Romain Gendreau

Q1) How does it feel to represent your country in some other country? Can you describe a situation in which you felt it necessary to be an ambassador for your country? For example, has there been a situation in which you needed to clarify erroneous stereotypes or assumptions about your home culture? How did you handle that situation?

  • In one of the courses, we have created a whatsapp group to discuss doubts with the professor, who regularly sends content related to various European countries, a lot of which is totally inaccurate. For example, one of them showed how France had collapsed in between so and so years, which was absolutely untrue.
  • Our parents frequently send us food via courier, which we often eat in the mess. The Indian students sitting around us are amazed (and confused) to find out how the same food item is prepared and served in such a drastically different form in foreign countries. They are like “Come on that can’t be cheese!” , or “That doesn’t look like potatoes at all!”.
This kind of situation are really funny, but most of the stereotypes are quite true

Q2) What is the general perception of India in your home country? Are those perceptions correct? In your opinion, what are India's greatest strengths?

  • Before coming to India, I didn’t know that India had a president, and neither did my family. However, we knew about Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India, he is quite popular in France.
  • Whenever we think about India, we think “Taj Mahal”; that is one thing most of us are familiar with. After all, it’s one of the seven wonders of the world!

Q3) In your opinion, what are India's greatest strengths?

  • Indians are really good with “Jugaad”. They can get the job done even with minimal resources.
  • The commodities in India are way cheaper than in France. For example, a regular hatchback costs 3 times more in France than it does over here.
  • There is a lot of flexibility in India. Everything is open 24/7, and even when you go out late at night you can see a lot of people strolling about, which gives a sense of safety.

Q4) Has your experience here helped you gain an appreciation of how the world is interconnected on all levels (environmental, socio-cultural and geopolitical)? If so, can you cite specific examples? 

  • Students are involved in so many different kinds of cultural activities, it’s really amazing. They are as adept in western music as they are in traditional music. A lot of the movies we can watch here and in France are same.
  • Both of our countries (and many others as well) have been suffering from the menace of terrorism, which originates in Pakistan. France recently faced a lot of terrorist attacks, as did India during 26/11. We must take united steps to curb the spread of terrorism.

Q5) What are the biggest differences you see between the college experience here and in your home country? 

  • The sheer size of the infrastructure in IIT Delhi is overwhelming. The campus is huge and there are specific playgrounds for football, cricket, hockey. Everything is inside the campus, i.e. the hostels, lecture halls, research labs, sports area, extra curricular area. There are a lot of departments, and each department has a huge batch of students, which is unlike anything in France.
  • A major benefit of the exchange program with IIT Delhi has been that I have been able to skip most of my core courses here, and take programs from various departments that I am interested in.

Q6) What do you like the most/the least about India? What do you miss the most about your home country?

The weather in India is extremely pleasant, just the right amount of rain and sunshine.

  • In Europe food is always served with potatoes, whereas here rice is served as the staple.
  • In India, you can wear anything ranging from ethnic to western, without the fear of being judged. One has the option to choose whether to buy branded stuff from the malls or go to Sarojni Nagar for cheaper options.
  • Indians talk for fun – in order to have a leisure time. I have had two mentors in IITD, and both of them were pretty accessible, easy going and funny.
  • India is growing at a tremendous rate, and people here are extremely hardworking. If my speculation is right, India will be the next China in the coming decade.