Module I - Sep 5 to 19 2004

Maersk Sealand, the company that I work for, has this program called Maersk International Shipping Education (MISE) where a select few employees are flown every 6 months to Copenhagen for a 2 week training session. I believe that the MISE trainees look forward to these sessions more than anything else … it’s a dream come true for most...

I of course was really excited when finally the date for my trip was announced. This is my first job, right out of college and like most young professionals have never flown abroad. So the excitement was greater. It is a strange fact that most of my friends’ first trip abroad was also courtesy their company, similar to my case.

I learnt that 3 of my colleagues would be flying with me as well. We were scheduled to take the Lufthansa flight out of Bombay in the early hours of September 5. I was and am an avid aero plane watcher. I still remember the thrill I got as a 14 year old when I managed to sight the tail of a Lufthansa parked in the Meenambakkam airport in Chennai. So now when I was actually going to fly in one of them, it was another dream come true. The plane was a 747-400, the size of which left me spellbound .I felt like a kid again. The flight was uneventful, but for the movie that they showed. Here I was inside a Lufthansa 747 and I look up and see Mallika Sherawat on the screen!!!Not quite what I expected. I felt like being inside a Volvo bus from Nashik to Bombay….. Beeghe hont and all that ….

Frankfurt airport beckoned us the next day morning in all its modern glory, the kid in me woke up again seeing the multitude of flying machines, and after a while I lost count of the number of flights parked in the terminal. The airport was choke a block with travelers from across the world crisscrossing the huge airport, I was amazed to see a rapid transit system within the airport to ferry people between the terminals. As the guy at the immigration desk pored over my passport for an uncomfortably long time, there was this sudden fear inside me that something was amiss and that I might be detained by the tall German. Thankfully my visa got stamped and there I was ready to board the next flight to Copenhagen.

While waiting to board the SAS flight to Copenhagen, my colleague Gauri forgot her passport, forex etc inside a rest room. She realized her folly after 15 minutes, and rushed back with tears streaming and all that, thankfully it was left untouched and a major crisis was averted. That was the first of the many such goof ups that Gauri did in the next fortnight.

The flight from Frankfurt to Copenhagen takes just an hour. The food that we got in the flight gave us a clue about the kind of food that we would get in Copenhagen – dry, cold and totally tasteless to my south Indian tongue.

Reached Copenhagen to find a sunny albeit cold weather welcoming us. We had to take a taxi to reach the module centre. I was taken aback when I saw a Mercedes Benz answering our call for a taxi. It was another dream come true (it was one of those “dreams coming true “days ) to travel in a merc, but to see a merc as a taxi was a shock as well. The Afghani driver tried his best to humour us with his knowledge of bollywood, but we were too busy looking out at the beautiful countryside.

We reached the module centre and settled in. The first program was the evening opening dinner. There you had 110 people, each one a stranger to the other and they were going to spend 2 weeks together. I tried to meet as many people and exchange introductions. I had a feeling that the module was going to be real fun...

The first day had us going to the company headquarters in Esplanaden. The chief executive officer addressed us and we were taken around the offices. Also we were taken to the seafront where you have the statue of perhaps the most famous symbol of Denmark – the little mermaid. It was sort of disappointing since the statue was too small compared to what I had imagined. But of course, as u have guessed it, it was a dream come true …

From the next day onwards we had class room sessions (which they called tuitions) for the whole day. People whom I have spoken to have all found me speaking very fast and my new friends were no exceptions. They also couldn’t follow me. The tuitions were good; most of it was not new to me. But for many others it was new, since most of them have only completed high school (no, they are not 16 year olds, its just that their education system is different) and do not as yet have a bachelor’s degree. so when I tell them that I ve done engineering as well a MBA and am all of 23 years, they mistook me for a genius.

When I looked around and saw people from countries like Dominican republic, Ghana, Vietnam etc as classmates I couldn’t help think about the strange progress of my education .In school I had people from my neighbouring suburbs, in college I had people from all over Tamil Nadu, in MBA people from all over India were my batch mates, now I was in a class with a worldwide representation. quite a unique record.

