I am in a really good mood right now! Today started a little slow (really slow) but ended up being a really good day! We had to wake up early because our cleaning lady was coming at
7:30am. Apparently the landlord requires her to come and mop everyone’s floors
every day, because every thing gets so dirty with the air but this 7:30am
schedule we may try and adjust. We have baby cockroaches in our fridge and
kitchen, so hopefully we can figure something out with those, too. I was in
blissful ignorance about what they were (I thought they were just a random
little bug or two) until Prabhat told me…as I’m sitting here debating having
leftovers for dinner I’m questioning whether that's a good idea with the bugs…
Anyway, this morning, after getting up and awkwardly sitting
around as she cleaned, I got to Skype with my parents, which was great. Then I
hung out for a little and left for work around 10am. I don’t know if I was just
more prepared for the attention or I got less, but it felt like an easier walk
to the main road—less eyes on me. It was at an earlier time, so I maybe that
means something. Ariadna told me that single women just don’t walk around here
alone. I guess they get a bad reputation if they do and it’s frowned upon so single
women move around in groups, while married women get around with their
husbands. I guess I am supposed to be prepared to get asked where my husband is
a lot.
Once I made it to the main road, I flagged down an auto
easily enough, and he seemed to know where I was going like right as I told
him, which was exciting. But..alas…it just couldn’t be that easy. We ended up
on a very busy main road stuck in dead traffic. I knew it was wrong. I tried to explain that to him, and I think he
sort of got we were going the wrong way, so he started speaking to an auto
stuck in traffic next to us, and the passenger spoke English and asked me where
I was going. She seemed to translate well enough. And after being stuck at a standstill
(literally—at a dead stop) for about 30 minutes, we were able to turn around.
But then, we ended up getting on an even bigger road, which I also knew was
wrong. Ugh. This guy obviously didn’t understand what I was saying even though
he kept nodding yes when I told him. He pulled off to ask ANOTHER auto where I
was going. I tried to explain to that driver, “road 7, road 7, Banani, Banani”
and he seemed to get it. Holding up 7 fingers seems to be a good trick to keep
in mind. Finally THEY sent us in the right direction. I realized halfway through
this nice hour-long auto that I hadn’t asked for a price. I panicked. I didn’t
know if I should bring it up now, or just wait till the end and pay what needed
to get paid. I went ahead and asked “Tk100?” At this point he still thought we
were going god knows where down the highway, so he laughed and said Tk200. I
said no but that is when he turned to talk to another one of the autos in
traffic, so I just didn’t bring up the price again. Worst-case scenario I would
pay Tk200, which is like $2.25—at least I would finally be at work. Eventually,
after asking a few other autos along the way, we ended up at a house I didn’t
recognize. He tried to tell me we were here. We were definitely not at the
“here” I wanted to be at. He asked the guard and it turned out my building was
just a few houses down. FINALLY, I had made it. Ugh, the stress it takes for me
to just simply get to work. I am going to try rickshaws now, since they are
cheaper and won’t go as far. So even if they start going in the wrong direction,
I can’t end up on the highway or anything. I really need to walk to work one
day with Kishan and Prabhat, so I learn the way. Blah. I’ll add it to my to-do
list.
Work was good, especially as I’m starting to get into some
of the work Ariadna is assigning me with the data. Muh-moon is always trying to
bring us snacks and cake and tea, and lunch was chicken and rice, which was
delicious. Ariadna told me we could go get some local clothes for me (which
should help a little with the stares?) at 6pm, so at 6pm we left. We went to a
store that apparently is local stuff but mostly for expats. It had some really
great random knickknacks and stuff for around the house, as well as clothes. I
also saw more westerners in that one store than I had seen in all of Dhaka so
far.
We had a lot of fun trying to pick out things that weren’t
SO weird or really ugly. The pants are wild. They are HUGE and billowy and then
come in tighter at the ankles. I feel like Aladdin in them. They look so
funny—I just got one pair that came in a set with a long, tunic-y top (I posted
a picture below) and then got a more “normal” loose pair. I got a couple other
tunic-y tops, as well, so I should be good for a little. I will probably need
some more considering I brought like four shirts and two pairs of pants total,
but I’ll figure it out. It’s nice because the store is RIGHT by my apartment. Also
clothes are really cheap, even for a pricey store like this for expats. I feel
slightly ridiculous in the clothes, but I guess it’s what everyone is wearing.
It started raining while we were there, and I had NO idea
where I was, so Ariadna was nice and took a rickshaw to my house with me. Now I
am just hanging out and will probably have leftovers for dinner. Prabhat and
KIshan are JUST coming home from work now (it’s 8:30pm). I was shopping with my
boss, and they are still at work…our projects and bosses are sort of different
to say the least. To be fair, they are one week away from starting their
intervention so they are at a much, much crazier point in their project. We are
at more of a lull period with just cleaning data and starting to brainstorm and
prepare for the next round of interventions.
Also some good news is that I will be able to stay at
Ariadna’s for this weekend. I was so nervous about what I would do and I felt
SO ridiculous asking, but Prabhat and Kishan are away this whole weekend in the
field. I a) don’t feel comfortable staying in this apartment alone. Maybe at
some point I will be (doubtful…) but especially in my first week I just can’t
stomach it. I still feel nervous and uncomfortable doing anything like half the
time. And b) I can’t get around alone (I don’t know where I'm going) and hate
getting around alone (I get stared at and followed). So it will definitely be
nice to spend some of my free time with other people this weekend who actually
do know what they’re doing and how to get places. So hopefully it will be a fun
weekend staying with her!
Also, Kishan and Prabhat were originally going to be gone a
LOT for their project, but I guess the budget will only let them go this
weekend and maybeee one other weekend, so phew. Like actually thank god. When
they first told me they’d be gone all of the time, I almost freaked out but
decided to just wait and see what happened, and thankfully I did, because it
sounds like it won’t be a problem. And I get to go into the field one weekend,
I think in a couple of weeks, so I’m really excited about that! Rural
Bangladesh will be QUITE the experience—I think it is very, very different than
Dhaka.
New Clothes!
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