Hey everyone,
I decided to switch to a different site to write about these crazy adventures.
Here's the new web address:
www.katyachaya.wordpress.com
Again, I'm hoping to find some camera cord here so I can upload pictures and videos at an incredibly slow speed!
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Saturday, January 9, 2010
It's Raining Mosquitoes!
Why do I say, "It's raining mosquitoes" ?
On our way to and from the store, which is about a 10 - 15 minute walk, the rickshaw drivers are very adamant about wanting to give you a ride, for some number of taka (the currency in Bangladesh, exchange rate now is 1 USD = 70 taka).
Because one of the staff here, just walked around our room and sprayed mosquito repellent a.k.a. spray that kills mosquitoes on instantly. So, all the mosquitoes in our room just starting dropping...
I've lost track of how many mosquitoes have taken a rest on my skin, whether it was on my arms, hands, neck or face.
Today, the whole group went to a Bangladeshi clothing store, and we all got salwar-kameez outfits. They come with longer sleeves, short sleeves ad no sleeves. The people at one small store were incredibly friendly and wanted to keep showing us different things that we could buy, but we just politely declined and stuck with our salwar kameez purchases.
On our way to and from the store, which is about a 10 - 15 minute walk, the rickshaw drivers are very adamant about wanting to give you a ride, for some number of taka (the currency in Bangladesh, exchange rate now is 1 USD = 70 taka).
In other news, I finally had a nice meal at lunch today. We had rice, cucumber salad, beef, and a clementine for dessert. Then we received some details of our orientation and classes for the next 2 weeks. The next 2 weeks are going to be intense, with condensed course material, field visits to rural areas, and midterms already. I'm really excited for the field visits though!! The next 2 days consist of orientation and then we start our coursework!
Off to bed now, need to wake up early tomorrow to turn on the hot water :)
Friday, January 8, 2010
Arrival in Dhaka, Bangladesh
Finally, in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
First, a word or two about the flight from Bahrain to Dhaka, Bangladesh. The airport scene in Bahrain consisted mostly of male travelers; rarely was there a lone female traveling unless she was a foreigner. We run to the terminal for Dhaka because they yell over the intercom "last call" and then wait a few minutes. The doors open at the gate, and we board a bus that takes us maybe 5 meters to the airplane which we climb stairs to get to. The plane was filled with pretty much all male travelers with a few exceptions, in addition to the flight crew. The flight attendants, by the way, were mostly Russian: quite interesting for a flight to Bangladesh. The overall flight lasted about 5 hours and my friend and I sat almost in the very back of the plane, near the lavatory. At one point in the flight, I heard a flight attendant yell "No Smoking! No Smoking!" while banging on the lavatory door. When we were landing, I couldn't see outside very well, but what I did see was a very polluted sky and a dusty, sand colored ground with lots of construction.
The airport: Absolutely unbelievable. There are people everywhere, not just inside the airport but all around it too. People in the middle of the street, just walking casually. Quite an amazing sight, actually. As we gathered our luggage, we took over a table where we just parked our belongings and hung out, waiting for our other classmates. Our driver, from the university recognized us by our photos that we had to submit earlier. As we tried to leave the airport in this huge van, it seemed like people were going to get run over by the vehicles!
The rest of the ride to our residence consisted of many horns sounding from vehicles and bells ringing from rickshaws and bicycles. I also saw a Bangladeshi ambulance, which I have a photo of and will be posted as soon as I figure out how to put things on my computer from my camera without a cord...
Our residence: pretty nice housing, I'm sharing a room with another girl from school and a bathroom. I must say, this is definitely an upgrade from the hostel in DC...hehe. We all had peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, apples and tea for a snack earlier, then walked around the neighborhood, and now waiting for dinner, which is to be served at 8pm. As for a shower...that still has not happened, quite disgusting. However, a shower requires waiting about 30min-1hr for some nice hot water so I'm fine with that, especially because a nap sounds more appeasing at this moment. That's it for now, have a lovely day or night!
Tomorrow's adventures:
rickshaw ride?
acquire clothing to wear
not be jetlagged
goal while in Bangladesh (mom don't read this): not to get run over by any moving transportation? just kidding!...
First, a word or two about the flight from Bahrain to Dhaka, Bangladesh. The airport scene in Bahrain consisted mostly of male travelers; rarely was there a lone female traveling unless she was a foreigner. We run to the terminal for Dhaka because they yell over the intercom "last call" and then wait a few minutes. The doors open at the gate, and we board a bus that takes us maybe 5 meters to the airplane which we climb stairs to get to. The plane was filled with pretty much all male travelers with a few exceptions, in addition to the flight crew. The flight attendants, by the way, were mostly Russian: quite interesting for a flight to Bangladesh. The overall flight lasted about 5 hours and my friend and I sat almost in the very back of the plane, near the lavatory. At one point in the flight, I heard a flight attendant yell "No Smoking! No Smoking!" while banging on the lavatory door. When we were landing, I couldn't see outside very well, but what I did see was a very polluted sky and a dusty, sand colored ground with lots of construction.
The airport: Absolutely unbelievable. There are people everywhere, not just inside the airport but all around it too. People in the middle of the street, just walking casually. Quite an amazing sight, actually. As we gathered our luggage, we took over a table where we just parked our belongings and hung out, waiting for our other classmates. Our driver, from the university recognized us by our photos that we had to submit earlier. As we tried to leave the airport in this huge van, it seemed like people were going to get run over by the vehicles!
The rest of the ride to our residence consisted of many horns sounding from vehicles and bells ringing from rickshaws and bicycles. I also saw a Bangladeshi ambulance, which I have a photo of and will be posted as soon as I figure out how to put things on my computer from my camera without a cord...
Our residence: pretty nice housing, I'm sharing a room with another girl from school and a bathroom. I must say, this is definitely an upgrade from the hostel in DC...hehe. We all had peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, apples and tea for a snack earlier, then walked around the neighborhood, and now waiting for dinner, which is to be served at 8pm. As for a shower...that still has not happened, quite disgusting. However, a shower requires waiting about 30min-1hr for some nice hot water so I'm fine with that, especially because a nap sounds more appeasing at this moment. That's it for now, have a lovely day or night!
Tomorrow's adventures:
rickshaw ride?
acquire clothing to wear
not be jetlagged
goal while in Bangladesh (mom don't read this): not to get run over by any moving transportation? just kidding!...
En Route to Bangladesh
Flight started off from Washington DC and then went to London, where there was a ton of snow...made it just in time for our connecting flight to Bahrain. Now, we are finally in the Bahrain International Airport awaiting our flight to Dhaka - a 7 hour wait. We have about 3 more hours until our flight to Dhaka.
I feel slightly dazed and not really sure what time it is. The first flight on Virgin Atlantic was nice. We were given these cute little pouches with socks, toothbrush, toothpaste, sleeping mask, and a blanket.
2nd flight: Gulf Air. crazy children (4 of them)...who were cute, until they started to be annoying by singing songs nonstop, screaming, and kicking seats in front of them. Makes it a little hard to sleep.
Reading list:
Lonely Planet guide to Bangladesh = wonderful, thanks to Matt
Gomorrah...started it.
The air in the Bahrain International Airport is stuffy and I've apparently developed allergies. Apparently, our flight to Bangladesh is delayed and the terminal is "sketchy" according to my dear friends...
Right now in Bangladesh, it is sunny and 24 C (about 75 F).
I would post pictures of the trip so far, such as the food served on the plane, and other sights, but I managed to leave my camera cord in DC. Well back to being sneezy in this airport...
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