I can't believe I am now a resident of Bangladesh. The flight over was pretty brutal - Qatar Airways has pretty uncomfortable seats and mediocre service - but a few sleeping pills took care of half of the flight time. And the school personnel were able to meet us at the gate and walk us through customs and immigration relatively quickly.
We spent the first three days getting used to the time difference and our new homes. There are 20 new teachers in my "class" and everyone is really nice. I'm finding it very strange living in a situation in which there is someone to do anything for you. My new bearer (housekeeper/cook), Thomas, speaks English pretty well and really works to keep me happy. He's quickly gotten the house set up with supplies and is a pretty decent cook. So far I haven't made a request that he couldn't handle. The house itself is a three bedroom apartment just five blocks from school. Even though we have cars and drivers, I'll probably walk to school just for the exercise. The food here is amazing - very much like Indian food but with regional specialties. Every meal has been a feast of new tastes. The local fruits are fantastic, especially the mangoes which are much smaller and sweeter than those at home. We've been eating them at every meal and dreading the end of mango season in a few weeks.
The school itself is really nice. With only 10 days until the students arrive, there is an army of workers sprucing the place up. They built a new science wing over the past six months, and are fixing and painting everything on campus. The smell of fresh paint fills the air.
Bangladesh is more advanced than I expected in many ways. They have really fast internet, and it's installed the day you call. The country is very eco conscious. Plastic shopping bags are not allowed (the nicer stores provide cloth bags) and the school recycles and composts all food waste and uses it to fertilize the gardens.
But it is still a developing country. Even though the tap water looks fine, it has typhoid and many other bacteria and viruses. You shouldn't use it to brush your teeth or open your mouth in the shower. Drinking water must first be boiled for five minutes and then run through a huge water filter with five different stages. You can't drink local milk without first boiling it. Instead we use Australian powdered milk with purified water. It really takes me back to my childhood when my grandparents used powdered milk. So far, though, only one teacher has gotten Bangla Belly.
We learned Friday of the benefits of being embassy employees. We were out exploring the town when we came across a large demonstration of garment workers. The security officer got our driver on the phone and directed us around town trying to avoid any potential riots. When we realized our part of town was completely blocked off, we took refuge in a five star hotel for a really amazing lunch. The irony that we were stuck in a luxury hotel because people were demonstrating to get living wages (the lowest paid garment workers receive $35/month, which even here is far below a living wage) really struck me. It felt very wrong that we were having a lunch that cost more than a month's wages, and definitely took some of the enjoyment out of lunch. When we were finally allowed to leave, the government allowed us to cut through a military base to avoid any further trouble. I know we weren't ever in any danger, but it was nice knowing we had all of the background support if needed.
The traffic here is as bad as or worse than any other country I have visited. And yet it does move. It's almost a living organism, with vehicles weaving in and out like water flowing around rocks in a river or blood in an artery. Traffic does not move quickly enough to cause any serious accidents, although you see a lot of near misses. Our drivers are fearless, going where they want and just honking as necessary (which is most of the time). I'm really glad I read the book Shantaram last year. So much that the author described about India is also true here. You don't stop for accidents. Apparently a crowd will form, decide who is at fault and punish the guilty party. One of the diplomats had an accident last year and his car was flipped by the crowd, and he and his driver were pulled out and badly beaten. We were also told that beggars are part of a "mafia" and any money given to them is not going to help them. Instead the school has major community service projects that last an entire year. Each student and teacher works on one of the projects on a regular basis. I have chosen the agency that helps local street children, and can't wait to get started. This is going to be so much more meaningful than the mandatory service at my other schools.
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