Day 2 in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Day 2 in Bangladesh. I had heard about the terrible traffic conditions before arriving but it is not what one can image unless you see it with your own eyes. Yesterday, our consultant told us over dinner that he will need 1.5 hours to get home. Mind you, the distance from the restaurant to his house was 5-6 km. It's crazy. The jams, constant honking and the bad air (which has been making me sneeze while out on the streets) are becoming synonymous with the city.

I sat through Day 1 of our strategy planning workshop for our Bangladeshi office like a sponge. At the end of the session, I thought I was having a splitting headache. I know now that I have a lot of homework to do. I hope by the beginning of next year, I will be more oriented. It is always through sessions like this that I hate how little I know, and I appreciate how passionate the locals are about issues at hand. I remember telling someone that the peace in Singapore is not healthy. I was kinda advocating for alternative voices. I think I wasn't able to, at that point in time, justify myself in a way that was easy to be understood. I guess I am able to do it better now: In Singapore, we lacked a progressive civil society where community-based organisations can potentially effect (or even revolutionalise) changes. And because of this absence, we are often so dependent on government agencies to act. Instead of asking what they can do for us, think about what we can do for ourselves. We are agents of change.

Anyways.

We managed to wrap things up at 4pm and do some shopping. While in Dhaka, I noticed how easy it was for me to attract stares. I stood out being the only one lady not wearing a sari or kurta. And it wasn't regular (I suppose) for them to see a Chinese walking around not accompanied by more Chinese. I think I should get one soon, given that I would be in and around Bangladesh for the next 10 days.