dhaka

(Note: I posted some pics from Dubai in the post below this one - too complicated to combine with this post.)

We're in Dhaka! Arrived last night, got picked up at the airport by a man from our hotel who was waiting for us with Micah's name on a sign. He drove us to our hotel, via a sketchy back road to avoid city traffic because it was a holiday of some sort here. That drive was a good introduction to Dhaka - there are NO road rules here. Everyone is all over the place, honking and swerving. About 20 times we narrowly missed sideswiping and crashing into other cars by millimeters. Rickshaws and pedestrians drive/run in front of cars constantly. And the sketchy back road was so bumpy we were flying all over the place in the backseat. Near death experience. And yet, somehow really fun! (Actually every time you cross the street here it's a near death experience. You run for it and hope the cars slow down.)

One more thing about the drive: Jenn, are you listening to this? As soon as we got in the car, the hotel guy puts a CD in... and the first song that comes on... Deewangi Deewangi from Om Shanti Om! I was dancing in the backseat. The guy was like "You know Hindi?!" and I was like "Noooo, I just watch all the movies." Nothing to make me feel more at home in a foreign country than some Om Shanti Om soundtrack, haha.

When we got out of the car at the hotel, two little boys ran up to me and one started tugging on my shirt asking for money. It was kind of surreal. I mean I knew to expect stuff like that, but it's different when you see it. Hard to imagine.

Our hotel is actually pretty nice. I have a big comfortable room (far nicer than my place in Ottawa was, haha) with a TV. There is a sweet Bollywood music video channel which pretty much completes my life.

Today we went to meet with the people at Grameen Bank. (I.e. the people we're attempting to write the film about.) It was so interesting, we spent all day in meetings with some of the people who have been with Grameen since it started in 1976. We met so many people from the book! (Banker to the Poor, the basis of our script.) So we spent all day learning about microfinance and getting an introduction to the whole thing. They've set us up with a crazy schedule for the next 2 weeks. Early tomorrow morning we are setting out on a 5 hour bus journey and spending 3 nights in a rural village with a translator, interviewing the people who are actually borrowers of the bank and seeing the whole process first hand. We come back to Dhaka for the weekend (Friday/Saturday) then next week we are going to Chittagong, and then Jobra, which is the village where Grameen first started. Amazing. I had no idea we'd get to do so much hands on stuff and meet so many people, but it's really exciting. (No idea what is going on with the film though - turns out there are some other people working on a film too, and they've recruited some dude who wrote a bunch of Star Trek films to write this one. I mean, this guy wrote The Wrath of Khan... how do we compete with THAT? Haha.)

Anyway, we spent all day there so I still have yet to see any of Dhaka, with the exception of the rickshaw ride there and the walk back. There are tiny culture shocks but they haven't hit me yet because I've spent most of my time inside Grameen offices and a cushy hotel. One big thing - people stare alot. Obviously, it was expected, but it makes me feel exceptionally awkward. I am dealing with this by not looking at anyone so I don't notice them looking at me, haha. The other thing - we were walking back and this animal comes bounding down the sidewalk and I said, "Awww Micah look, a dog!" And he was like "Um... that's a goat." Which it was. I just wasn't expecting a goat on the sidewalk.

That is all for now. I haven't even taken any photos yet - no time! More when I return from the village (can't remember the name) in a few days!