Some Basics

I realized that I have neglected to post on my blog some of the day to day things that I have quickly grown used to but are different from life in Minnesota. So here it goes...

Food: I get my favorite fruits and vegetables from the nearby market and make them in my kitchen, generally with rice. The market is really overwhelming, loud and crowded. But it is also colorful and exciting. It is hard to get used to the fact that there are very few women in in the market and in public in general.

Sometimes the housekeeper cooks them for me and has been teaching me better cooking techniques! I have learned a lot from her already and hope to learn more. She is a very patient teacher and also teaches me the Bangla words for foods that I don't know. I have a fairly large kitchen to myself with a refrigerator and gas stove. I recently learned where a supermarket where I can find some more variety of food. I got some mozzarella cheese and some almonds the last time I was there. I also discovered that they have mountain dew, a personal vice of mine second only to chocolate.

There are not a lot of vegetarians here because most people are Muslim. I am looking forward to venturing into southern India where I hope to enjoy vegetarian friendly cuisine. It has not been a problem because I have been cooking for myself, but it is always a bummer to me to not be able to fully enjoy this part of the culture.

Sleeping: I sleep under a mosquito net every night and sometimes wear ear plugs because there is a very short time frame (maybe between 1-4am) where it is not loud outside. I have been trying not to get a lot of mosquito bites, but in the morning they are particularly annoying.

Transportation: I have been walking most places, but a lot of people take rickshaws. The roads are extremely noisy and crowded. It is hard to get used to the amount of attention that I get. It would not be so bad if I was not alone, but it strange to be one of the only females on the road, let alone how much I stand out!

Language: The language is Bengali (Bangla) but there are many words that are the same in English and Bangla. I am learning the alphabet one by one and trying to use the words that I know as much as possible. It is exciting when I can recognize words and letters on advertisements.

Communication: I use the internet for nearly all of my communication with friends and family back home. But I also have a cell phone, and so does almost everyone else it seems! There are a number of different cell phone companies including Grameen Phone, which is affiliated with Grameen Bank. It is really interesting the ways in which Grameen Phone is advertised-just like any other cell phone company. But I always categorize the Grameen Bank as an NGO, so it is fascinating to see the corporate and NGO worlds blurring together in Bangladesh. In fact the first advertisement that I saw after getting off of the plane was a Grameen Phone poster.

News: It is interesting to read about the election and the US in the newspaper here. The election is very hot news and is often on the front page. All of the editorials that I have seen are in support of Obama and people are very excited to talk to me about him. I will be going to the American club on the 5th (it is 12 hours ahead of central time here) to see the election results come in. This will be my first encounter with live Americans since leaving England on the 19th. I am not sure what to expect! My goal is to make friends with a few people who are willing to try out "Dominous Pizza" with me which is just down the street.

Clothes: I have been very comfortable in jeans and the shirt portion of the Salwar Kameez outfit that most women wear here. The shirt is long sleeved and loose fitting. I wash my clothes by hand in a bucket, but the staff here have been slowly weaning me off doing this task myself.

Religion: 83% of Bangladeshis are Muslim, 16% are Hindu and the remaining 1% or so are Buddhist or Christian. I have had some very interesting discussions regarding religion in Bangladesh. I am learning that in general, there is a climate of respect for religions as a result of the way that people ended up dividing in the liberation war from Pakistan. There is at least one Catholic church here in Dhaka and I am interested in going to it if I get a chance

So..that ended up being a lot more information than I anticipated.