prof. yunus? almost...

Okay, so we haven't met the man yet, but we SAW him. Tonight we went to some sort of function at Grameen Bank which was basically a variety show put on by families of Grameen members, or something like that. Lots of singing and dancing. At the end. Prof. Yunus went onstage and did something or other - we don't know what was going on, as it was all in Bengali. After everything was over, we were standing within 10 feet of Prof. Yunus, but we didn't approach him. We COULD have, but the thing is, we have requested a formal meeting with him already so it would have been pre-emptive and somewhat unprofessional for us to pounce on him tonight. Still keeping our fingers crossed for a proper meeting. Tomorrow might be our last chance for that. Prof. Yunus definitely saw us tonight though, and the letter we wrote detailing our intentions reached him directly, so he knows who we are, he knows we're here, and he knows why. We're SO close.

Anyway, I had no intention of posting again so soon, but I HAD to get out of my hotel room, so here I am. It is nearly midnight, but my room is SO NOISY right now. Apparently there is some kind of religious festival or holiday or who knows what going on, and someone has been screaming over a loudspeaker outside for hours now. I am getting used to the loudspeaker business - the morning prayer wakes me up every morning at 5am because it's so loud, but it's not that long. This shouting just won't stop. I don't have an issue with the loudspeaker thing really, I get that it's the culture, but I have an issue with the fact that the hotel walls are paper thin... and actually there is a bathroom vent that leads pretty much outside, so you hear EVERYTHING. Crappy hotel design.

While I am on a rant about the hotel, haha... I can't remember if I mentioned this before, but the hotel staff here are overhelpful to the point of extreme irritation. Like the staff will fall all over themselves to do things for you... which is nice to a point, I guess. But tonight, for example - we went to the hotel restaurant at 10:30pm to see if they had ice cream. They did not. The waiter said he would go out and try to buy us some. We said no, please do not do that, completely unnecessary, we will go out ourselves and have a look. This waiter INSISTS he must get ice cream. We insist that he does not. And then we leave. And go buy ice cream. And he also goes out and buys ice cream. And then we get back to the hotel to discover he's bought us ice cream and now we have to pay for 2 ice creams even though we specifically told him not to do it. (I mean, in theory we don't have to pay, but if we don't pay it then it probably comes out of his pocket and it's only like a dollar to us so who cares, right?) So we're stuck with all this extra ice cream... could he not have just listened when we said no? Arghhhhh.

Also annoying: I don't understand the tipping culture here. Basically I think because we're foreign and therefore assumed to be rich, we're expected to tip everyone for everything all the time. Probably why people are so overhelpful. But like, I ran out of toilet paper tonight and asked at the front desk, and they sent some to my room. And I didn't tip the guy who brought the toilet paper, but he was staring at me expectantly. It just seemed stupid to tip for something that should be essential, like toilet paper. I mean, I tip the rickshaw/taxi drivers, I tip the restaurant staff, I tip housekeeping for bringing my laundry... but toilet paper? Ummmm. Okay, hotel ranting over. It is dumb stuff to complain about, but this stuff happens several times a day here, and it's making me a bit mental. I'd much rather stay in a crowded hostel than a nice hotel, I've decided.

Other fun facts for today about Bangladesh: I don't think they have postcards here. I have yet to see one. I'll have to send all my postcards from India. However, while Bangladesh is lacking in the postcard department, it is doing extremely well in the avian flu department. Bird flu is apparently all over the place now. The travel warnings on Canada's government site warn against visiting any poultry farms, or playing with chicken feces. Good to know.

Despite all the above negativity, I am actually having a great time over here. Bangladesh isn't the best place for a vacation - it is far too challenging to ever be anything close to relaxing - but it's definitely an adventure. I feel so much more comfortable here than I did two weeks ago. I go out by myself now, take the rickshaws alone, pretend people aren't staring at me everywhere... I've adjusted. Though I will say that the past two weeks have given me an amazing appreciation for Canada which I never had before, haha.

Speaking of Canada, today at the grocery store I found some cheese which has a remarkably similar texture and taste to cheese curds. I will attempt to construct some sort of poutine. Photos to come if I am successful.