Clean Water

In Bangladesh, I don't drink the tap water. We call that diarrhea water for obvious reasons: it can give you diarrhea. We buy huge jugs of water instead. Water pollution is a huge problem in Dhaka, and the rivers and lakes always look and smell disgusting.

However, here in the mountains of Japan somewhere near Wachi somewhere near Kyoto (I'm not entirely sure where I am), there is lovely, clean, fresh, pleasant water to drink straight from the tap. It comes from a nearby spring and it is so delicious that I am blogging about it.

Japan for Christmas!

On Thursday when school ended, I got on a plane and ended up (after 24 hours of travel) at the Motois house in Japan! I flew Dhaka-Bangkok-Taipei-Osaka since there are no good flights to Japan from Bangladesh. Then I took the train straight from Osaka airport, and Uncle Moto and Maya met me at the station. They drove me a long way up some little Japanese mountain roads and I ended up at their house!

My first day in Japan was a lovely nap. I'm not joking; I slept 14 hours my first night here. The previous week, I hadn't slept for more than 3 hours each night, so I was pretty exhausted. It was also the shortest day of the year, so I only had time to stick my head out the door and see my surroundings before it was dark again. (It's pretty easy to stick your head out a door here - all doors are walls, and all walls are doors.)

Today, Maya and I went into Kyoto to look at some temples and shrines. They were all very beautiful and picturesque, just like those classic Japanese temple photos you can find on the internet. But the bonus was that these were in real life!

The Motois have also been treating me to delicious Japanese cuisine and hot baths - I think I might stick around here a little longer!

Merry Christmas to all!

Transportation.

Walking. The traffic in Dhaka is really bad. It's normally faster to walk. There are so many cars, auto-rickshaws and rickshaws going everywhere that you can easily be stuck in the same place for half an hour. So it's easy to walk, but you always have to be aware of everything - potholes, people, vehicles, low-hanging wires.

Driving. I don't think I'd ever want to drive here. It's terrifying. Also, they drive on the left side of the road, and that confuses me a bit. I always think I should be in quite a few car accidents a day, but the car moves so slowly, that nobody can hit anybody hard. We have a van to drive us to and from school, and other school functions such as dinners. The rich people in town all have drivers. Many students at school have their drivers, not parents, drop them off and pick them up every day.

Rickshaws. They are so easy to take everywhere because they are everywhere. They are also cheap. We pay more than locals for rickshaws, and I still haven't payed more than a dollar for two people to go anywhere. The first two times I was a little uncomfortable, because it takes a little bit to get used to sitting on them. The rickshaws are all bright colours with cool art on them. I bought some rickshaw art last weekend.

Armoured car. Through some friends at school, I've made friends with some U.S. Marines. I have gotten some rides with them, which is how I've come to ride in an armoured car in Dhaka. There's a first time for everything. Especially in Dhaka.

So I haven't had much time to post, as I don't yet have internet in my apartment, and I am quite busy getting settled and trying to set up my classroom. We flew into Dhaka about 24 hours before we started teaching, so for those who are teachers, you know that's definitely not enough time to prepare :)

However, I had a day off today, so I have time to post! Why? Because the inevitable happened, and I became horribly sick, as was predicted would happen at some point by my Uncle Dave. 

Here's a brief overview of life so far:

My Neighbourhood:

I live in a nice little area of Dhaka. While it might not be nice by Canadian standards, it is much safer than other areas, as it is right beside the diplomatic zone. All of the embassies, international schools, and rich people are in and around this area. 

Food:

So far, I have only eaten out. This is because while it is cheaper to cook at home, I am not Bangladeshi, so I do not get good prices in the food markets. So in the end, due to these raised prices, it is the same price to eat in or out. I've spent anywhere from 200 - 600 Taka ($2.50-8) on a meal, and the meals always last me for dinner and lunch the next day. The cheaper meals are at local Bengali restaurants, or the delicious Thai place about 100 metres from my house. The expensive meals are at the diplomatic clubs (like country clubs for members of that country only).

School: 

School starts at 8:15 every morning, and I am teaching grade 3/4 this year! I teach all the subjects except art, music, and phys-ed. My class is a bit bigger than the other classes in the school - I have 17 students! While this may not sound like that many students to Canadian teachers, this school has smaller class sizes (the rest of the classes have anywhere between 2 and 12 students.)

Running:

Last weekend I went on the Hash Run here. Hash runs occur all over the world, and they are social events where members go on a walk or run (through crazy places) and gather for social drinking at the end (it's also a little crazy.) Last week we started out running through a thick bush, and then ended up winding through tiny little side streets  of a poor neighbourhood in town. It was pretty cool, because it was an area of town I would never have visited otherwise. However, it was quite hot, and very humid. The 9 km run turned out to be very very tiring. 

I'll post more about these subjects in detail at later dates! 

Thanks for reading!

Hey folks, thanks for visiting my blog! This is my first time blogging, but I know some of you were interested in hearing from me from time to time, and suggested to me that I should blog! So I'm doing that.

A couple thoughts before I head out:

1) I'm super excited to eat food there. As many of you know, trying new food is a hobby of mine. Eating food is also one of my favourite pastimes. I really don't know what to expect in terms of food, so that's also why I'm excited.

2) For a while I was assigned to teach grade 1 this year, but just recently was changed to grade 3/4! I'll post more info on how this turns out later on.

3) Yes, it will be hot in Bangladesh (especially right now in the rainy season) and while I might miss winter a tiny bit, I had enough winter in Thunder Bay last year to deserve a (little) bit of warmer winter. Feel free to visit any time if you, too, are feeling a little cold.

I'll next post from the other side of the world!