The other side of the street

I've received some comments about the previous rickshaw commute video and thought I'd show you the other side of the street at a different time of day and with the original audio- instead of a soundtrack to cover up my discussion with an Italian about Thailand and traveler's diarrhea (I didn't think you'd want to hear it).

Few items to note in the video- this was about 7-7:15pm on a Monday, so somewhat after the usual work-day rush hour home. This video shows the route I would normally walk to work. Look out for the brief shot of the street kids using ropes as swings on the electrical tower base. The car honking is also strangely quiet in this video as well- when the traffic is really bad it's ridiculous. I got quite use to the constant honking in my hotel room. 

(Videos seem to work nicely when I don't have time/energy to write- as does simply uploading photos to my Picasa gallery. New pictures from the last week's activities will be up in the gallery shortly. I hope to write an update on my weekend trip to Srimangal this evening).

Less than a week left in Dhaka- this month has gone by faster than I thought.

Dhaka Commute

I was about to compose the 'food' post when my stomach was suddenly hit with something funky and the thought of food was less than appealing. It appears I've gotten these stomach cramps about every 1.5 weeks here but so long as that's the worse of it- I'm thankful.

Instead, I thought I'd post a video of my rickshaw ride commute from the Grand Prince Hotel to the Grameen Bank Bhaban (Main Office). It takes about 8 minutes, costs 8-12 taka (~14 cents) and greatly reduces the amount of attention I receive if I walked on the street. Last evening, after walking back in the rain (and get somewhat mud-splattered in the process), I had a member of group of (gypsy?) ladies grab my arm and not let go for a good 15 meters, asking for money. Heartless as it sounds, I don't like giving to beggars, especially in adult ones in the city. Numerous people have told me many of the beggars are drug addicts and if you want to give anything- give or buy them food. A coworker also told me about how recently a syndicate was arrested to using children to beg, often maiming or defacing them. (think 'Slumdog Millionaire'). A child with acid burns or missing limbs can earn anywhere from 3000-4000 taka a day, he said. Same with urban adult disabled individuals- you don't know if someone made them that way or preys on the funds they earn. Another coworker told me it's different in the village- a disabled person is not cared for by their family and truly is on their own. I go back and forth between feeling guilty, heartless and truly believing that investing in other infrastructure will do more than handouts to alleviate the poverty seen everyday.

Side note: You know you've been in Bangladesh long enough when your rickshaw driver drives into oncoming traffic (including massive buses) and you don't even flinch. The rickshaw driver here was more law-abiding than most at the start but later we realized it was probably because he didn't know where he was going... 

Commuting to Work

Work is located in the Grameen Bank Main Office- Mirpur 2 (or 'dui' ২ দুই) on the same street as my hotel. Grameen is the tallest building around and here from my hotel you can see a view of it in the distance.

My first day I was picked up from the hotel in a van for the 5 minute ride to Grameen Bank's Main Office. Kabir, my main contact/coordinator/person? walked me home that evening, citing that in the future I could rickshaw the ride from Grameen Bank to the Grand Prince Hotel (8-10 taka or 12-14 cents). With less trepidation the next morning I struck out on my own, laptop in one hand and work purse on my shoulder. The 12-15 minute walk goes past street vendors, polluted side ditches, schools, piles of trash, bricks, beggars, two-patches of English speaking boys, broken sidewalk and a petrol station. While a rickshaw would be quicker (and less sweaty), I would loose out on exercise and have to deal with small change. So I mostly walk.

On my way home once I saw the most brilliant patch of sunset sky- it looked like a mother of pearl stuck in the clouds. Another time on the way to work, I fell in step behind this man carrying carefully folded and balanced papers on his head. Funny- the street wasn't that empty when I walked- perhaps people disappeared when I took the picture or incidentally were in the right spot to *not* be in the picture. People do stare and I expected that. But I basically pass through unbothered.

After being in Qatar and other parts of the Middle East/Africa- I discovered that my American Mid-West tendency to make eye contact, be smiley and extra friendly can get me in 'trouble'. Namely, I was seen as a huge flirt. 'She catches me eye and smiles- oh, she likes me.' So.... I've gotten a lot better at not making eye contact while still looking around. I'm still polite and smiley to those I encounter or engage in communication, but I've toned it down a bit.

My second work day I went shopping with a Mukta, a coworker, for shalwar kameez. We traveled via rickshaw away from work and my hotel, towards the shops across from the cricket stadium. We had bad luck- either the outfits weren't in my size, were the wrong color, wrong sleeve length, of poor quality, or had a stain on them. She sent me on my way back to the hotel via rickshaw (the video was too dark to get a good view). Both rickshaw rides I felt that I would slip out, and braced myself the whole way, as the rickshaw bumped over speedhumps, road debris and nearly bumped into other vehicles. Great as rickshaws are for the average person in Dhaka and great that they give jobs to thousands of people, they also make the traffic situation so much worse in Dhaka. Rickshaws go against traffic, swerve, stop, and respond slower. I generally feel better in an CNG or taxi- but only *slightly* more so.

(Note: Speaking of commuting- I drafted this post after work but waiting to conference call with Ashir, Project Director in Japan at 6:30pm. We wrapped up at 8pm- already quite dark- and the PD insisted my colleague in Dhaka (Kabir) take a taxi or CNG with me to my hotel before backtracking towards his place. He said it wasn't a good idea for a single person, especially female, to take even a vehicle alone at night.)

Welcome to Dhaka

My location and life have changed dramatically since I've last blogged. (I read recently in the >NYTimes of how blogs now fail at a higher rate than restaurants- and I had to agree- that's me). So here's my update of life since then.

I've been to Egypt, UAE and Turkey. I wrapped up teaching 2 courses and completed my time at Carnegie Mellon Qatar. I got into 2 business schools, waitlisted at 1, rejected at 2 and ultimately decided to go to University of Michigan for a Master of Science. A relationship ended and another...? And now I'm in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Why Bangladesh? Why come to apparently one of the least livable cities in the world?* I like the concept of Base of the Pyramid (BoP) business solutions to develop sustainable living and poverty alleviation solutions. And I'd like to get into the Ross School of Business at Michigan when I reapply this fall. Ross' C.K. Prahalad is known for his BoP teaching and I'm currently registered for a fall BoP course.

I started looking into some sort of sustainable development/BoP internship in India and even applied for one at d.light. But then I contacted a connection I made at the ICTD conference at Carnegie Mellon Qatar (where I was 1 metre from Bill Gates) with Global Communication Center (GCC), an NGO relative of Grameen Communications (GC) and Grameen Bank. Grameen is a microfinance bank that won its founder- Dr. Muhammad Yunus- a Nobel Peace Prize in 2006.

One thing led to another and here I am in Dhaka for one month to consult with GCC. More on the project later after my first day is done.

*My Bangladeshi friend and former colleague Faheem worried about me citing this data-crunching survey from the 'global north' re: Dhaka right from the get-go, as it could color the impressions I give others. I'll have 33 days to make my own conclusion and hope to document those observations here.