Into villages in Bangladesh.....

 Yes I admit it was not a very enjoying thing to stay in Dhaka. Drinking water in a foreign country during Lunar New Year eve was my worst New Year experience. Therefore I couldn’t say the event happened the next day would excite me that much. I was sent to a rural village, 5 hours driving from Dhaka, for a 5-day field trip.

This is supposed to be the highlight of my internship because Grameen Bank stresses field experiences from its employee. They believe that the real work of Grameen Bank only happens on village level --- staying in headquarter just doesn’t fit the literal meaning of the bank: it’s a “village bank”. The higher ranking is the official, the more time he would spend in rural villages.

In that regard, I should be very excited when I know that I am finally getting into the flesh of the institute I admired so much. But that New Year disenchantment just offset all these excitements: I never felt that bad the night before leaving the Hotel. I couldn’t sleep properly, and I got a serious diahorrea.

Amazingly, things got better. Not only did I found that the 5 hour ride was air-conditioned and mosquito-free, our destination, the branch in Pabna district, was a petit surprise.

In sharp contrast to the chaotic, populated area we stayed in Dhaka, the environment here is simple but elegant. It is the lone building in 300-metre area, surrounded by shrubs. There is not much traffic nor pedestrians on the highway.

The interior of the house was also simple: standard rural standard. Facilities were minimal, but everything was clean. At least, they got a clean toilet here. And one more surprise here: there’s not much mosquitoes patrolling around us: the ditches in cities made itself a perfect for mosquito population to flourish.

And there’s always Bangladeshi people’s renowned hospitality. They greeted us with warm words as well as endless tasty sugary tea. What else can a tenant ask for?

Let see if the good experiences would keep up.