went to a town near Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu. This is about 4-5 hours from his home. He studied electronics and communication there for 4 years. He often went home during this time.

Shine said that he does not usually get homesick but that it is always nice to go home as he very much appreciates his mother´s cooking. He usually took his laundry with him. Home is always a good place to be but when he is there he feels under quite some pressure.

After this, Shine moved to Bangalore where he worked for a while. He planned to prepare to go abroad to study but also to escape from studying and his responsibilities for a while. He applied to a lot of universities all over the world during this time.
I asked Shine why he chose Sweden and Chalmers. He was not really sure. He was accepted in Norway ,Australia and the UK. He felt there were too many Indians studying in Australia and UK. He thought he would have a better time in Europe . He read a lot of testimonials by Chalmers students and they were mostly very positive and so Chalmers became the university of his choice. Looking back he feels that it was just chance that he ended up here.

He did want to live in a fairly large city and he does feel that Chalmers was a good choice. In Sweden he feels that most people are studying because they want to. They have a genuine interest in what they are studying. Shine is genuinely interested in what he has been studying. He feels there are quite a few international students studying in Sweden who don´t really want to be here but are just here to finish their studies and then go home. They don´t really live here or learn anything about the culture. This is largely due to the fact that Sweden has not charged for tuition for foreign students in the past. In India he feels that many people study because it is expected of them and not because they really like what they are doing.

Shine came here in September 2007. He stayed with us for a month. I took him to his initiation and it was an eye opener for me. I just did not realise that there were so many international students at Chalmers. Shine found himself a flat after a short time (not an easy feat) that he shared with flatmates from Lithuania and Lebanon. He is used to living with different people but he does prefer living by himself. He now lives in a student apartment and he prefers this style of living.

Shine has now completed his Masters but he would like to stay in Sweden and obtain a job, if possible. He is still registered as a student and he is able to keep his apartment for some time.

I asked Shine what he knew about Sweden before he came here. He said he knew there was a good soccer team here and that they had played in the world cup. He had heard of Björn Borg and was aware that the climate was not the best. He had never seen snow and the coldest temperature he had experienced, before he came to Sweden was around 15C .

Shine likes change as otherwise he tends to get bored. Moving to Sweden was quite a big change for him but this is what he wanted. He very much likes how the system works in Sweden, particularly at school. In India the teachers are always right. They demand respect whether they are worthy of it or not. There is little personal contact. Here there is a lot more of this and you are not made to feel that you are below the teachers. You are treated like a friend, with respect. There does not seem to be so much of a hierarchy here.

In India there is much more of hierarchy and management and employees do not mix. Corporal punishment within the family is not uncommon. (This is illegal in Sweden.) Shine was sometimes punished physically, by his father, when he did something bad. This was the norm, when he was growing up and probably still is.

There is very much a hierarchy in schools in India. There always seems to be a power struggle. There are a lot of people and a lot of competition for jobs and university places. You should not show your emotions. You cannot hold hands with a girl in public. Shine told me about “ragging" — this is a brutal version of “nollning" (initiation rites). When you start at a new school the juniors are the underdog and they suffer both physical and financial abuse. Sometimes this can lead to suicide. There is always someone trying to make you feel that you are inferior. The whole system is illegal but still practised. It is not about having fun but more a master and slave relationship.
 
In India everything related to sex is taboo. Men have more freedom and this is accepted. There is something called Eve Teasing and this is really just harassment of women. Women are not seen on the streets after 8.00 in the evenings in smaller cities or towns.  (I was not really aware of this when I lived in India but I guess being a foreigner it was ok for me to be out and about.) There is a lot of pressure on young people to conform.  

School children usually have special tuition outside their ordinary school hours. This is a trend and it means that even young students have time for little else than their studies.  Shine feels that this is not a good thing. Children are taught from a young age that academic excellence is paramount to all else. They do not have time for extra curricular activities such as socialising with friends, sport or hobbies.

In India a son or a daughter is not just a relative but a measure of social status. What children do, even when they are adults, reflects on the family.

