
The final week in India was insane! In a final push to get everything done, I spent Sunday-Tuesday with my laptop glued to me, madly trying to finish editing my film. Come Tuesday afternoon, I had finished my project and was ready to show the CEO on Wednesday for the go-ahead to export.
On Wednesday, we met with the CEO and received final feedback on our films. My film is heavily reliant on subtitles, and I only had minor feedback regarding those. Thankfully, this feedback required only easy-fixes, which wouldn’t take me long to complete. On Wednesday night we went to dinner with the entire cohort to BYG Brewsky in Bangalore, a one-year old outdoor Brewery/bar, which was an awesome night. (See pic below)
On Thursday morning, I added the recommended changes and spent the afternoon packing and enjoying the last day at SOAW. I’m really proud of the film I produced and am so grateful for the skills I have gained throughout the process.
On Friday, we began the day with our final pitch, presenting our final work to the cohort and getting to see what everyone else had produced within the last month. After the pitches, we collected our bags and said goodbye to SOAW. We hopped on a bus and drove to the location for the Holi fight. 40K always throws a Holi fight at the end of the trip, to celebrate our time together. The Holi fight involves throwing coloured chalk at each other, which was very messy, but also great fun!
After the Holi fight, we made our way to our hotels where we kitted-up in our traditional Indian dress for the final dinner. After about an hour and two failed attempts, I finally managed to assemble my saree. The final dinner was great fun and an awesome opportunity to let our hair down one last time before flying home.
Overall, my experience in India was fantastic. My time away was definitely far more confronting and challenging than I anticipated, however I learned so much that has helped me grow on both a personal and professional level. The opportunity to intern with a company as renowned as 40K Globe is one I’ll relish forever. Through 40K I was able to meet so many amazing people, from the parents and children living in the villages I visited, to the employees and fellow volunteers, I’m so grateful.
I’m so glad to have returned home safe (tired, but safe) and to have access to the small comforts of everyday life in Australia that I never realised were a factor to be grateful for. My experience with 40K has heightened my perspective in so many ways and has shown me just how effective teamwork can be. Finally, I’m super proud of everything I was able to achieve whilst in India and it feels awesome to know that the film I produced will be used to help attract further funding for 40K to continue implementing change.
Thanks for following along with my journey!
Until next time, that’s this trip update Pinned.
Em.