So, if you follow me on facebook you know by now that my card started to accrue some fraud charges just as I was leaving the states... which means having to cancel my card leaving me no access to my personal or research money. NOT very convenient when I am trying to get a research project going and settle into a new place with a whole new dress code. Thanks to my wonderful, amazing, and incredible father and western union, he was able to wire me money multiple times to keep my research on schedule (I can transfer money online, just not get it myself). Because of the world's best dad we were able to make our first trip to Rangpur, the area where my fieldwork will be conducted. We have villages in 7 of the 8 upazilas (kind of like counties?) within Rangpur District and are living in the 8th, Rangpur Sadar (red star). It is more of a city and we excluded urban villages from our study.
It is usually about an 8 hour bus ride, but thanks to a religious holiday there was zero traffic leaving Dhaka (black star) and we made it in SIX! The only way to really explain this bus ride is to compare it to the Knight Bus in Harry Potter. Goes way too fast and swerves through traffic, speed bumps, pot holes and then when the honking doesn't work to move the obstacle the brakes get slammed.... but there is A/C so I can't really complain. Since we got there earlier than expected we went to check into our hotel then left to house hunt. This is not like your ordinary house hunt where maybe you jump on google or craigslist for listings... you just straight up drive around town and pull over when you see a "to-let" sign. We did this for a solid five or six hours, with a lot of my job being "stay here, or else they will try and charge us more". I keep saying that we need a code word for 'hide the white girl' because they often make me stay put or go around the corner when negotiating price for either rickshaw, taxi, or rent! Because I am white and clearly a foreigner, they will automatically try and charge more - they are no dummies. We also ran into a problem with the landlords because it will be me, and my 6 field crew members who are all guys, living in the apartment. A lot of the families were not okay with this setup because they did not understand how that would work since I am not married to any of them. We found a few promising apartments and it is funny how everyone around gets involved... they all have something to say. Which brings me back to the staring... I keep saying I am going to feel so neglected when I move back to the states because I get so much dang attention in Bangladesh. Myself and Hannah, a visiting postdoc from Hopkins (only here for a week, also white female), were sitting in the "taxi" (basically a longer golf cart) waiting for the guys to negotiate something when a band of local Bangladeshi guys come up and start talking to us. They kept saying "you strong" and "you wrestle" while making the arm wrestling gesture... they were very impressed with my guns (even though I was wearing a quite loose salwar kameez). Then they look at Hannah and say "not so strong", which is hilarious because she is a normal, small built girl. They then asked me my weight and when I told them they discussed it for about two minutes and wanted to take my picture but I could not slouch haha. What an ordeal... they were very pleased with my athletic prowess lol!! The next day our plan was to meet with the district commissioner, leader of the entire district, and the police superintendent. This is a formality you must do when working in these places, and letters go along with this. First was the district commissioner where Al-Amin, one of the entomologists on my team, did all of the talking and the commissioner never really acknowledged my presence... very formal. Then we went to the superintendent of police... not so formal. He was very excited to have us and spoke with us, in English a lot of the time, and offered us coffee (hard to come by here), fresh mangos (mango season just started!) and guava. After about an hour of chatting in his office he invited us to his residence... and we were taken there by police escorts! He was very pleased to show us his collection of over 500 pigeons that is made up of over 50 different species that he imports from all over the world.. pricey!! If you know me at all you know I am not fond of pigeons... so I was obviously more pumped about his goats, sheep and cows! He then invited us into his home for some coca-cola, tea cookies, mangos, lychee, and oranges all from his land... Grandma, he is giving you a run for your money! So after a total of about 3 hours, we finally got police escorted home and regrouped to find a place for our goats. We needed to find temporary housing for them as we prepare to set them up in the villages. Luckily by word of mouth we found a small cow farm tucked back about 2 blocks from our apartment. Of course as we show up Al-Amin travels to talk to the man of the house and we are left to be gawked at. This time is was mainly all the women of the household (they all live together in neighboring houses) with their husbands and children. One of the women really clicked with me, though her english was not great nor my bengali good at all. She took my hand and showed me around to all of the houses, offered me tea (had to say no, unclean water), had me sit in their house, showed me my "sisters" i.e. all of her nieces, and let me see the cows. This wonderful family will be watching our baby goats for us as we take them out 2 by 2 to their villages. All that was left was to finalize the apartment by putting down the first month's advance... $123 for a 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom 2nd floor apartment. No... there is no A/C. It is empty and so we need to purchase all of the furniture, fans, kitchenware, etc. Also, it is very common here that we will hire staff to cook, clean, and do laundry - less than $30 a month. I will have my own bedroom and bathroom, and balcony (woo hoo) - while the other two rooms and third makeshift room via curtain in the doorway will be split between the other 6 field members. The main dining area will be used for our mosquito identification table with microscopes and equipment storage. Overall it was an incredibly productive trip and it was really good to see how things run and the issues that might arise throughout the field season. It took about 7 1/2 hours to bus home today and tomorrow will be a nice and relaxing weekend day.
2 Comments
Kathy Summers
6/12/2015 12:02:40 am
I love reading your posts. So glad to hear about the apartment you have. I had not idea what conditions you would be staying in but this sounds pretty good. Please stay safe!! Much love!! Kathy
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Michelle
6/28/2015 05:20:38 am
Hailey and I are catching up on your posts (she loves the photos of the animals). You have so many talents and writing is one of them! Michelle (and Hailey)
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Steph CinkThis is my way to share both my personal and research experiences with my family, friends and those that are interested.
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