First steps in the City

Today was my second day spent on the streets in Dhaka, visiting stores in different areas of the city.

It felt great to finally be on the streets, among the daily life, really feeling the city’s vibe.

I posted some pictures and videos on my Instagram (also, take a look at my Instagram Story on the app if you want to see more)

It was hot but not unbearable. The shalwar kameez is actually good  for this weather as it helps protects from the sun & dust and the light fabric and oversized shape let’s the air in.

I sometimes felt like an animal in a zoo (I didn’t see any other “westerner”) but I am amazed at how brave and independent the children are. They would run up to me (or sometimes just stare with a very curious look) and then ask “Hello, what’s your name, Ma’am” ? And then giggle.

This one girl walked beside me for awhile but the language barrier made it hard to communicate so we took some pictures & selfies instead. She’s 8 and her name sounded like Reema.

Random thoughts:

• I felt completely safe, (as long as I watched my step) and I was with several collegues so I didn’t have to worry about getting lost.
• Not being able to communicate is frustrating:  I will start Bengali lessons this week 🙂
• It’s noisy (the honking is constant) but not smelly.
• Today was extremely dusty and the air was heavily polluted, it was sometimes hard to breathe.

 

Coming next:

• FOOD and eating without a fork
• Videos of my drives to work
• Local stores in Dhaka & the food distribution network
• Bengali lessons

 

XOXO C.

PS : thank you so much for all your kind comments and encouragements 🙂