2019 Bangladesh Training Tour (powered by WSDA NZ)

2019 Bangladesh Training Tour (powered by WSDA NZ)

Note-Snippets and Scrambled Reflections from a Bangladesh Beginner

Sarah_Amy
May 18, 2024
1:57 pm
0 comments

Bangladesh beginner - how did I get here?

I'm shopping in Pak'n'Save Petone, Wellington, Aotearoa/NZ.

I receive a call. "Would you like to go to Bangladesh in September?" (it's July)

"Yes!" I respond, without any cognitive thought to family, logistics, what I'd even be doing over there...!

5 years on and now I'm back here in Dhaka - the capital of Bangladesh.

Here are my notes from the 2019 Training Tour, organised and paid for by WSDA NZ - Workplace Skills Development Academy which has joint foundership and directorship in NZ and Bangladesh. I found these wee snippets incredibly helpful as I reset into Bangla-mode once again.

Hopefully they're helpful - or perhaps even a little humourous, to cheer your day just a smidgeon...

A few extraordinary experiences (well, for me at least) - and a little of what I've learned from them.

In no particular order...

to experience the body’s stress response system in action go straight from a 24hour series of flights to a brand new, very different country to my home (NZ), into 30+ degree heat and rock up to leading a 3 day Youth Camp without any real idea what’s going on, who's who and what they're expecting of me! Lucky the participants were super awesome and inspiring people with incredible futures and I was able to channel my inner I (influence) and D (dominance) and become the CEO (chief energy officer) within a relatively short time (I was teaching people some of the concepts of DISC to aid communication effectiveness)

when to accept and when to decline? I’m waiting in the check in queue. “As-Salāmu Alaykum” to the man ahead of me. He gestured I go to the business class line. I shake my head. He grabs my big bag and begins wheeling it off and still gesturing and talking to me. Oh well. Feeling embarrassed I followed, apologising to others as I skipped the queue. He was determined! I’ll give him that. Dhonobad- thank you 🙏

a young(ish) European woman arriving in Dhaka alone is a very suspect occurrence indeed; many questions need to be asked multiple times to ascertain no funny business is planned for her 10 days in town

happiness is having loo paper and hand sanitiser available at all times

road and pedestrian rules are optional; lane markings, traffic lights, indicators, merge like a zip, waiting, going, honking (highly desirable apparently, who needs indicators?), helmets (motorbike and bicycle), back seat seatbelts, pedestrian crossings, footpaths, over taking or stopping in the middle of the road, cutting across traffic...

another vehicle has every right to expect they can take up the space you are currently in

it pays to look up and read the sign slowly and carefully before standing for half an hour in the wrong check in queue; Air Malinbo is not Air Malaysia

have a banana on hand to pass to a needy person who knocks on the car window, hand outstretched and begging, whilst I'm stuck in traffic; only wind it down a little way though...

best to give up the need to use knife, fork and spoon as early as possible. When in Rome... but there’s a reason Bangladeshi folk wash their hands before eating; insect repellent does not taste good

26 degrees Celsius is a good temperature to COOL the room to; at home I HEAT the room to 22 degrees

when squatting over a traditional toilet system, think of bush-wees without the bum-tickling plants and natural toilet paper; drip dry may be required (hence the mention above)

having an Egyptian friend teach me “As-Salāmu Alaykum” ('peace be with you', used as greeting or farewell) and then hearing how Bangladeshi folk roll it all together “Assalamualaikum”, helps create eyebrow-raisingly impressive starts to many interactions. I was a little slower off the mark with “Wa Alaykum As-Salām“ (peace with you also) but still passable.

the surprise and pleasure on the face of Bangladeshi folk when being greeted as above then throw in “Shuvo shokal” (good morning), “Dhonobad” (thank you), or “Thik ache” (all good, no worries, said “Tea-cut-say”) for good measure, is worth the effort it took for me to learn and practice; having it written down in English letters helps greatly, as does running them through my head over and over before bravely trying them out for “proshikun” (training)

I could only manage learning these though once I felt more at ease here rather than the shocked, stress-filled state I was in for several days upon arrival in this amazing city and country of 180 million people (30 million just in Dhaka - no wonder the streets are traffic-clogged and people walking all over the roads too!)

imagine being locked in the bathroom with the shower on hot and full bore. That’s the heat experience I’m talking about! Add a few smells (only mildly unpleasant/unusual to my nose) and you’ve got the experience about right

Prickly Heat is both a cause and a cure; to be avoided ideally though by using talc, if possible

It’s best not to take it personally when being told “no, don’t you hop out of the car Sarah!” or “no, you can’t eat that street food.” Even though it is actually personal, I get it’s about safety and situational control... be the S (Steadiness in DiSC), do what I’m told, no argument, trust in the universe (and the good intentions of my hosts)!

