Calling all Foreigners!

Every time we go out, we play a little game: find the foreigners (not including Grameen interns) in Bangladesh! We always come back disappointed at the absence of our fellow white/yellow/black brothers and sisters out and about in Dhaka. Today, we saw four!!! That's a four week record.


There MUST be foreigners in the country, but I suspect they all get driven around by their drivers and live in their cushy private company-or NGO-paid apartments in the ex-pat district. They definitely don't live in our shady sub-district of Mirpur. I guess the only "visible" foreigners are the foreigners who can't afford to be invisible (ie unpaid Grameen interns). Instead, the Grameen interns get to walk in the blistering heat, take shady taxi cabs and dangerous golf-cart like contraptions, and endanger our lives to cross the street every day. Talk about segregation of the rich and the poor :) Damn. Bottom-of-the-pyramid!


Today this CNG (dangerous golf-cart like contraption) driver agreed to 50 taka for a ride, and then tried to give me back only 40 in change (even though he definitely had enough change) from a 100 taka bill. Really? Come on now. I know I am a foreigner, but I ain't no sucker! I know it's only 1/7 of a US dollar, but if you agree to a price and I get in to your vehicle, that means I am assuming I am paying you that price!! It's not the money, it's the principle.


SO then feisty Jinny (yes, the one that some of you have had the pleasure to witness first hand before) appeared and demanded my 100 taka bill back since he was trying to cheat me. I don't think Bangladeshi culture allows women to yell at men in public, so I am glad I showed him that I wasn't going to let him get away with it!


Oh and this is how used I am already to Dhaka's little quirks. I got into the elevator and then five seconds later, the power went out. Rather than freaking out, Rosanna and I just kind of laughed, and we're like, oh great. But, we know it's Dhaka, so we just waited. Unlike in the U.S., if the elevator breaks down, it's probably a big problem. In Dhaka, it's just a part of life.