The Daily 'Desh
Lots of people ask me about what my day-to-day is like here. I wake up about 7:30-45. I look at the cold shower, kick myself for not showering in the afternoon when I was hot, and ultimately decide that I can dry shampoo it for one more day. I step out into the hot humid world for my 25 minute walk to work, constantly wondering why I don’t just give in and pay for a rickshaw to take me. I get stared at by everyone as they try to figure out what a white woman with short hair is doing walking around Dhaka in what looks more like men’s clothes than women’s. I throw up a quick prayer as I cross six lanes of traffic—usually more with all of the rickshaws and motorcycles trying to pass—that never stop. (Basically like the lucky cricket scene in Mulan as she crosses the road). Sometimes the motorcycles just hop up onto the sidewalk and drive there.
When I arrive at work, soaked through in sweat, I switch from my chacos into some flats. I work from 8:30 to 3:30 ish (Ramadan hours apparently. It will switch to 5 after). Then I walk home, sometimes stopping for groceries or whatever.
In the evenings, sometimes I just turn on Netflix (we don’t get all the same shows as in the US, but there are two seasons of Project Runway so there is that). But sometimes we have dinner with friends from church, or this week we even had a church party with food and games and some western/bangla dancing.
The weekend before last we went to Sonargaon and Panam Nagar. Sonargaon was the old capital of Bangladesh and has an old castle and a little museum. We also rented some run-down paddle boats and rowed around the pond while everyone took pictures of us.
Panam Nagar used to be a Hindu merchant city until 1974 when they were all kicked out during the Bangladesh war for independence. Now it’s a beautiful ghost town, with elaborate houses and ballrooms and tile mosaics just starting to crumble.
Getting there was kind of crazy. Again, there is no tourist infrastructure, the country is not at all used to tourists (US diplomats are not allowed to leave the diplomatic zone or even go to restaurants). We never see other white people and everyone constantly takes pictures of us.
Winrock is awesome. I’ve learned a ton about child marriage this week; reasons behind it, and possible ties to trafficking. I am also learning more about the trainings that we do for law enforcement and prosecutors on how to handle trafficking cases.
This week I learned how to count in Bangla and say a couple of basic phrases. Mostly being able to say my address has been hugely helpful so far.