babies can so so sadly, apparently be hired to lay semi comatose draped over a begging woman’s shoulders as she knocks on car windows and pleads for food or money. Heart breaking no matter the woman’s reasons 😥

prices can vary considerably for some products, the great tampon treasure hunt proved that. Other than how to have questionable fun two Saturday evenings in a row, the learning is: bring enough to last a full cycle as sanitary products are sadly still rather taboo and of course my period started the day I arrived. Doh! Honestly, they took me out the back and handed me the packet in a brown paper bag as if we were doing some sort of drug-drop.

shower with mouth, nose (& ears!) closed and brush teeth with bottled water without dribbling the froth down your chin or top 😉

when testing out the water sprayer by each toilet ensure it is pointed down into the toilet 🤦🏼‍♀️. What are they for anyway? My guesses were for washing bottom instead of using tissue or to help the toilet contents go down with the sometimes weak flush... 🤷🏼‍♀️ (turns out they are bidet)

blonde haired, blue eyed women are so very rare here; prepare to be stared at constantly, usually with interest, sometimes with distrust; I found the shocked double takes particularly amusing

when I hear a stream of sounds followed by “foreigner” I know we are in for a little wait at the Bangladesh Navy security gates...

there’s nothing like listening to training being conducted in Bangla (Bengali) for honing one’s powers of body language, tone & facial expression observation and decoding. The odd English word thrown in for good measure keeps me within the ballpark also. I’d be screwed if this country had a French colonial history

Blonde haired, blue eyed women are so very rare here; prepare to be stared at constantly, usually with interest, sometimes with distrust

Bangla style food is deliciously tasty for me though leaves me feeling sort of over-sated no matter how much I’ve eaten; kind of like my tummy lining has gone solid... maybe it did?! Eat a little less, Sarah, there'll always be more of this yumminess next time.

Bangla sweets also are beautiful; why couldn’t my tastebuds distinguish much variation between the different types?

there’s an interactive Q’uran on the Dhaka to KL flight - Malaysian Airlines

a very excited young man heading back to KL work after visiting Dhaka family for 25 days; he wishes to see out the window; just skip over and switch to his isle seat. Thik ache 👍

nodding is not the same as understanding - doh! Not for them or for me. In fact my nod with shy smile and eyebrows slightly raised probably meant something I really didn't want to be suggesting!

headaches, lack of appetite, desire to run to the nearest rickshaw and yell “take me to the airport, I wanna go home!”, having that possum-in-the-headlights look, drowsy feeling, wanting to hide from people... are all forms of stress response and shock. I had them all regularly during my first several days

Bangladesh is not so definite about what women must wear so I got away with wearing westernish style clothes as long as my shoulders and knees and everything in between, were covered, and not too tight. No hajib required and it seems tolerance of white legs peeking out from my longer than usual skirts didn’t cause too much discomfort or consternation among those I was training or working with

call to prayer and the prayers themselves 🙏 sound so haunting, beautiful, inspiring. I missed this once I moved to the hotel - even the 4am ones

being ok with not knowing “what the hell is going on here!” is vital for handling this sort of travel. Patience. Connect with breath. Calm, peaceful thoughts and face to match. Pause, look and listen to absorb the environmental and cultural clues as to what next. Practice all we teach about emotional and stress management and utilising all communications experienced

of course you go to the “immigration” doors once check in is completed for my flight!?! But no I decided to take the scenic route up past all the airline offices and the Mecca-facing, diagonally-carpeted prayer space

and of course “8-5” and “4-1” means go left for doors 5-8 and right for doors 1-4. That one had me stumped for quite some time

“May I take your picture ma’am?” And “with me, with me, here”. I got good at being part of the million photo mission that began as a million dollar training idea between co-founders and co-directors, Ahmed and John (WSDA NZ)

monsoon season rain and thunder/lightning storms are pretty intense with deep puddles forming after the regular midday downpour

strong powers of observation and “listening” are needed to work out what’s going on in airport queues or a room full of people conversing in Bangla. It was tiring and also quite enjoyable testing myself and mostly being up to the challenge (whether I was correct though I'll never know)

“Yoga with Adriene” each morning is a really good idea; even better if preceded by ablutions (good wash of the face, ears and neck)

traffic beggars spot the blonde hair and “foreigner” neon lights from far away down the road. So difficult to sit while they tap on the window when I don’t have anything to give them and being told not to acknowledge them... I found I couldn’t do that and was often quite distressed once they moved on or the car started moving again 😔

Completion post reflections...

More photos and completion to come. I've gotta fly again, this time off to talk with a Dhaka bank. I'll complete this post later.

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Sarah Amy Glensor Best

kiaora@sarahamy.nz

+64 21 1174 899

Sarah Amy Glensor Best

kiaora@sarahamy.nz

+64 21 1174 899

2019 Bangladesh Training Tour (powered by WSDA NZ)

Bangladesh beginner - how did I get here?

A few extraordinary experiences (well, for me at least) - and a little of what I've learned from them.

Blonde haired, blue eyed women are so very rare here; prepare to be stared at constantly, usually with interest, sometimes with distrust

Completion post reflections...

Sarah Amy Glensor Best

Sarah Amy Glensor Best

Join Sarah Amy Glensor Best's Email List