In India a young wife belongs to their husband´s family. A dowry or marriage price is illegal but still exists. A bride should have a considerable amount of gold with her when she married. The South of India is more conservative than the north.
Shines feels that people don´t always live their lives in accordance with their religions. He says that God is seen as the boss and you should give him money and be nice to him but you can do what you like behind his back.

Religion has a sad side, in his Shine´s opinion. There are always extremists and there is always someone trying to bend the words and the rules.
Shine talked about the buses in India. It is often death defying traveling by bus. Shine explained that they are privately owned and therefore they try to get as many customers as they can. The drivers think they are in a Formula 1 race. It can be scary travelling by bus (I agree with this) If an accident happens the bus driver may be beaten up and even killed.
I asked Shine if he had suffered any culture shock when moving to Sweden. He said that he would like to believe that he is open to anything new and he is willing to accept change. He did find it hard to call everyone, including his professors, by their first names. He found this very difficult in the beginning. This would never happen in India. He said he will probably find it hard to change when he moves back to India.

Shine is a very sociable person and during his stay here in Sweden he has go to know people from many different countries. This is one of the great things about being an international student. He feels he is part of a large family of students. This has been very good for him and it has given him a wider perspective of things. In India it is easy to think that the way things are done there is the only way and the right way. Shine realises that there is no right or wrong but that you can follow any lifestyle or culture and still be happy. He accepts differences. Shine definitely feels that he has learned a lot from others.

Shine´s closest friend in Sweden is Swedish. He does not feel that Swedish people are easy to get to know. He tends to agree with the coconut theory of culture in relation to Swedes (that the outer surface is hard but once you get through it you find a good friend). He feels that international students are an advantage for Chalmers and that is good for the Swedish students to learn from students all over the world. It is important to learn about other countries and cultures.

Shine speaks a little Swedish but he gets very little chance to practise. He has trained with children and this has been helpful.
I asked him about the questions he gets about India. He said that they are usually about cows, eating with your hands, no toilet paper, and Indian food. People also ask about the caste system. There is a definite lack of knowledge about Indian culture and India , particularly from people who have never traveled to India.

Shine would definitely recommend Sweden to other students. He feels it is a great place. He likes the study methods and feels they lead to genuine learning. Chalmers is trying to reduce the number of exams in order to decrease the pressure on students. They also have open book exams. You don´t have the stress of studying but you learn how to find information. He finds the winters a bit hard and of course cold and dark. This does make the summers better but he finds the weather very wet and cold and unpredictable, even in the summer.  

Shine sees his stay in Sweden as a type of an extended holiday. He feels he has a limited range of life here. He finds the system hard to understand sometimes. A lot of what is done privately in India is looked after by the social system here, for example hospitals and medical care. He thinks it would probably be harder to move here to work and live, rather than to study.

He has thought about going back and realises that this will not be easy for him. He feels he will surely suffer from culture shock. He now has something to compare his own culture to and he will be more critical and objective rather than just accepting things. He knows that he will adjust but he is also aware that he is not going to fit in.

I asked how Shine sees his future in India but he was rather vague about this. He does not have any specific plans but is fully aware that his family has certain expectations for him.  He would like to experience other countries and cultures and he is not sure where he will ultimately settle.

Families in India still choose the wives for their sons. Shine does not think this will be so for him. This is a changing trend for some young people who are choosing their own partners, with their families consent.

Shine talked about Indian weddings. Weddings in India are often huge. They are largely for showing off, in Shine´s opinion. Sometimes the parents cannot pay the debts after a wedding and suicide may be a consequence. It is however important to put on a good show and 1000 guests is quite normal.

I have met Shine´s mother. She is a beautiful, gentle, caring lady and she is very proud of her son but a bit bewildered by his delay in returning to India. She hasn´t seen him for more than two years now and any mother can identify with her sadness in this.

I can also understand Shine. He is young and keen to learn new things and meet interesting people. He has experienced a kind of freedom in Sweden. He has not been responsible to anyone but himself. The Indian and the Swedish culture can be seen as two extremes from many points of view. Shine is breaking away in some ways but he is also aware of the strength of his family ties and Indian culture and religion.
Shine has a bright future ahead of him. Having a Masters degree from Chalmers at the age of 24 is no mean feat. I look forward to following Shine´s life with interest.