JULY 1st

So I have been living in the hotel with Sarajane since Thursday, except for our two sleepovers when we went to friends’ homes and were not allowed to leave. Yesterday we went out and experienced the biggest shopping mall in southeast Asia. It was about 8 floors, and every floor seemed to have a different theme- clothing, jewelry, glasses, DVDs, shoes, bags, and food. It was one of the most stressful experiences I have had being here, because the entire time we were there people would come out of their stores and invite us in, sometimes very loudly and often seeming to try to shout over one another. And no matter where we went, it didn’t stop. At first I tried to tell everyone we were just looking, but it became impossible. It was one of the first times here I was quite uncomfortable. However, our CNG ride home was interesting- it was like a roller coaster ride- our driver had has foot on the dash and was signing and doing conducting motions with his hands as he weaved in an out of traffic, dodging people and trucks. We were also stuck in traffic for a while and I felt compelled to buy some popcorn that I didn’t want from a cute street boy, chatted with him and his friend for a bit, and then a beggar also came along and I gave him the popcorn- he didn’t look too pleased.
I love just walking along the streets, we went out last night, met a nice guy who is studying to be a pharmacist, bought some mangos from a street vendor- 2 for 50 taka, about 75 cents. They were delicious. We also went to a local food joint- which would probably be frowned upon by my parents, but I just had to have one of the kebabs that was cooking in the window and inundating the entire sidewalk with its smell. As we walked in, we were greeted at the front by “I love you, please come in.” The kebab was delicious as I imagined, and the owner came out and made us promise that we would come back every single day. When we left we received another “I love you, goodbye” at the door. I still haven’t decided if the man thought this was a typical English greeting or was hitting on us.
I made another friend at a store, I think I described it before, Aarong, in which the stuff is made by rural artisans and then the funds go back into BRAC’s programs. Anyways I was just looking around the store and a girl who worked there started talking to me and then invited me over to her house. That sort of thing is quite normal here, everyone wants to be as hospitable as possible. So she gave me her address and phone number, I hope to visit soon.
Have I mentioned yet that people eat with their hands here? I couldn’t understand why people would do that, because it seems like something like forks or even chopsticks are so easy and inexpensive and must do wonders at preventing the spread of disease, so I asked Mantasha and she says it is because eating chicken and fish it is so much easier to get all the meat using your fingers, and people who eat so little don’t want to waste any food.
So Adnan and I changed our project again, it is quite frustrating. So our new one is on hygenic behavior and education, focusing on water-borne diseases, comparing between the urban and the rural areas. We are going out to the field on Friday, to a village called Dinajpur, near the Indian border.