With a month long induction it’s a struggle to stay motivated to say the least. It seems as though the whole scenario has turned into a never-ending school trip; as we get carted around in the VSO van from daily lectures to external visits (hospitals, embassies), to language classes, shopping trips to practice Bengali (generally it’s a hilarious mess of confusion), and the list goes on. The timetable I was originally so impressed with now feels like handcuffs on my time and personal space, and I’ve hardly had any time to do such basic things like email, walk around by myself or even have a catnap. I think everyone’s feeling like this right now though, and the dynamics within our small volunteer circle are feeling strained. It’s like we’re in the Big Brother house and we can’t escape! I know it sounds a bit ridiculous because it’s only for a month, but time here feels like an eternity. Nothing is a normal day and everything is exhausting, especially in the heat, so we‘re all looking forward to starting work and being in charge of our own schedules again. Speaking of Big Brother, my Bengali actor/model friend has been asked to go on Celebrity Big Brother in Bangladesh, aka Uttoradhikar, and he goes into the house tomorrow actually! Can you believe I'm mixing with the celeb crowd and it hasn't even been a month?! Haha. He's also put me forward for an acting role here that needs a western woman. I'm sending my CV to the agent tonight so who knows what will happen...!
Following my last blog, after the harassment incident, I spoke with VSO and got moved out of the induction flat and into the illustrious Mohammadia ‘housing society’ flat in a newer area of town. It all happened quicker than I thought it would after a bad home stay experience (more on that later) but the good news it, I love the new neighbourhood; its got tons of little shops, busy streets and a wicked market nearby (Mohammedpur Bazar). The flat itself is pretty nice for Dhaka standards; there are four bedrooms, each with a big balcony, three bathrooms, small kitchen and a living/dining area. I’m sharing with a girl from London, a guy from India and another guy from Uganda. Flat UN stylz! Everyone seems to be on the same wavelength though and we’ve been cooking lots of meals together, playing cards in the power cuts (it’s almost a nightly occurrence at 9pm!), and we also have a housemaid to help us clean and do laundry (no washing machines here kids, it’s all by hand in a bucket). Unfortunately the water cuts out sometimes which is a pain especially when you have a shampoo covered head… and I’ve also discovered four lizards and three cockroaches in the flat so far, plus I have a whopping sixty-three mosquito bites on my legs and feet… good times. Anyway, back to the brighter side, we’ve been busy decorating the flat with our minimal volunteer budget and creativity has been bubbling overboard. A few of us discovered a secondhand sari stall at the big market - New Market - and got tons of saris in every colour under the sun to decorate the walls, make curtains, and even get clothes made. I’m like a walking rainbow here. I’m even in the midst of getting shiny gold trousers made! Bollywood here I come! Haha.
As for the social aspect, we ventured out from the Bagha club (British expat club) and tried out the Nordic club and Canadian club in the last few weeks. The overall verdict is that although the Dutch and Canadians have a nicer pool, the Brits here drink the most so that’s probably the one I’ll join! Plus, the Bagha beers are only 150 taka each ($1.50). Result! Haha. Truthfully though, alcohol here is few and far between and the expat clubs are in the swanky area of town. Mohhamadia house society ain’t. Apart from expat clubs, we’ve also been out for lots of dinners. Eating out is relatively cheap so we’ve been sampling the local versions of Thai, Chinese, Indian, and all the local cuisine too of course. Every corner has street food, from pakora type food to samosas, fresh bread, you name it. The British girl I live with mentioned she was interested in taking a cooking course here so maybe it’s high time I learned to cook too! Watch this space…
PS - I’m writing this in the dark. The power went off at 7pm instead of 9pm so excuse the spelling mistakes. It's hard to type by candlelight! :)
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