The first thing I noticed about Bangladesh, seen for the first time through a foggy airplane window, was that the airport had red dirt. This made me happy because it reminded me of Tennessee, where I spent part of my childhood. It was probably the most welcoming thing I could have seen when landing in a foreign country for the first time. The plane arrived a half hour earlier than it was supposed to, which I was very happy about because I was sick of sitting in an airplane.
It took us over an hour to get through immigration and find all of our luggage. It took them a long time to unload the plane and send the bags out on the conveyor belt, so we stood there worrying for a long time. No one lost anything, which was much better than expected. We were met at the airport by one of the people in charge of housing arrangements. We piled into the bus and they took us to our apartments. I have a roommate, but most people in the group do not. My roommate is one of the alums who were here last year, so she already knows all the ropes. The apartments are nice, with a kitchen, bedrooms (with attached bathrooms), and a large common/eating area. The windows in my apartment look out over a park that’s across the road, and a beautiful domed mosque behind the park. I was listening to the call to prayer while typing this, actually.
They gave us some time to freshen up and change clothes, and then fed us breakfast. I borrowed a scarf from my roommateto complete my wardrobe; scarves are absolutely essential for women’s clothing here. I can’t wait to get my stipend tomorrow, so I can start buying salwar kameez. Breakfast this morning was absolutely delicious; it may have been because I was really hungry but the eggs, buttered toast, and bananas tasted fantastic. It just seemed more flavorful than food I’d had before. After breakfast I crashed and took a three hour nap before lunch. They cooked us Bengali food for lunch: rice, chicken, and dal, and ate it with our hands. It was good, and probably exactly what we’ll be eating for dinner as well.
After lunch, we visited campus to meet our teachers and have a cultural orientation. The university facility is new and really nice, but the Bangladeshi students stared at us a lot. I suppose we just have to get used to the extra attention. On the way back from campus they drove us past the two closest hospitals to show us where they are. Now we have some downtime before dinner, and most of the others are sleeping.
What are my early impressions about the country? Traffic is really chaotic. Dhaka’s signature sound is definitely car horns. They blow them all the time. There are so many types of vehicles, from big buses to cars to rickshaws to bicyclists and pedestrians, all trying to use the road and get where they’re going as soon as possible. It is definitely hot and humid, although I wasn’t very exposed to that today because I’ve been in the AC a lot. When I have been outside, though, it seemed bearable enough. You just have to keep hydrated by drinking a lot of water. Dhaka seems to be under construction; everywhere you look, there’s something being built or torn down or falling apart of its own accord. There is a significant gap between the rich and the poor, one that is really obvious in architecture and dress. Women generally wear beautiful clothing, and it makes me really want to buy a sari. It’s going to take me some time to get used to Bangladeshi stores; they look completely different from American stores.
That’s all I can think of at the moment. I still don’t have internet access on my computer, so I’ll post this as soon as I can.
No comments:
Post a Comment