There were a few tongue twisters in the class. How in the world would you pronounce Wojicech Skrypinzki and Thulasizwe Buthelezi... They were also a handful of Chinese. They are perhaps the most humblest and hardworking lot. their lack of English fluency hampers them and the sad part is that they withdraw from the rest of the gang due to this reason. It must be said that many people went out of their way to help them and make them comfortable. once u get to know them, u realize how intelligent and clever they are. The Chinese finally shed their inhibitions when they threw a party to the rest of the world and needless to say it was a big hit.

The other side to the day long tuitions was the night long parties in the basement. That is the place where the Latinos and Europeans rule. We shy Indians think twice before stepping out to shake a leg, even if we are good dancers. and of course our bollywoodish dances and are quite a far cry from the salsa and tango that they prefer. So we remain in the sidelines sipping a beer or a coke and watching wistfully as the Spaniards, Danes, Americans and others make merry….

The best part of the first week was the culture day. The term culture day was actually a misnomer and named so that the trainees don’t have a clue of what is in store. The trainees were divided into groups and given 8 timed exercises to complete .the exercises really test your all around abilities; it requires physical stamina, metal skill and team work. the unique part about each of these tasks was that each one was based upon an A P Moller principle. At the end of the day as they explain to you why each task was designed the way it was, the principle behind it slowly unravels, and that is when u actually feel proud to be part of the company.

The next day we were taken to the Maersk terminal in Aarhus, some 3 and a half hours drive from our module centre. The sparkling new terminal had the AXEL MAERSK berthed in. This one is a giant of a ship – 6600 TEUs. We were taken around the ship including its engine room. The nature of my work has taken me inside a ship before, but for many it was a first time experience – pardon me for the repeated usage – it was a dream come true for them…

What I liked the most in the day was the ride on one of the straddle carriers, it’s a vehicle used to carry containers from the jetty to the yard. We got a ringside view of the operation of the straddle carrier.


The second week was full of classroom sessions, with more teamwork and presentations. I do like to make presentations but it was going a bit too far.

The time management class was very interesting and unique. The teacher pasted whatever he had written in the flip chart into the wall and also asked us to do the same, meaning, whatever group work we had done, we had put it up on the walls of the classroom. at the end of the day the class looked colorful. People were surrounded by their own work and it kind of gave out an energy which sustained them for the whole day.

The second Thursday night we had the business behaviour practice dinner. we were to put into practice all that we had learnt that day, like how to sit, how to use the fork and spoon, how to toast and all that. My date for the evening was Alice from Taiwan. The dinner took what felt like an eternity to get over; the interval between each course was too long.

Then came the closing dinner. The 2 weeks went away in a flash and for everybody it would be an unforgettable experience. I am sure not many people would have this opportunity of getting to interact with people from so many varied cultures. the closing dinner had speeches, toasts and went for more than 3 hours. After that was the final party of the module. This one stretched into the wee hours of the next day morning. It was also the time to say goodbye to many. I never imagined that in 2 weeks I would be such good friends with many people whom I would actually miss once the module was over.

Next day morning we vacated our rooms and got into the bus that took us to the airport. since my flight out was only a day later, I was planning to stay with a friend of mine. I met him in the Copenhagen central station and from there went to his apartment. He was a classmate of mine in Engineering college and I was meeting him for the first time after college. and never in my wildest dreams had I imagined that I would meet him in Copenhagen. It surely is a small world… We spent the day roaming around Copenhagen; we visited the Tivoli gardens, Radauspladen, and had dinner at the magnificent Indian restaurant – the Indian Taj. After that we hit a pub called Rosie McGees which had one of the best interior settings I have ever seen …All in all an amazing day to round off the 2 week trip

The flight back home was uneventful except that they gave u the feeling of a Volvo bus again by playing yet another stupid Hindi movie…

I was back home in my apartment in the early hours of sept 21. the trip was unlike anything I had experienced all my life. It has given me so many wonderful memories and am already looking forward to the second module 6 months hence …..