Thursday, July 30th, 2009
Day 2 in Dhaka
I woke up this morning around 7:15 having that feeling of where the hell am I? All the new staff met at the school at 8:30ish. Even though we live 2 blocks from school our driver was waiting to drive us there. We told him that we'd just walk tomorrow. We voiced our concerns about our apartments, i.e. our apartment has one non-working toilet and one shower without hot water. Then we had 3 veteran teachers come and talk to us. They gave kind of tour of Bangladesh and told us good places to travel to and how to get there. They gave a brief history of the country. Bangladesh just won it's independence in 1971 (I think) from Pakistan with a lot of help from India so it is a very new country. There are two major political parties here, which are both headed by women; interesting since it is such a male-dominated society. At least one of the women came to power because her husband was in power and then was assassinated. They also just shared their experiences with us and why they enjoy living in Dhaka and talked about local customs and do's and dont's of living here. One of the more shocking things they told us was that if you get into a driving accident to not stop, and to just keep going. Once you've reached your destination, then to call the Embassy and they will send someone to help. This is because mobs can form very easily and even if it was totally not your fault at all, it can become your fault very fast. This is a shocking thing to hear but I guess it's just a way of life and driving in general is soo different it that it takes getting used to. They also said that even though people here are incredibly poor, especially by western standards, that they are generally very joyful and are always willing to help. They said that if you are having a bad day to walk out into the streets and look at these people living everyday hand to mouth and your problems seem minute in comparison. We were also introduced to the support staff who do everything from tech stuff to driving buses to fixing lights. They are all so incredibly nice and always say hello to you and will help you with anything. The school staff are very appreciative of them as well, which makes for a really nice community environment, and is not always the case apparently at every International school, so it's nice to see.
After this we had lunch at the American club again and then went on a shopping expedition. We drove in buses to the hardware store and the super market, which were both fine. There wasn't anything that I was really craving food wise because we had been having such nice meals so I just got some of the basics. Your cook bara will do all your shopping for you if you want them to normally. You just write them a list and give them some money and they keep a book of expenses and receipts. My roommate and I were done quickly and so we finished up and got back on the bus to head to the electronics store to get a cell phone. Other people though were shopping for their whole family so it took them a lot longer. Sitting on the bus I got a little emotional because really small children come right up to the bus window and tap on the glass asking for money. They stand right outside the bus door, which was kept open and look right at you and just keep saying the same thing over and over again, which I can't understand, but they must be asking for money. They do this loud whistle too that is piercing. Old men beggars hold out their tin cups for money and once you've made eye contact with them they don't go away. Women hold up babies to the window right next to you begging for money. It is soo sad and I can't not look at these people who are everywhere begging for anything but once you've looked they see you and don't leave you alone. The veteran teachers told us though that even though it is incredibly heart breaking that these beggars basically all work for crime boss type people and any earning they make go right back to the boss. It's all much more organized than it seems. The babies that women hold up to your window may not even be theirs and you will often see one women holding a different baby everyday . It was really emotionally draining; us westerners sitting on a nice air-conditioned bus buying food and electronics and these people are out on the streets day after day and not even probably able to keep what they beg for. The electronics store took a really long time and the same thing happened when we were waiting to head back to the school. I had been pretty fine up until then but that was really tough to deal with.
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