Steph K. Jan. 11

The past two days have been amazing. Yesterday after our post, we had an awesome seminar in which we were paired up with a student and a local entrepreneur so we could do a 1 on 1 interview and ask the questions we wanted. My enrepreneur seemed extremely down to earth -- a very modern Indian woman. She owns a decorative glass hardware company jointly with her husband. She also has a 12 year old daughter, so she understands the difficulties of parenthood while maintaining a personal business. She told me that she and her husband share decision making, but they assume different responsibilities in their business. He does the marketing while she does the finance and administrative work. I asked if he prefers to work with clients because he is the male and thinks because of that he should, but she said it is strictly based on the fact that he has more of a extroverted, type A personality, while she personally has always preferred to stay behind the scenes.

She and her husband had an arranged marriage. I asked if she believes that all arranged couples in India work so well together -- as she is suited for the behind the scenes work while he is the extroverted marketer -- and she said a lot of the time that is the case. That is why arranged marriage is so widely accepted in India -- because it works. Parents have the insight and wisdom to pick someone they know will best suit their child. Believe it or not, some of us are envious of this practice. It saves us the trouble of doing it ourselves, and it makes Indian women more accepting of their surroundings and more adaptable. That is a major difference I see in our two cultures. Americans tend to want to adapt our surroundings, while Indian women prefer to adapt themselves. Who is to say that either is better?