I've adapted!

If I had known what I might have to endure in the villages, I probably would not have made the trip. Nothing could have really prepared me for our stay in the villages. We stayed at the Branch Manager's residence, where 4 of us shared two beds and one "squatty potty". We also were so disgustingly dirty by day 2, that we took bucket baths on the rooftop at night. We slept with mosquito nets surrounding our beds, and the blackouts also occur in the village, but can last up to 2 hours or more. So when Shamima called to check in on us and asked how our accomodations were and how we were doing, my reply was repeatedly--"we're adapting."

But being in the country at the villages is so much different than the city. It is greener. The air is less polluted and it definately is much quieter. We returned from country this afternoon once again to the noise, dirt, pollution that is Dhaka.

Tomorrow is sort of an off day for everyone as we can rest up before going back to Grameen Bank Headquarters for another meeting on Tuesday.

I've done more things on this trip that I would have never thought possible. I am truly adapting.

Our group in the village where we stayed.

One down, three to go

I can't believe we left home one week ago. I think most have adjusted to the heat, noise, and smell. We are even getting used to the crazy traffic....well sorta. You would not believe how people drive here!

Today we traveled to visit Grameen Water Veolia. It's only 35 kilometers from Dhaka, but due to the traffic it took us 3 hours...one way! Veolia Water has partnered with Grameen to build this water purification plant. You don't drink the water in Bangladesh because it contains arsenic. The plant has only been open for one year and they hope to be able to build 5 more in the next ten years.

Tomorrow we leave for the villages. We will be in groups of four along with an interpreter. We actually stay at the Branch Managers residence, so we will have a roof over our heads. We will be talking with the village people and hear their stories of how Grameen helped them and made their lives easier.

We return to Dhaka on July 18th.  We will not have internet access in the village, so I'm sure I'll  have plenty of stories to tell when I get back.

Well worth the walk!

Walking to Grameen Bank today was brutal due to the heat, but it was well worth the effort. Today we met Professor Mohammed Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank. We learned only two days ago that he would be in town and would briefly visit with the interns. We also had our pictures taken with him as a group and individually. The NKU group went first. Although many of us looked like drowned rats due to the heat, it will be something I'm sure many of us won't forget. It's not every day you get to meet a Nobel Peace Prize winner. I hope to get a copy of the pics from one of the students and will post it when I do.

I think I mentioned the random power outages in an earlier post. Dr.Yunus spoke briefly this morning, and while answering questions the power went out. Everyone is so used to it now and business continued as if nothing had happened. The power usually returns in a minute or less.

                                                                                                          Grameen Bank from hotel rooftop

The rest of the group went shopping. I think there will be plenty of time to do that later as we still have over three weeks to go. So I am chilling at the hotel just taking it easy.

We also learned today that we will not be going to the villages tomorrow as originally planned. It seems this country is soccer crazy and the World Cup finals are tomorrow night. All the drivers want to watch it as well, so our trip tomorrow will be a day trip to one of the social business activities, the Grameen Veolia Water Ltd. That trip was planned later, but now will substitute and the plan now is to leave for the villages on Monday.

A big day at Grameen Bank

We are going to Grameen Bank headquarters again today to meet Prof. Yunus. I hope to be able to get some pictures today. We first thought we weren't going to get meet him but he's back in town for some meetings so we're going to get to see him briefly.

Life has been good so far. Not much rain. It's hot and humid and we will be walking to the bank. Not sure what we are doing this afternoon as it is open time. Tomorrow we leave for the village and there will be not internet access for 5 days. It should be interesting.

Day 4 and still going

We visited Old Dhaka where we saw some century old mosques. Pictured with me is Shamima Ahmed who I work with at NKU and coordinated this trip. She grew up in Bangladesh. We went to her family's home where we had a traditional Bengali lunch.

Visit Bangladesh before tourists come

I actually rode in one of these today! That's probably something the tourists would never do!

First Impressions

I've discovered in a few short hours that things here will take some getting used to. These are rickshaws, a form of public transportation. They share the streets with cars, buses, truck and anything else on wheels. These were parked outside the hotel waiting for passengers. We'll see if I am brave enough to try to ride in one.:)