Saturday 6 April 2013

What's 'normal' to me now.

Hello everyone!

Guess what! Next month (May 1st!) will be my 2 year mark living in Bangladesh! How time flies. I still remember the day I arrived, jet lagged, waiting for just the first week to pass. Then, waiting for my sea shipment to arrive after 3 months of living in a hotel, and then waiting for my first year to pass just so I can say, "I'm halfway there!". Ideally, I should be done with my assignment next month and taking a one-way plane ticket out of here, BUT, that's not how the project life works, blahness! Yes, the project is delayed. Just to update everyone, I agreed to extend my assignment to the fall. Ok fine, 2.5 years! ;)

Story Time.

So, after 2 years living in a 3rd world country, let me tell you what's 'normal' to me now...


  • Power Outages. With poor power generating and electricity distribution across the country, I experience power outages about every few hours every day! Only the major companies and high end homes have diesel generators that kick on when the power is out, usually about an hour long each time. During meetings, the power will go out all the time, but we're all so use to it that presenters usually keep talking.. in the dark! ;)
  • Last May, I was doing last minute packing the night of my flight back to the US. Hah, with my luck, there was a power outage and our generator was out of service, so I was packing in the dark, with a flashlight! I remember saying out loud, 'Ugh! Only in Bangladesh!'. When I got to Houston, the first thing I bought were a few camping lanterns to bring back with me! =)
  • Hartals. These are countrywide strikes held by different political parties. There's a lot to it, but I will just get to the point. What's 'normal' to me is that they happen all the time now, almost daily, due to the upcoming election. These strikes occur right outside of the city limits, so the expats are safe and go to work like any other day. However, the nationals all live outside the city limits and they can't get to work due to the violence. So, imagine 85% of your office empty due to hartals. Since this January, we've had 27 hartal days. To the Nationals, those are 27 'free days of vacation'! Most Nationals don't have laptops or internet at home, so that means... No work! It gets frustrating when no work gets done... all the time now!
  • 'Dhaka Belly'.  Haha, within the expat community, this is what we call food poisoning. Dhaka is capital of Bangladesh and where the Chevron office is. Some of my coworkers get the 'Dhaka Belly' about bi-monthly, its pretty often here, especially for the new folks. The full deal guys, coming out... both ends! Gross, I know! Remember, proper hygiene is not really important in this country. Me? I usually get a mild-medium case about every quarter. It sucks. 
  • Bleach + Veggies. So this is how we don't fall sick here, we clean all our raw vegetables and fruits with water/bleach mix. Yes, Clorox Bleach people! It so sad, but so true. Just a tablespoon of bleach with every liter of water, so it's not too bad. And no, my salad doesn't taste like bleach either! Just a little getting use to the idea when you take a bite of your apple. ;) 
Ok, story time is over boys and girls. Scare you enough? ;) Till next time.. work tomorrow, good night!

Miss everyone back at home. Hope all is well!  

love, lil. 



1 comment:

  1. Thanks for the inside scoop! I feel like I'm there haha do you know which month you're coming back yet or still up in the air?

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